Reading: Ezekiel 5-9
And He put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of The image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy (Ezek. 8:3).
In the vision in today’s reading, God leads Ezekiel into the Temple so that he might bear witness to the abominations within its sacred walls. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up (Ezek. 8:10-11). Ezekiel was profoundly disturbed by all that he saw. And He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east (8:16). God’s House had been profaned. In direct contradiction to His Commandments, the people had decided to worship Him as one god amongst many gods, and, in so doing, they had shut off their connection to Him.
Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them (8:18). When we turn away from God and embrace our sin, we create a barrier that makes it impossible for us to come into the presence of God. Our highest privilege is to magnify God’s Word and live in His presence. Conversely, to be deprived of His holy presence is a fearful thing. God’s love and longsuffering are such that He becomes still and silent only when there is persistent, willful rejection of His Word. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (John 3:20).
The Israelites did not cease to acknowledge the Lord as their God above all gods, but they added the worship of various abominable idols to their daily life in addition to Him. By doing so, they broke His commandments and profaned the Temple. Similarly, many today acknowledge God as sovereign in name only. We call ourselves Christians, believe all the fundamental doctrines of the faith, attend religious services regularly, and go through the proper motions because we feel it is our sacred duty, yet, even with all of that, we never manage to worship Him and Him alone. Our hearts and thoughts are frequently elsewhere, even during worship services. God has repeatedly warned us that He is a jealous God (Ex. 20:5) and will never allow Himself to be considered ‘one among many.’ Believing in God is not enough; we must accept Him as our only Lord and allow Him to become the sole Master of our lives. Only then will we live under grace, within His presence and His will.
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).
Thought for Today: Accepting the existence of God under the guise of “being open-minded” is faithless and uninformed; true belief is rooted in His Word and His work.
Christ Portrayed: By the man clothed in linen (Ezek. 9:2-11) who represents Christ as High Priest, marking His people to be spared from the flaming sword of vengeance. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast (firmly) our profession (confession) (Heb. 4:14; also Rev. 7:2-3).
Word Studies:5:16 staff = supply; 6:4 images = idols; 7:26 ancients = aged; 8:12 chambers of his imagery = shrine of his own carved idol.
Pray For Staff: Gilbert Palafox • Government Officials: Rep. John Rutherford (FL) • Country: Belarus (9,608,058) Northeastern Europe • Major languages: Belarussian, Russian • Restricted Religious Freedom • 80% Eastern Orthodox; 20% Other (Roman Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Muslim, Hare Krishna, Bahai) • Prayer Suggestion: Confess your sins and ask the Lord to restore the joy of your salvation (Ps. 51:1-3,12).
Optional Readings: Revelation 7