Ezekiel 23

Ezekiel 23:11, 35, 39, 49 ESV

"Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister.

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.

" For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house.

And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord God."

Israel and Judah had been called out and rescued by God, blessed, protected and given a special covenant relationship with him. Yet, like sisters who preferred prostitution over marriage, they ran after everyone except God. Judah saw the downfall of her sister Israel, and yet she rushed headlong into even greater despicable corruption than Israel.

Two principles stand out to me in this chapter. First, we have an amazing ability to see the sin in others and ignore it in ourselves. Judah should have learned from the downfall of Israel, but she didn't. How often we can so clearly see the sin and destruction in a brother or sister, but be totally blind to it in our own lives. How often we can see the destruction that sin brings into the lives of a brother or sister, but somehow convince ourselves that won't happen to us.

That brings us to the second principle. Sin brings it's own judgment. In this chapter it was the lovers that the sisters ran after that ended up destroying them. Most often that is true in our lives as well. The very sin that we think will somehow bring us security ends up destroying us. The very sin that we think will somehow make us happy results in brokenness and bondage. The very people or things that we think will somehow make us significant end up trampling us into the dust. Sin brings it's own judgment.

Father, you have poured out your grace and mercy on my life. Today may I walk in that freedom, that joy, that acceptance and stop looking elsewhere for what I already possess in you.

By His grace,
Rick Weinert