Date: 08-31-2020

Title: A Warning

(S) cripture:
    Ezekiel 16:45-51 (NASB) “You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 “Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. 47 “Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they. 48 “As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. 50 “Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it. 51 “Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. Thus you have made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations which you have committed.

(O) bservation:
    In describing an unfaithful Jerusalem the prophet has given us a warning that needs to be heeded. In this allegory the Lord has described how he took Jerusalem from nothing and made her great and then how she abused this greatness by prostituting herself with other nations. The prophet then compares Jerusalem to others she despised and said that Jerusalem was worse than the other two. Judgment would come but God would also keep his covenant. The judgment would be harsh but there was a note of redemption in that the covenant would be kept.

(A) pplication:
    In the American church we have become lax and soft on sin. In many places we have so watered down the gospel that it does not come close to being what Jesus taught. We have emphasized the love of God to the point that we have removed his wrath. This passage reminds me that the wrath of God is still a reality and we ignore it at our peril. Have we become like Sodom, “arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me.” I am afraid that this is more true than we want to think. When our commitment to follow Jesus is simply one of many commitments in our lives we are on this road. How often do I think I am better than someone else because I am a Christian or I see a person in need and do nothing about it because they don’t deserve any better? I wonder if I prostitute my time with things that dishonor God. Today’s reading was a sobering reading because it again reminded me that God’s wrath is still a reality and people are going to be on the receiving end of it apart from knowing Jesus and following Him. Today I choose to follow the Lord.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, order my steps so that I walk in your ways and not my own. Grant me the strength to be faithful and true to you and your word today. Let me share what I know with others so that they might not be consumed by your wrath. Amen