Ezekiel 16

[Gail]

I know that Ezekiel 9 gets a lot of attention, but I was reading Chapter 16 and was wowed. Again I ask, What was so terrible that the nation of Judah did that brought down such condemnation from God? Their idolatry was SO abhorrent to the Heavenly Father. 

We understand that the people passed their children through the fire. They also did the sin of Sodom in neglecting their poor. They were also violent.

Our world today is not so different, is it? Our bad deeds may be done more in the name of humanism but maybe by misrepresenting God they are done to another God.

[Stan]

I wish we had more posts like this,,, THANK YOU GAIL!

[dgrimm60]

GAIL  

yes  we need to  look at  our  motive   of  why  we  believe and what we do in  the  NAME  OF  GOD

dgrimm60

 

[8thdaypriest]

Radical Muslims certainly DO sacrifice their children in the name of Allah.  The LORD will not bear with it much longer.  And unwed drug lords who father a dozen or more children by several mothers, also sacrifice their children to their "god".  On the other hand, affluent parents who spoil their children to win their favor, also "sacrifice" their children.  Just in a different way. 

When we in the affluent USA, neglect the poor (I'm speaking of those truly poor - usually living in 3rd world countries) we also "sacrifice" children to our "god".  

In the West, we "worship" youth, beauty, power, and pleasure.  The plagues of Egypt destroyed their "gods".  Makes me wonder how the LORD will destroy the "gods" of this world. 

[Aliensanctuary]

Like Israel in the days of Ezekiel, we, too, have prostituted ourselves to the gods of the world: stuff, entertainment, "youth, beauty, power, pleasure," property and wealth. Like Israel, we, too, must be separated from our idols so that we can return to serve the LORD. For us, it may be the fires of persecution that will rid us of our idols and return us to true worship. Only when we have nothing will we appreciate that YHVH is all that we need, even if we are starving, freezing, sick, and the knife is at our necks or the gun to our heads.

Like Israel, our religions cannot save us because they are all corrupted by erring, fallible, men and women. If we enter into the Covenant with the LORD, which is a contract of obedience, then we will be safe, maybe not so much in this life, but in the world to come. 

As Christians we are too docile and weak to stand up for YHVH's Kingdom and teach the world how it can be saved from chaos and destruction by the forces of evil. Perhaps it's already too late. Someday Elijah will teach us all about the Kingdom with a power that will shake the Earth.

[Gail]

I would like to study the topic of holiness, that of God's and His people's. I suspect there might be a clue there. I also wonder if there might be a connection with holiness and the uncleanness the Bible talks about. I fear that, again, my view of God might be too small and limited.

[Aliensanctuary]

Seems like holiness would mean maintaining our focus on the Kingdom of God, despite being surrounded by the forces of evil. That's what Christ did, of course. To cultivate holiness we would probably want to get rid of the stuff in our lives that prevent or distract us from it. A-musement actually means, not thinking, or the absence of thinking, which is probably the opposite of what we should be doing. 

I think that if we just sat around reading the Bible during every spare moment we might get burned out, but Bible study needs to be coupled with activities directed at making the lives of others a little better. Jesus was so famous that everyone came looking for him, but we might have to work a little harder. 

I kind of feel that we may not be much better than idolatrous Israel in our worship of the God of Stuff and the Gods of Amusement and Entertainment.