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Following the condemnation of Israel's exiled community leaders for consulting prophecy despite setting up idols in their hearts, God declared an inescapable judgment on Jerusalem.
God declared their punishment for unfaithfulness through the prophet Ezekiel.
Salvation from the coming judgment is impossible, and a man’s righteousness cannot cover for another man.
God referenced Noah, Daniel, and Job, that even if they were in the city he intended to punish, they could only save themselves by their righteousness.
Noah was found righteous in his generation, Daniel stood out in a strange land, and Job was recorded as blameless.
God would send his four dreadful judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beast, and plague to kill people and animals.
Yet there will be survivors, whose way of life will confirm that God’s judgment on the city was just.
Matthew introduces John the Baptist as the one Isaiah spoke about; the preacher in the wilderness, asking the people to prepare the way for the Lord’s coming.
John’s dressing and food remind people of the old prophet Elijah and reflect the simple life of poor wilderness dwellers.
People went to him and, as evidence of repentance, confessed their sins and were baptized, symbolizing their death to sin and spiritual cleansing.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees also came, not because they repented but to observe the ministry of John.
John rebuked them, calling them “a brood of vipers,” suggesting that their teaching has been spiritually poisonous.
John accuses them that their lifestyle does not demonstrating repentance; hence, they should stop pretending to follow him or claiming safety as Abraham’s descendants.
John foretells the ministry of Jesus as more powerful; his baptism will involve the purifying work of the Holy Spirit and will separate the righteous from the wicked.
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