"Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, and have not even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again.
This is the Word of the LORD, God, the Almighty against His chosen people and repeated several times by Ezekiel with minor variations in the course of this book. Keep in mind that he is commenting on about a millennium of Israel's history that brought the LORD to such a state of fury.
Compare this to the state of the Christian church as it was in 1950 (slightly less than my lifetime) and as it is now. We have been silent as 60,000,000+ citizens have been legally murdered, divorce is as prevalent among the Church as in the surrounding secularist culture, pornography, alcoholism, and drugs are addictions that are overwhelming, the Sabbath is honored more for sporting events than worship, the Lord's name has become a throw away expletive, we mix and stir our worship with attractive modifications taken from other god's worship, we have begun to modify our laws to allow the euthanasia of the elderly and infirm, greed, lust, lying, covetousness, and stealing are rampant. We worship self rather than the LORD, God, the Almighty.
Will He withhold His hand? Read that last sentence of the passage again and again. It should strike terror into our hearts. Are we counting on cheap grace to buy off the LORD's wrath. Remember, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31
Today's readings in the Psalms:
Morning: Psalm 100
Mid-day: 119:41-48
Evening: Psalm 26
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Voices Together is available as an annual daily devotional and can be purchased at theFellowship Of Ailbe bookstore. A weekly edition, formatted as a bi-fold insert and suitable for distribution can be downloaded at https://www.ailbe.org/resources/item/7251-2016-voices-together-weekly-format. The next edition is available by Thursday of the prior week.
