Standing in the Gap

Are you the one God is looking for to “stand in the gap” for the fatherless, the poor, the widow, the infirmed, the oppressed, the  abused, the immigrant? In Ezekiel, the Lord says, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” (22:30)   During Ezekiel’s time, the wall in Jerusalem had been breached and it was no longer a protective shield against the enemy.

It was not just the natural wall that had been broken down, but the breach of the physical wall reflects Israel’s sinful condition and the breach between them and a Holy God. They had committed all kinds of abominations. Their sins and wrongdoings had caused God to allow their wall to be desecrated by the enemy. They needed to turn from their wicked ways before the city was completely decimated.

God did not want to bring the wrath of his judgment upon Jerusalem, but he is a Holy God! He spoke to Ezekiel, telling him to speak to the “bloody city,” Jerusalem, and pronounce his judgment on their abominations! So, Ezekiel publicly exposed their vile sins. In Ezekiel 22:6-12, Ezekiel illuminated Israel’s wickedness:

1. Your leaders used their power to shed blood.
2. You have disparaged your fathers and mothers.
3. You have oppressed the strangers/foreigners.
4. You have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
5. You have profaned that which is holy, including the sabbath days.
6. You have caused bloodshed through slander.
7. You have committed acts of lewdness: uncovering your  father’s nakedness; violating women; committing lewd acts with your neighbor’s wives, your daughters-in-law and your sisters.
8. You have taken bribes and usury for dishonest increase and you have extorted your neighbors.
9. BUT MOST OF ALL, YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN ME!   

The Lord God tells Ezekiel that he “sought  for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and to stand in the gap before me in the land, that I should not destroy it.” (22:30) The prophets had devoured souls; taken treasure; spoken divining lies; and made many widows. The priest had profaned the sabbath and God’s holy things; shown no difference in the holy and the unholy; and profaned God among them. The princes had shed blood and destroyed souls for dishonest gain. Even the people (those who had any power) had robbed and mistreated the poor and needy; and oppressed the stranger wrongfully. (Ezekiel 22:25-29) As for finding someone to stand in the gap, the Lord God says, “I found none.”  (Ezekiel 22:30)

The priests, the prophets, the princes and the people could not distinguished between the holy and the unholy; the clean and the unclean; the pure and the impure. Because God could find no righteous person to repair the breach; to intercede; and to defend the sinful nation, his judgment fell upon Israel!

We are at a pivotal point in this country today, my friends. Holy barriers are being torn down; the unholy is being proclaimed as holy. Vile abominations are occurring here in this country: profaning the name of our Lord; exhorting from and mistreating the poor, the needy, different racial/ethnic groups; acquiring riches through dishonest gains; oppressing the foreigner and the immigrants; sexually violating women; and the list goes on. And though most of the Church are not doing these things, many are turning a blind eye towards them. How can the unsaved distinguish between what the church calls clean and what it calls unclean. Proverbs 14:12 declares that, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”  The Church is God’s oracle here on the earth! God’s Church must take a stand. It is the job of the Church to represent our Lord and take dominion. The Church of the Living God must no longer look to misguided Christian leaders who look to political systems and to earthly politicians to bring deliverance to a sinful nation. As in the time of Ezekiel, those in authority are part of the problem. Those who are responsible for the problems cannot solve the problems. As long as the church is unable distinguish between the holy and the unholy, they cannot be used. (I don’t like saying this!) God is looking for a righteous man/a righteous woman to stand in the gap before he has to judge this nation! 

Is there a righteous person (or persons) who can repair the breach and stand in the gap for this sinful nation among you? Is there a righteous person to stand in the gap for the things that are happening in the world today among you? Every time I pray about this, the Holy Spirit takes me right back to 2 Chronicles 7:14:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

There is no getting around this, we as the Church, must humble ourselves, turn from our wicked ways and repent.  Our healing and course correction will come from Almighty God. We must obey scripture and continue to pray for the leaders that we have; my friends. However, I know deep down in my soul and in my “heart of hearts,” that God is looking for men and women “after his own heart”; men and women who he is anointing and raising up to lead our country. Maybe some of you are called to leadership for a time like this!

When we seek after the Lord Jesus, our Christ, with all of our hearts and souls, He will hear our prayers and heal our land. We are called to intercede for our country and the other nations of the world. However, we must be sober, my friends, for our Father God is Almighty and Holy, so we must be righteous and holy in order to stand in the gap and intercede before Him!  We live in perilous times! Compromising godliness or condoning sin and  corruption are not options. Are you willing to take a stand for righteousness with our Almighty Holy Father God, in the Name of His dear Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? There is no other way, my friends. 

Be blessed.

Scripture References:

Ezekiel 13:5   You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord.

Ezekiel 22:31   Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them, I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath, I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.

Psalm 106:23  Therefore he said he would destroy them—had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

Jeremiah 5:1  Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her.

Jeremiah 15:1  Then the Lord said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!”