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Ezekiel 14 (ESV)

1 Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? 4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, 5 that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

REFLECTION:

These are the second group of elders who came to ask Ezekiel. Unlike the first group, they seek God on the surface, but they have already “taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces” (v.3), so they have been far away from the true God. For them, as long as they can predict the future and gain benefits, there is no difference between the true God and false gods. Therefore, God condemns them on worshipping idols in their hearts and dare to come to the true prophets for advice. They worship God on the surface and often go to the temple to offer sacrifices, but they have no sincerity in their hearts. In today’s so-called post-modern era, the pluralism of beliefs prevails in the world, and many people who profess to believe in the Lord have also received various false gods into their hearts. They are double-minded, serving God “fervently” on the one hand, while chasing fame and fortune enthusiastically on the other. People may not be able to see it, but God clearly sees the filth in their hearts, as Isaiah says: “this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13). We should be vigilant not to let ourselves be such a person. In fact, each of us has a favorite person or thing in his mind, so we all have the possibility of idolatry. Ask God to have mercy on us and not let the object of our love replace or weaken our loyalty to God.

PRAYER:

Come to God quietly and ask God to enlighten you so that you can see which things you love in your heart have replaced or weakened God’s position in your heart and become your “stumbling block of your iniquity”; confess your sins to God and ask God to remove these stumbling blocks and strengthen your faith so that you can truly receive God into your heart and be faithful to God in your daily life.

HYMN:

There Is None Like You – youtu.be/EP0Wwn53ZgI