Chapter 14 begins with God saying, “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired at all by them?” (Ezekiel 14:3)
From reading this verse, can we feel God’s jealousy (Exodus 34:14) and how much God yearns for His people’s faithfulness towards Him? The people’s unfaithfulness is described as being persistent (v12) and thus His impending judgment is not without cause (v23). As the consequences of having idols in their hearts and not being faithful to God, God meted out four severe judgments on Jerusalem - the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence (v21).
However, there is also one comforting verse that can be found in this chapter. In verse 11, we can read about the reason why God delivered His judgements. It is because He desires “that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God,”. God could gently call His estranged children back, but when they were stubborn and persistently unfaithful, what next would God do?
Today, God also yearns for our faithfulness towards Him. As we reflect on our daily lives today, what are some of the things that might still occupy our minds even when we are in church attending services? Let us be careful lest these things start to become idols in our hearts. May we ask God to gently remind us about the idols in our lives. On our side, let us not stubbornly remain in our unfaithfulness, lest we also cannot escape His chastisements.
