Thursday, September 3
Read Ezekiel 14
Think About It:
God always gives us time to choose what we will set our heart on. It’s important for us to recognize the ‘set of our mind’ (see Romans 8:5-9). He wants us to repent and turn away from every idol, abomination, and the things that separate us from Him. If we play the game that these elders played – asking for a word from God – while having a heart against Him, He will set His face against that man, he will bear his own punishment.
- What did the Lord tell the house of Israel to do? (verse 6)
- What three godly men, if they were in Israel, would only be able to deliver their own souls? (verses 14, 16, 18, 20)
- What four judgments was the Lord going to send on Jerusalem? (verse 21)
Family Time:
- The people of Ezekiel’s day ( especially the leaders) had an outward appearance of being religious. They had many fooled but not God. God’s charge against them is that they had idols in their heart and yet they dared inquire of God. God warned that unless they repented, judgment would come. He also said that He would make sure everyone could see the wickedness on display so “that you shall know I have done nothing without cause.” What does this have to do with you? Discuss with your children and each other anything you have given your heart to other than the Lord. What drives you to get up in the morning? Video games? Golf? Drugs? Friends? A hidden affair? Anything in our heart that captures us, more than God captures us is an idol. Repent! Repent! So that you can be right with God and judgment be averted.
