EZEKIEL 8:7-13 – “And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. And he said to me, “Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ He said also to me, ‘You will see still greater abominations that they commit.’”
THEME OF THE DAY: THERE ARE NO PRIVATE LIVES. What we read in the scripture of the day is sad and alarming. The sadness is seeing the conduct of God’s people towards Him. They are idolaters. They are committing spiritual adultery against the One true God who has showered them with undeserved and bountiful blessings. What then unfolds is the righteous anger of the Lord against them, but also, we sense the grief in His heart. Before we move into the alarming part of today’s scripture, pause, and reflect. We may be just as guilty of idolatry and spiritual adultery against the Lord. Anything or anyone that replaces the Lord as the center of our affections and single compass directing our lives is idolatry making us spiritual adulterers. Now the alarming part . . .
The alarming part of the conduct of God’s people is two-fold. First, they knew better, and next, they were self-deceived to think God was ignorant of their conduct. Here are the exact words from the Lord to Ezekiel – “Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land’”. They forgot, or chose not to remember, the omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipresent (all-present) qualities in their God, and the Lord would severely discipline them for such disrespectful and blatant conduct. The whole sad and alarming account reminds us of the truth in the fourth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews – “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).
Application for us? Be on guard. Be watchful. There is never a private conversation. God hears our talk about other people. There is never a private scrolling through social media. God sees every page or post we observe or write. There is never a private viewing of websites or movies. God watches every page and movie we put before our eyes. By the way, if the criteria for our entertainment, whatever the form, is, “It isn’t that bad. The language isn’t that bad”, then we have already compromised biblical truth and God’s call for us to pursue holiness.
One of the most effective disciplines for spiritual protection and growth is to live in the conscious awareness of God’s Presence – always. There are no private lives. This isn’t to make us afraid but wise; wise in watchful thinking, leading to watchful living. To do so is to ensure we are not ensnared by spiritual idolatry leading to being a spiritual adulterer against our glorious and wonderful Lord.
PRAYER: Father, impress upon me the truth of Your always present presence in my life.
REFLECTION: Learning to live in the Presence of God, felt and unfelt, is essential to a life of worldly separation and holiness.