The Second Law
“Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?” Ezekiel 33:10
Rotting Away – Everything goes down hill! Have you come to terms with the Second Law (of Thermodynamics)? No matter what you do, the slippery slope syndrome rules the fallen world. As the medieval rhyme says, “Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.”
God knows all about the Second Law. He knows that there is no escape from rot in this world – unless He intervenes. Ezekiel speaks for Israel, and for us, when we says that our sins are upon us like a compost pile. We are rotting away. The Hebrew word is maqaq. It even sounds nasty. It means “to waste away, to decompose, to dissipate, to rot.” Isn’t that exactly what it’s like under the garbage pile of sin. David expressed the same personal corruption in Psalm 32:3. Concealed sin does not stop the Second Law from working. It just eats away from the inside.
If you read this entire passage in Ezekiel, you will be surprised to find that the speaker is not Israel. The speaker is God. Israel wanted to keep quiet about all this. So do we. Confronting the Second Law is painful. It hurts to accept the fact that all that I have worked so hard to build will eventually fall to ruin. It hurts to know that all the effort I put into improvement will still leave me six feet under. But, most of all, it hurts to know that my obedience is lacking, that I am not as righteous as I claim to be, that inside there is maqaq, a disease far worse than cancer. So, I say nothing. I pretend things are “just fine.” But God won’t leave me alone.
When I can no longer face the reality of the Second Law, God speaks for me. He says what I cannot bring myself to say. I have a mouth, but will not use it. So, God opens His mouth and speaks the truth about me. I am rotting away from my sin. How can I survive?
It’s important to know that the Hebrew word at the end of this verse is not about squeaking by. The translation is not “survive.” Given the amount of garbage piled on us, we might think that survival is all that we can hope for. But we would be mistaken. The word is hayah. It is to describe flourishing life, revived living, healed existence. No matter how powerful the Second Law, we really don’t want to just get by. We want to live! God knows that we want to live, so when He expresses what we are unable to speak, He uses the right word to convey our deepest desire. God is not interested in leaving us still breathing in the ditch. God is interested in restoration, as we shall see tomorrow.
When the Second Law presses you into compost, remember this: God will speak what you can’t say. He knows you, even in the rot. And, God has an answer. Just wait.
Topical Index: Sin, Restoration
