10/22/2007
Ezekiel 24:21 (HCSB)
21‘Say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Also, the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.
Just prior to this passage, Ezekiel’s wife died. God told Ezekiel this would happen and instructed Ezekiel not to mourn for her openly. In that day, mourning was always a public spectacle. So, for Ezekiel not to mourn publicly was cause for those around him to inquire. This gave him the opportunity to tell them how the temple would fall.
To this point, Ezekiel had been prophesying that Jerusalem would fall, at this time, Jerusalem was being overrun and the temple desecration was imminent.
What is noteworthy is the correlation God makes between Ezekiel’s wife and the Temple. God refers to the temple as “the delight of your eyes,” to the Israelites. They did indeed take pride in their temple, yet they did not regard it as holy. It was more of an artistic relic to them. And when the temple fell, they did not mourn for the loss as one would have expected.
What should have been one of the greatest of losses for them, passed with little regard.
Are we like that? Do we consider our relationship with God so casual that if it were to be removed, we would hardly mourn it’s passing? Do we adorn our churches with wonderful décor and take pride in the building but neglect the One for whom it is erected?
I think too many times we look on our churches as the object of our faith. We attend regularly; even contribute to the coffers of the church. But when we walk out, we give no further thought to why we go to church. When we arrive, we leave our coats at the door. When we leave, we leave our religious obligations at the door. Of course, God has promised never to leave us, but we can pull away from Him so far that the relationship is effectively broken. Israel did this, have you?
Let us not fall into the sin of looking upon our relationship with God as anything less than our most prized possession.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2007 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
Terms of Usage: This devotional may be copied or forwarded for personal use without permission, but must include the author, publisher, web link, and copyright notice. Use in another published work must obtain permission first.