WHAT GETS YOU IN TROUBLE WITH GOD (PART 9)

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In Christ, Mark

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

“In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion.”

Ezekiel 22:12a

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

For the last eight days, we have been taking an in depth look at a list of charges God levied against His people, charges that got them in trouble with Him, charges that resulted in His judgment. Today, we look at the final devotion in this series but not before a quick recap of the sins already documented in Ezekiel 22. They included:

Murder.

Showing contempt toward parents.

Mistreating foreigners, orphans, and widows.

Despising the Lord’s holy things.

Desecrating the Sabbath.

Slandering others.

Worshiping false gods and idols.

Committing wicked sexual sins.

As we look at this list, it’s easy to see why God was so angry with His people. They had asked for Him to send His punishment upon them through their actions but as we see in today’s final devotion in this series, there was one more indictment to add to the docket. Look at today’s scripture here:

“In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion.” Ezekiel 22:12a  NKJV

In these statements, we find money at the root of the evil being done by the Israelites. Let’s break down each of their transgressions and take a closer look at what was going on.

NOTE: Looking at other translations of this verse can help us gain a richer understanding about what was happening. We’ll do just that as we look at the different parts of this verse.

1. “In you they take bribes to shed blood.”

Others of you accept money to murder someone. CEV

Some of your people murder for pay. GNT

The people in you take money to kill others. NCV

It was bad enough that people were committing murder within the walls of Jerusalem, already a violation of one of God’s most fundamental commandments, but there were people killing others for profit. And the fact that this is even in the scriptures shows us that hiring others to shed blood must have been prevalent in the Israelite culture.

2. “In you they take usury and increase.”

“Your own people charge high interest when making a loan to other Israelites.” CEV

“Some charge interest on the loans they make to other Israelites.” GNT

“You take interest and profit on a loan. HCSB

“You take unfair interest and profits.” NCV

God had given His people the following command regarding the matter of loans and interest:

Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. Deuteronomy 23:19

And yet, as we see in our scripture verse, the Israelites chose to disobey this command as they had so many others. They had made loans to their peers and charged exorbitant interest, lending for a profit, and this was clearly a sin in the sight of God.

3.  “You have made profit from your neighbors by extortion.”

They get rich by cheating. CEV

Some get rich by taking advantage of them (other Israelites). GNT

You make gain of your neighbors by extortion. NRSV

How greedy were some of the Israelites?

So greedy that they even resorted to extorting money from their neighbors. A quick look at the definition of extortion renders the following:

The crime of getting money from someone by the use of force or threats

It was obvious that if the Israelites couldn’t obtain money legitimately, they would do it illicitly, even against a neighbor, with no regard to how wicked they behavior was.

Fast forward to present times and look at how many crimes are committed today because of someone’s quest for money, money that no one can take with them when this earthly life is over. It’s little wonder why the word of God in 1Timothy tells us this:

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. 1 Timothy 6:10a

If we’re not careful, we can get sucked into sin by our pursuit of monetary gain. We hear about this happening all the time. So how can we ensure we don’t fall victim to this kind of sin? The answer comes from the teaching of Jesus as we close today’s devotion with His words and aspire to follow them in the way we live:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  Matthew 6:19-21, 24

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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