WHAT GETS YOU IN TROUBLE WITH GOD (PART 8)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.”

Ezekiel 22:10-11

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

Today’s devotion is centered on a topic which is usually considered taboo to talk about, especially in Christian circles. That topic is sex.

Now, let me start by saying that the Lord never intended sex to be something ugly or sinful. In fact, He designed men and women to have sexual relations after marriage, not just to procreate but to consummate their love for one another in a special way, a way that was reserved for them and them alone.

But something went very wrong with God’s original designs for sex. For just as any other good and perfect thing that God designed, it could be turned sinful by the inclinations of mankind and as we will see in today’s devotion, corrupting something God intended for good and moving it toward wickedness is a sure way to get in trouble with God. Look again at today’s scripture verses:

“In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.”  Ezekiel 22:10-11

These words of God form a ledger of illicit and despicable sexual sins committed by the Israelites, willfully and willingly in His sight. They included:

1. Sons having affairs with their own mother, dishonoring their father’s bed.

In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed. NIV

Men within you have sexual intercourse with their father’s wife. HCSB

2. Men forced women to have sex with them during their menstrual period, a time when they were deemed unclean.

God’s command was as follows:

“Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.” Leviticus 18:19

And yet some of the Israelite men did the following:

In you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. NIV

Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating. NLT

3. Men had sexual relations with their neighbor’s wives.

God commanded:

“You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14

Yet, some Israelite men chose to not comply:

Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives. NLT

4. Men had sex with their daughter in laws or even their sisters.

“Another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.” 

Through this litany of sexual transgressions, we find two things forming a common thread.

First, the Israelite men allowed lust to dominate them. There was no decency in the way these men conducted themselves. They wanted sex and it didn’t matter who they had it with. It was all about them fulfilling their desires with no regard to who they had to use to satisfy those desires.

This is due in part to the second thing that played a prominent role in these sinful sexual behaviors. For first and foremost, the Israelite men who committed these transgressions had no regard for God. If they had, they wouldn't have even thought about violating His commands and the women they lusted after.

You see, we get into trouble with God most often when we push aside His will and way to pursue our own. This was the problem with the Old Testament Israelite men in today’s devotion and it continues with many men (and women for that matter) here in the 21st century. For when it comes to the matter of sexual relations, many people are not turning first to the Lord to ensure that their actions are right and righteous in His sight. Instead, they allow their lusting to take over and that will always lead you to a place of opposition with God.

The Israelites ended up losing their homeland and then their freedom for seventy years as a result of their sins and blatant disregard and disobedience toward God. None of that brought them any pleasure, trust me, and we had better pay attention to what happened because we’re going down the same path of sexual immorality and promiscuity today, a sexual immorality and promiscuity that is only going to get us in trouble with God.

And who knows what the consequences will be this time and in this day.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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