I am against you

As a believer, I have often used the verse Rom 8:31, ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ because I believed that God can never be against His people. But the same God asks Ezekiel to prophesy against Israel, saying, ‘I am against you,’ in Ezekiel 21. This chapter is also titled ‘The Sword of the Lord’s Judgment’ and is a chapter of God’s judgment over Israel, God’s chosen people who have rebelled against Him time and time again. The previous chapter specifies this – in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in Canaan.

He is the same God of Israel who has redeemed, restored, and blessed us, but if we keep sinning, He will discipline us as well, because He loves us too much. He desires that we soften our hearts, hear His voice, and return to Him so that we are restored. But if we continue our lifestyle of sin, then we can no longer say, ‘He is for us.’ Is there anything God is speaking to us today? If we choose to harden our hearts and continue in our sin, then we must be ready for the discipline of God, and God will say, ‘I am against you.’ But if we make a choice to repent and obey His voice, He will say, ‘I am for you.’ May we be people of whom it will be said, ‘He is for us,’ and not, ‘He is against us.’