Today's Reading:O.T. - Ezekiel 22 - 24
N.T. - 2 Timothy 2
Focus Verses: Ezekiel 23:35-41
35 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you have forgotten me and thrust me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution." 36 The LORD said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices 37 for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them. 38 They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths. 39 On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house. 40 "They even sent messengers for men who came from far away, and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, painted your eyes and put on your jewelry. 41 You sat on an elegant couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and oil that belonged to me."
Insight:
Ezekiel uses the shocking and graphic metaphors of adultery and prostitution to describe the behavior of Samaria (the northern tribes of Israel) and Judah (the southern tribes). Even when they entered the Temple to "worship" God, they were coming from being fully engaged in pagan worship, sexuality, and idolatry. They acted as though God was just one of many gods, and that the Temple was just one of many religious sites.
Response and Action:
God calls his people to be faithful to him. No amount of going to church, saying religious words, singing worship songs, or making claims of belief can make up for unfaithfulness. I need to be faithful to God and be on guard against duplicity. I must not allow myself to be comfortable with disconnects between my behavior and my belief--saying one thing but do another, claiming to follow God while going my own way and chasing after other things. God will not settle for being part of my life, he demands all of me.
O God, help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help me to honor you and to allow nothing else to rival my reverence and faithfulness to you. Save me from hypocrisy and duplicity. Give me a single-minded allegiance to you. Forgive me for my sins and failures, and save me by your grace. Lift me up, show me your ways, and give me the wisdom and the will to walk in them. Give me a mind that is quick to obey, and a heart that delights in you. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Proverbs: 29:6
"An evil man is snared by his own sin, but a righteous one can sing and be glad."
Resources:
Breaking the Idols of Your Heart
by Dan B. Allender
