17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you.”
23 And the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. 25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. 30 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.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.”
When one thinks of the rumblings throughout society, the dark threats of industrial blackmail, general strikes, anarchy, one begins to wonder whether we in this country realise how near the edge of disaster we are, with the seemingly imminent breakdown of law and order. Northern Ireland is but one small sector of the situation, and the danger is articulate and on the surface there, but it is rumbling throughout the whole nation in all manner of ways. A report on piracy in the video-cassette industry said that the incidence of illegality in this practice was more widespread and extensive in Britain than anywhere else in Europe. What a tragedy, for a nation of whom it used to be said that the label 'British' was a guarantee of integrity and honour in industry! In view of all this, the words 'And I sought for a man among them' seem very poignant and moving. Should we not, then, be much in prayer for the emergence of a man with courage, and with moral integrity, a man who is not afraid to say outspoken things, if the need of the hour requires him to? That is surely our need, and that is our hope in the land, whatever our political persuasion and colour. And if we think we discern a man of stature, whichever party he may belong to, then that is our cue for prayer, never mind politics, never mind parties. We need to pay heed to basic and fundamental issues, like law and order, public and private morality - in these things no party has a monopoly. That is how we should pray, that is how we need to pray, because if a true leadership does not soon emerge, that will give a fresh moral direction to the nation, the outlook is very grim indeed.
There is much here to stimulate our thought, and to cause us to apply the Scriptures to our own day and generation. Please God, we will have the vision and the clear- sightedness to do so, that we might see where we are going, and see our task in this day to be in prayer, that God would raise up men after his own heart. Please God let it be so!