April 28, Ezekiel 14
"Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? - Ezekiel 14:3
A cruel adolescent might trip an unsuspecting classmate to get a laugh from his immature friends who still think it's funny to embarrass and hurt others. A person in a fight might trip his opponent, causing the other person to fall in the struggle. (The same thing happens in athletic competition sometimes, but it's probably against the rules in that setting.) We may sometimes trip ourselves through clumsiness or carelessness. But what rational person would ever intentionally trip himself?
These elders of Israel who came to Ezekiel were hypocrites. They were guilty of worshiping idols. They despised God's law and rejected God's message to them through the prophets. But they came seeking counsel from Ezekiel, the Lord's prophet. God was not deceived. He knew their hearts and the secret things they did. He asked Ezekiel if he should answer them,
since they had taken the idols into their hearts, and set a stumbling block of iniquity before their own faces. God said he would indeed answer them, but not to satisfy their curiosity. His answer would be in the form of action designed to break the idols’ hold on his estranged people and draw them back to him. Even at this late date, God still wanted the rebels to repent and return. He wanted to restore them, but it would require some tough love discipline to break them free from their idols.
The time for gentle persuasion and encouragement had passed. It would not be easy to bring them back. Their faithlessness and disobedience had escalated to a point where God in his wisdom knew he would have to raise a punishing hand to the erring ones. These people were in love with their idols, not with God. They were spiritual adulterers. They were so hardened in their sinful idolatry that God said even Noah, Daniel and Job could not deliver them from their wicked ways. Noah was a righteous man who found favor in God's sight when the world around him had grown exceedingly wicked. God saved him and his family from the flood, but he did not persuade any others during the century of warning. Daniel was a brave young man who lived by the courage of his convictions. He taught a Babylonian pagan king by his fearless devotion and trust in God. And poor Job maintained his integrity after stunning loss and suffering, but was not able to save his own sons and daughters. Those righteous men, God said, would not be able to deliver the apostate Israelites back to God from their fallen state.
The four agents of God's wrath (famine, wild beasts, the sword and pestilence) were coming to answer the hypocrites' inquiry. Ezekiel couldn't change them, and God was determined to act against them. But God told Ezekiel there would be some survivors, a remnant, so to speak. But this is not the faithful remnant mentioned so often in the prophets' words. This remnant of the ungodly people who would survive would at last join the captives, but still be unchanged. As they lived among the exiles, their ungodly behavior would be a reminder to the rest of the nation about why the severe discipline against them was necessary. They would understand that God was just and the judgment was deserved.
God said these people put a stumbling block in their own path by practicing idolatry. We usually think of stumbling blocks in terms of influence, and how our bad influence on others may cause them to stumble. But these folks were tripping themselves. They loved their idols, and that love led them to their own downfall.
Will we learn that lesson about anything or anyone in our hearts that is getting our devotion and love instead of God? Will we realize that we are tripping ourselves when we turn to any idol and love it in our hearts with a love that should be God's alone? If we are so foolish as to do that, we may find ourselves in a place where no one is able to help us return to God. May God have mercy and restrain us from going there. But may we be wise enough to realize what we're doing that threatens to trip us up and make us fall away from the Lord!
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—April 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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