I Could Have Told You So

Ezekiel 33:29

“Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

You never like to hear it. It always comes with some disdain, like if you could rewind the clock, you would. There you stand, and whatever you had planned has failed, and here it comes: “I could have told you so.” That ugly little phrase from a friend or someone in the group. You never hear it before everything goes south; it always comes after there’s blood in the water and you look like a doo-maus. It’s only then that you wish you could have told yourself so and avoided all this mess.

You cannot read Ezekiel without reading the phrase “Then they will know that I am the Lord.” We hear it all throughout the book. It only comes after a prophesied shake-up upon a people group. Whether it’s the land becoming a wasteland or a place where only sheep and goats graze, it never comes after something good.

You also see this phrase repeated when the Lord is enacting judgment upon Israel’s enemies, the same people who have been a thorn in Israel’s side, like the Moabites, Edom, Tyre, and Ammon. These groups of people lived as next-door neighbors to Israel. They served as a distraction to the Lord’s people, the very source of pagan gods and unholy practices. Most of this started because they were not completely erased from the map when the Israelites settled the Promised Land. You can call them the past issues you never dealt with.

These same past issues the Israelites never dealt with seemed to plague them throughout time. From Baal to Molek to Asherah poles, they were never completely dealt with. Ezekiel is in Babylon, prophesying to the Lord’s people, and that is when we read the phrase “Then they will know that I am the Lord.” They were in a place that was not home. They were there because of the sinful decisions they repeated over a long time. Worse yet, this phrase is not only repeated after the judgment of Israel’s enemies, it’s also repeated after punishment from God upon Israel. We never get to read the after story of whether or not they knew that it was the Lord. Truthfully, I would rather not be those people.

“Then they will know that I am the Lord” is not something you want to hear. You may be in a spot right now, and it feels like you should have heard this phrase. Remember “I could have told you so?” Sometimes we are blind to the mess to come, or the mess we are creating. It only gets real when we are the ones affected. Today is your day to hear the call. The Lord is saying, “Then you will know that I am the Lord.” And if you don’t change your ways, you will wreck, and when that happens, you could have told yourself so.

Just stop! Stop the senseless rebellion against the Lord. You know you’re in the middle of it. You won’t be able to hide for much longer. When the rottenness inside begins to spill out, it won’t be rosy anymore, and you won’t be able to cover it all up.

I have good news. The Lord can redeem you from all of this. Get on your knees and repent, and tell the Lord, “You told me so.” Tell Him, “I want to give my life and this mess to You today, and never go back.”

Prayer: Father, today I commit my life to You. I am a sinner, and I cannot do this life anymore. I cast all my crowns and failures at Your feet as I commit my life to You. I want to be a person on fire for You and Your will. I commit to reading Your Word and praying to You every day. When life hits me, I will rest in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.