In a previous article, I made a reference to "standing in the gap" for the Jalisco Highlands. As I thought about that phrase, I was provoked to look again at Ezekiel 22, the chapter from which this expression comes.

WHAT WAS THE SITUATION?
Vs. 24: Son of man, say unto her, [Israel], Thou art the land that is not cleansed...

Israel, the people whom God had chosen through Abraham, redeemed from Egypt by His power and formed into a nation through His law, was now identified by God as unclean. They had defiled themselves through idolatry and rebellion and had rejected God's call to turn back to Him and be cleansed.

"...nor rained upon in the day of indignation."

There was nothing to avert the coming judgment of God over the land; no refreshment or comfort from the teachings of the prophets and spiritual leaders; nothing to hold back the day of indignation. They were facing the judgment of God unprotected, unshielded.

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DESPERATE SPIRITUAL STATE?
There are several answers:

Her prophets:
Vs. 25 "There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof."

The messengers of God had replaced prophecy with profit and principle with prosperity.

Her priests:
Vs. 26 "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them."

The religious leaders no longer helped the people to distinguish the godly from the vile. They ignored the Scripture and trivialized the truth and worship of God.

Her princes:
Vs. 27 "Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain."

David was called the Shepherd of Israel, because he looked out for the welfare of Israel like a shepherd guards his flock. These political leaders, however, were a different brand: they were only interested in personal gain and advancement.

Her people:
Vs. 29 "The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully."

There is a progression here:

• The men with God's message of warning for the people had stopped saying what needed to be said and had opted for massaging the people with the words that pleased them, that made them feel better (vs. 28).
• The religious leaders followed suit, pushing to one side teaching the truth in favor of a more popular Ð and profitable Ð message.
• Political leaders, no longer restrained by moral concerns, gave themselves to leading the nation for profit.
• And the people, taking their cue from their spiritual and political leaders, followed the attitudes and spirit of the times.

WHAT WAS GOD'S RESPONSE?
We expect to hear God's declaration of judgment, but instead we read: Vs. 30 "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none."

The prophets prey, the priests profane, the princes profit, the people oppress and God looks for a man.

The Scripture uses the picture of a hedge in many places as a picture of protection. God set a hedge about His people, but they, by their rebellion, had broken large gaps in the protection. They had gone out to ally themselves with the enemy and they had invited the enemy into their midst. By breaking through the restraining protection God had placed around them, they gave place to the enemy and brought themselves under the judgment of God.

But that is not the reason judgment comes on Israel.

When the cry and stench of Israel's rebellion reaches the point of no return, when God must judge, He looks for a man, just one man, who will stand in the gap in the hedge, who will stand before God in favor of Israel and who will seek to keep the hoards of evil from pouring through that open gap. God is looking for a man to go up into the gap and make up the hedge for Israel. He's looking for an intercessor. Moses stood before God in favor of Israel. Daniel and Nehemiah in their times confessed the sins of the nation and asked God to turn back the justly-deserved judgment. But on this occasion, there is not even one single man who will stand before God to see Israel turned and spared.

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ISRAEL'S JUDGMENT?
Read the words of verse 30 again, then read the conclusion of verse 31: Vs. 30 "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none." 31 "Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD."

The spiritual and political leaders, and the masses that followed them, brought their own judgment upon their heads. Their actions received just recompense.

But it is equally clear that had been just one person, or perhaps a group of people (Ezek. 13:5) that had been willing to invest time in praying for Israel, the judgment of God would have been held back from the nation, at least for a time.

The tragedy of lost opportunity here impacted an entire nation.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN?
Undoubtedly we all are thinking of our own nations, and the application is evident and enlightening. But I can't help thinking of the Highlands.

The Highlands of Jalisco are in a situation similar to that of Israel in Ezekiel's day. Though they are not, as Israel, His chosen nation, they are nevertheless people for whom Christ died. Their religious leaders have betrayed their people by a system that ignores God's Word and focuses on profit. Their political leaders are, by and large, self-serving. The masses content themselves with religious holidays and seek to placate God with a pittance of their time and attention. Idolatry and rebellion against the Bible and the principles of God are the order of the day.

I believe God is looking for people to stand in the gap for the Jalisco Highlands. And I'm concerned.

I'm concerned for myself and for the believers here. Are we willing to stand in the gap for this region?

I'm concerned for the lost here. Will there be those that stand in the gap for them?

And I'm concerned for you, that this opportunity to be used of God not be lost.

Pray for us, that we will be faithful gap-standers. And pray for the Jalisco Highlands.