Ezekiel 8

“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’’” (Ezekiel 8:12, NKJV)

The LORD took Ezekiel in a vision from Babylon to Jerusalem. He was told to go into the court of the temple and to dig a hole in the wall. There he saw every sort of wicked abomination that the men were committing in darkness. And these were the elders of the house of Israel! This was figurative for what the spiritual leaders were doing in their hearts. Rather than being loyal to the LORD, they were committing spiritual adultery with idols and provoking God to jealousy.

God sees the things we do in secret. He hears what we whisper behind closed doors. Jesus told His disciples:

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 12:1–3, NKJV)

Hypocrisy is a leaven that quicky spreads through a life and through the church. It begins the moment we think we can say or do something in secret, and no one will know. But God sees all.

“There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13, NKJV)

This calls us to self-examination and godly fear. Having integrity means doing the right thing when no one is looking. Warren Buffet advises people that before they make any decision to imagine how they would feel reading about it in tomorrow’s newspaper.

After the affair with Bathsheba, David wrote:

“Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” (Psalm 51:6, NKJV)

“Heavenly Father, how we need you to search our hearts! Reveal to us the hidden things of shame and help us to renounce them. Give us the wisdom to walk in the light as you are in the light. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”