Ezekiel 30:9 - Homiletics

The careless Ethiopians.

These people who were heedless of the coming danger that threatened them in common with great Egypt may serve as a type of the careless generally.

I. THE PREVALENCE OF CARELESSNESS . These "careless Ethiopians" are not rare specimens of an obscure class. We have not to go to Africa, nor to antiquity, for the like of them. The genus to which they belong is far from extinct even in this age of anxiety and energy. Note the various forms which carelessness takes.

1. In regard to danger. This was the condition of the easy-going Ethiopians. They would not consider the approaching danger of the Chaldean invasion. Men will not see risks to health till they suddenly break down; then they discover them, perhaps, too late. Soul-danger is ignored by thoughtless sinners.

2. In respect to guilt . The pilgrim felt the weight of his burden, but most of the inhabitants of the City of Destruction seem to have had no thought of their sins. Many men sin recklessly. They add up the score of guilt without a thought.

3. In reference to duty . Multitudes live as though they were only to be expected to please themselves. The sacred word "duty" has no meaning for them. They may be very anxious about their business and what will be profitable, but they are quite careless as to what they ought to do.

4. In connection with other men . Dives is careless as to the condition of Lazarus. The Church is too negligent of the state of the heathen world. In great cities people think little of their next-door neighbors. It is possible to starve in a land of plenty, and for no one to give heed till too late.

5. In relation to God . He is our Father and Master, and it is our first duty and our highest interest to regard his will. Yet many act as if he did not exist. They care neither for his love nor for his wrath.

II. THE EVIL OF CARELESSNESS . The "careless Ethiopians" are to share in the great deluge of general calamities that is about to sweep over the nations. Their carelessness does not protect them. Carelessness is evil on many accounts.

1. Because of its folly . This is more than childish. It is the stultification of mind. Man is made in the image of God, a thinking being. To renounce thought is to abdicate the throne of supremacy over the lower creation.

2. Because of its negligence . This carelessness is willful. It springs from an idle refusal to take the trouble of thinking, or from an insane infatuation with superficial interests. It is our duty to consider our ways, to consider the poor, and to remember our Creator. Negligence is sin.

3. Because of its danger . The danger is not in any degree lessened because we decline to consider it. The recklessness of an engine-driver about red lights does not annihilate obstructions on the line. The wages of sin will be paid punctually and to the full, whether we expect the day of recompense or never anticipate it.

Observe, in conclusion, that there is a way of being saved from care. This is not to be found in carelessness, however. We can quench worldly care with trust. Other anxieties may be softened and ultimately abolished when we seriously set ourselves to seeking God's favor and doing his will.