Samaria and Jerusalem behaved like prostitutes. In graphic language,
the sin of turning from the Lord is compared to sexual immorality. Why
does God expose their sin with such plainness of speech? He wants to
show them the full extent of their rebellion, so that they may see the
folly of continuing in sin and may be moved to return to the Lord -
“Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 23:49).
In
Ezekiel 24, we learn about God’s holiness and His love. If we are to
appreciate the wonderful love God has for sinners, we need to become
more deeply aware of the awesome holiness of God’s hatred of sin. We
look at our sin. We look at God’s holiness. We learn about ourselves. We
see how far we have fallen short of God’s glory. We learn about God. We
come to know that He is the Lord. Deeply aware of God’s holiness and
our own sin, we are led, by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures, to
see Jesus, crucified for us. We hear about God’s holiness. This is the
Word of His judgment upon our sin. This is not, however, the final Word
that He speaks to us. He speaks His Word of love - His Word of
forgiveness, peace and hope.
“Then you will know that I am the
Lord” (Ezekiel 25:4,7,11). “Then they will know that I am the Lord”
(Ezekiel 25:17). God is in control. This is the message of the prophet.
The events on earth express the purpose of God. It is so important that
we do not lose sight of this spiritual dimension. People say,
‘Everything is politics.’ God’s Word tells us, ‘Politics isn’t
everything.’ We must not imagine that we can leave God out of the
reckoning. He will remind us of His presence - “That you may know that I
am the Lord.”
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