Text: Ezekiel 23:1-40
“Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths. For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house” (verses 38-39, ESV). How God’s people could sink to this low level of wickedness and defilement is difficult to understand. But is it true? When people walk away from a loving relationship with their God, anything is possible. How shocking and alarming it is to hear in our own time, stories of child sacrifice and abuse. This is the incredible warning to us from this chapter. When we fail to honor our covenant relationship with God, we are capable of coming down so low as to behave like any other people. People will say all the right things and tithe on a Sunday, and then spend time with the witchdoctor on Monday. How is it possible that we can be so hypocritical and double minded?
The human heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, and it is hard to know the depths of our true nature. We must pray that the Lord exposes our wicked hearts to us, and allows us the grace of repentance so that we will fully seek Him. We must all seek revival and spiritual change, for if we do not aggressively pursue Christ, then we will become spiritually lazy and destroy ourselves. This is the Spiritual battle that we all must face. Pray today that the Lord will equip you for spiritual warfare!
Meditate on verses 38-39. What is God telling you in these verses? How are you going to respond to them?
My heavenly Father in heaven, I pray and come against the spirit of backsliding in Your church. Father, grant me a cleansed heart as I engage in the spiritual battles of this world. In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I have prayed. Amen