Friday, July 15, 2016

SHUT OFF



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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“In the seventh year, in the fifth month on the tenth day, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.”

“Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

“Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors.”

“Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me: When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings. Then I said to them: What is this high place you go to?’” (It is called Bamah to this day.)”

“Therefore say to the Israelites: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images? When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.”

Ezekiel 20:1-4, 27-31

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What can happen if we choose to shut God out of our lives?

We find out in today’s devotion as we move to studying the 20th Chapter of the Book of Ezekiel. Look again at these words:

“In the seventh year, in the fifth month on the tenth day, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.”

“Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

“Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors.”

“Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me: When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings. Then I said to them: What is this high place you go to?’” (It is called Bamah to this day.)”

“Therefore say to the Israelites: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images? When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.”  Ezekiel 20:1-4, 27-31

As Ezekiel 20 opens, we find Ezekiel being approached by “some of the elders of Israel” who came to the prophet to “inquire of the Lord”. As they sat down before him, we find God priming His messenger with words to say. For He knew already that the elders were going to ask to speak to Him and God had no interest in listening.

Why was this? Why was God rejecting His elders? Weren’t they the senior members of His temple, the men who possessed the greatest wisdom when it came to matters pertaining to Him?

They were supposed to be but as we know from earlier scriptures in this book, they (the elders) had turned away from God and engaged in idolatry, even going as far as conducting pagan worship ceremonies in God’s temple. They had shut off God from their spiritual lives but now were coming to Him, as if God were a God of mere convenience, there for them at their beckoning call.

And so God, was less than pleased to see the elders coming to Him and made it clear right up front that He wanted nothing to do with them, sending the following message through Ezekiel:

“As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

God then goes on to show us that the Israelites of Ezekiel’s day were no less sinful then their ancestors had been. Rather than learn from the mistakes of the past, they simply repeated them.

How had the Israelite ancestors sinned against God in their day?

God tells us in the following verses:

“In this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me: When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings. Then I said to them: What is this high place you go to?’” (It is called Bamah to this day.)”

Indeed, spiritual infidelity had occurred before within God’s people who gave their devotion to false gods, performing various sacrifices unto them. They had no more regard for God’s commands to have no other gods before Him than the generation of Israelites at the center of our study in Ezekiel who were lusting after vile images and even going as far as offering up their own children, surrendering young life for dead gods.

Yes, the Israelites, past and present, had defiled themselves and sinned against God in the ways that He called detestable. They had abandoned Him, disrespecting and disregarding Him in the worst ways possible. And then they had the nerve to approach Him as if nothing had ever happened, like there was no consequence for their wickedness.

Well, as we know, there were consequences, severe ones that ranged far beyond God simply shunning a group of His elders. For God brought an insurmountable force in the Babylonian army who ran roughshod over Judah and Jerusalem, leaving the kingdom and city in ruins before hauling the people away into a seventy-year exile. If the Israelites wanted to live apart from God spiritually, they would get to experience what it felt like to be abandoned themselves.

Friends, the Lord is sending a strong message to all believers today, not just the elders of Israel in today’s scripture. For He is not going to tolerate anyone who chooses to willingly and willfully shut Him off from their lives.

If we decide to go that route, we might just find God shutting us off in return.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark

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