“As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord GOD: “Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols.” (v.39)
Chapter 20 is a look back through Israel’s history of sin and God’s history of mercy through the prophet Ezekiel to the elders of Israel. Ezekiel, having brought the matter up to the present day and into the future, now offers God’s challenge to the nation in our text. If they wanted to serve their idols, then they might as well make up their minds and do it and become Babylonians in every respect because God did not want a divided heart. For bringing Yahweh worship from a heart also given to idols, profaned His name. In New Testament phrasing, God called Israel to be hot or cold, but no longer lukewarm (Revelation 3:15-16). In others words, “make a choice,” either you are with Me or you are not. You can't have both.
We too must choose whom we will serve; light or darkness, truth or lies, God or mammon, but one cannot serve both. We cannot serve idols Monday through Saturday and worship God in spirit and in truth on Sunday, though many do. My heart grieves just as much for those who play Christian as those who reject Christianity, for both are lost. Yes, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But, the difference between the believer and the non-believer is the attitude of the heart toward sin. The former is repentant and changes his behavior, while the latter may be regretful, he does not turn from his behavior. He is enslaved by his chains of sin, until he turns to the chain breaker Jesus Christ. (see youtube Zach Williams -"Chain breaker" Live from Harding Prison)
The Truth: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)
Chapter 20 is a look back through Israel’s history of sin and God’s history of mercy through the prophet Ezekiel to the elders of Israel. Ezekiel, having brought the matter up to the present day and into the future, now offers God’s challenge to the nation in our text. If they wanted to serve their idols, then they might as well make up their minds and do it and become Babylonians in every respect because God did not want a divided heart. For bringing Yahweh worship from a heart also given to idols, profaned His name. In New Testament phrasing, God called Israel to be hot or cold, but no longer lukewarm (Revelation 3:15-16). In others words, “make a choice,” either you are with Me or you are not. You can't have both.
We too must choose whom we will serve; light or darkness, truth or lies, God or mammon, but one cannot serve both. We cannot serve idols Monday through Saturday and worship God in spirit and in truth on Sunday, though many do. My heart grieves just as much for those who play Christian as those who reject Christianity, for both are lost. Yes, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But, the difference between the believer and the non-believer is the attitude of the heart toward sin. The former is repentant and changes his behavior, while the latter may be regretful, he does not turn from his behavior. He is enslaved by his chains of sin, until he turns to the chain breaker Jesus Christ. (see youtube Zach Williams -"Chain breaker" Live from Harding Prison)
The Truth: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)
