September 3: Ezekiel 22-23

September 3, Ezekiel 22-23

Ezekiel continued…

Ezekiel 22 Again, Ezekiel is called by God to call out Israel & Judah. They have committed abomination after abomination. They have wronged the widows, fatherless, travelers and everything in between and God was done with it. Their sins had finally caught up to them. They are compared to ravenous wolves who desire dishonest gain. 

Ezekiel 23 Ohalah (Samaria) & Oholibah (Jerusalem) are the women of analogy for Ezekiel. These nations were whores from their youth and gave themselves over and over again. Jerusalem was more corrupt than that of Samaria, but both nations were detestable to God. You can tell from reading this chapter that the sexual promiscuity was rampant and out of control. The people of God tended to look back their youthful years in Egypt and are even more tempted to outlive their sinful lifestyles. Ezekiel does not butter up the message of God - His wrath is on fire adjacent their sinfulness.

To sum it all up: 

• Fight what our culture is telling you about how to be happy. Our culture would most likely say that living like the Israelites was a good life. They did what they wanted to do when they wanted to do it with no sense of grief over their sins. Our God tells us the opposite - we are not to live like the Israelites did! They were abominable before God…
• I know, a lot of this seems redundant and heavy and not so cuddly. Truth is - God will have nothing to do with sin. When we choose sin over Him - that shows where our hearts are. We need to stand up for what is right and fight what is wrong for His name and His sake.