Ezekiel 22:1-16

“Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.” (Ezekiel 22:7, NLT)

The LORD told Ezekiel to judge the people of Jerusalem for their detestable sins. They had shed innocent blood and defiled themselves by worshiping idols. They treated their fathers and mothers with contempt, extorted foreigners, and mistreated orphans and widows. They profaned the Sabbath days of rest, falsely accused one another, and committed adultery with their neighbor’s wives. They even raped their own sisters and hired “hitmen” to murder their enemies. All of this happened because they never thought of their covenant-keeping God nor kept His commandments. Therefore, God would humble them before the nations.

Likewise, we are living in a culture where many people have sought to put God out of their minds. They are living for themselves with little or no thought as to what is morally right, let alone thinking about God and His commandments. We expect to see this kind of behavior in the world. But sadly, it is also found in the church. Many Christians spend more time listening to the world and thinking like the world than they spend listening to God and thinking like Him. Many believers follow the inclinations of their own hearts rather than being filled with and led by the Spirit. Their focus is on the opinions of men rather than on the commandments of God. But we will all reap what we sow.

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” (Galatians 6:7–8, NLT)

If we continue to live the way we lived this past week, where will our steps take us? Let us not wait for disaster before crucifying our sinful passions (Galatians 5:24). The Lord is coming soon!