Read Ezekiel 23:22-35
God’s message continues using the same sister metaphor, but God singles out Oholibah (Jerusalem). The judgment coming just for her is spelled out in these verses. It won’t be pretty. If they survive the attack, these people will notice something has just rocked their world. God wants them to be sure to know it was Him.
All this destruction could have been avoided. The LORD told them, “You brought all this on yourself by prostituting yourself to other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols.” It’s no accident that we have a recorded account of God’s fury against his people. We can lament for the people in their disobedient ignorance.
It’s easy for us to sit on this side of history and cast our judgment on Jerusalem. All the messages we read of how they’ve fallen away, were always rebellious, and such may lead us to believe we’re so much better than that. We would never be so blind!
And yet, we are human, and sin has been a problem for humans from the beginning. We are far from perfect. I’m not sure what goes wrong in our brains. Sometimes sinning feels like “default” thing to do.
God made it clear that all sinful behavior has a consequence. God is not going to shield us from those consequences. He said, “You must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution.” Jerusalem was being singled out, and their example should give us plenty to learn from. The punishment sounds horrible. I definitely want to avoid that!
The good news is Jesus has paid the price for our sins. I love the promise we have in Romans 5:15 which says, “But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”
Don’t get lost in all the details of the destruction caused as a result of sin. Rest in the hope and assurance we have in Jesus Christ. His work on the cross demonstrates the love God has for us, not his fury.
Let’s pray. LORD, I thank you for sending Jesus to rescue us and bring me home to you. You knew exactly what we would need and when we would need it. Forgive me for my rebellious behavior. Help me to do better each day. I want to reflect your grace and mercy and be a testament to those who don’t know you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
