Read Ezekiel 14
Idolaters Condemned
14 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry. 5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’
6 “Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lordsays: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!
7 “‘When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself. 8 I will set my face against them and make them an example and a byword. I will remove them from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
9 “‘And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the Lord have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 10 They will bear their guilt—the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him. 11 Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Jerusalem’s Judgment Inescapable
12 The word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its people and their animals, 14 even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 “Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts, 16 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.
17 “Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its people and their animals, 18 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.
19 “Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath on it through bloodshed, killing its people and their animals, 20 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.
21 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals! 22 Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. 23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Go Deeper
In Ezekiel 14 some of the leaders of Israel have come before God wanting to present themselves as holy, but God sees the idolatry in their hearts. They are like whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27). They have the appearance of righteousness but are idol worshippers whose hearts are far from God. God reveals to the prophet Ezekiel that, although they don’t deserve an answer from Him, God will answer still. Why does God do this? Verse 5 tells us, “I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.” God’s desire is for the hearts of His people to be turned toward Him. His motive is always love because He is love (1 John 4:8). In His holiness, He is perfectly love all of the time. A red marker is red and cannot be anything other than red; it cannot be blue, purple, or yellow. Its identity is red, so what it does is draw red. In a similar way, what God does is love His people because His identity is love.
While God’s answer to the Israelites is out of love, His answer is probably not what the elders or the people of Israel are hoping to hear. God’s holiness demands judgment for their rebellion, so He responds to the idolatry in Israel with a warning of coming judgment. In His love, God’s judgment is also to turn the Israelites back to Him.
Out of God’s love for His people, He made a plan that ultimately leads to the eternal payment for sin and idolatry. That payment is Jesus’ blood on the cross – God himself took on the judgment for our sin, paying what we could not pay, so that we can be free to walk with God. Let’s use our freedom to cast off the sin and idolatry that grasps for our hearts and for our attention and turn our hearts to the God who is love, and who made a way for us to have full and abundant life with Him. We can trust Him because He is holy, good, and is always love towards us.
Questions
- Judgment on Israel allowed them to be fully aware of the cost of their sin. Where have you been able to see the cost of your sin? Have you repented of that sin and trusted Jesus’ payment on the cross to give you eternal life with God?
- Where has it been easy to see God’s love in your life? Where has it been difficult to see? Pray that God would open your eyes to see and know His love toward you today.
- Where are you prone to living like a “whitewashed tomb” in an attempt to be perceived a certain way? Ask God to reveal it to you and to help you walk in authentic relationship with Him.
Keep Digging
Read this article by Oswald Chambers to spend more time thinking about God’s judgment and salvation.
2 thoughts on “Ezekiel 14”
Where have we set up detestable idols in our hearts, embraced loathsome practices and rejected holy God? What do we habitually pursue other than God? Pleasure, comfort, wealth, status, acceptance and so many other things steal our affections for God. Scripture makes it clear we cannot serve both ourselves and God, because worldly desires will weaken or replace our devotion to God every single time. Just as with the Israelites in Ezekiel’s day, God will pass judgement on us. I wonder if ours will be harsher because we have ignored or treated casually the sacrifice of Christ who died to take away the sins of the world that we might be saved.
YOU. There is no other person on this earth that can change things in your life but YOU. Only you can truly accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life. Only you can truly know if you are repentant. Oh, you can say and do all kinds of ways BUT GOD knows and you know the truth. 2 Tim 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.(esv) I have days when I feel like God is so very close and other days where I wonder where He is. Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. He is only as far away as your Bible. Those idols Ezekiel is talking about, we get the privilege of having God’s word in our hands in all sorts of fashion, but so very accessible to turn to instead of that idol. YOU have to make the turn, the decision to find God in the midst of it all. It is not about any other person on this earth, what they say, how they act, but it is between you and God the choice you make and your eternity.
God thank You for freedom of will, it is a blessing and a curse at times. Thank You for Your HESED love, unfailing, faithful, steadfast, loyal, covant, undeserved, compassionate, enduring, reliable, completely complete, cherished, everlasting, no limits, flowing out of eternity, abounding, magnificent, beyond comprehension love. God thank You for helping me understand to the best of my ability more about You. Thank You for me not treating You casually or ignoring You in any situation in my life. Thank You for helping me to show others who You are by my fruit in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!