READING: Ezekiel 5-8
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: I often think about my own anguish when I sin, particularly when conviction and guilt consume me. I grieve not only the wrong, but also the reality that I sometimes turn to the same wrong over and over again. Holy Spirit pounding is real.
In Ezekiel 5-8, the idolatry of Israel is again evident. A jealous God would “exhaust” His wrath on them (Ezek. 5:13, 6:12, 7:8), thus showing the foolishness of their idolatry and the holiness of the one true God. Yahweh had spoken, and the people would know that He is God (Ezek. 6:7, 6:10, 6:14, 7:4, 7:9,
What grips me, though, is this righteous God’s response to the sin of His people:
Ezek. 6:9 Then your survivors will remember Me among the nations where they are taken captive, how I was crushed by their promiscuous hearts that turned away from Me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols.
The sin of His people crushed God (He was "hurt by" [NASB]; “broken over” [ESV]; “grieved by” [NIV] their wrong) ; that is, God is not unaffected by our sin. How must it bring grief when we choose to reject Him for idols that simply cannot compare to Him. As one writer said, “The God who judges is the God who weeps.”
This image of my sin crushing God ought to be enough to cause me to say “no” when temptation occurs. I do not want to grieve the One whose Son has already borne the penalty for my sin.
PRAYER: “God, forgive me. Please just forgive me.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezekiel 9-12