Ezekiel, in chapter 8, talks about Israel's idolatry in very specific ways.
"The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood." v. 3
Verses 10 and 11 show the elders worshiping "crawling things and detestable animals" with incense. Verse 14 depicts women in the annual mourning for the death of Tammuz, a version of Osiris, Adonis, and Ba'al, all which came from the story of Nimrod, the founder of false religion.
16 "He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east."
We don't ordinarily find jealousy to be a good emotion. Why should we think it is something the becomes a holy God?
What if...?
What if you lived in a beautiful house? You had come up with the plans for it yourself. You had chosen all the furnishings and decorations. The colors suited you perfectly and there was no other place in the world that you would rather live.
What if your family members came to celebrate a holiday with you and you were anticipating a superior event? Oddly enough, they bring with them an uninvited guest. Bigfoot, sasquatch, yeti. Call it what you will, it is large, hairy, and hasn't had a bath since...ever! It eats all of the food you laid out for your guests and then handles all of your precious things. Some break.
Worse yet, your relatives think it is the most interesting thing ever created and they want you to let it move into your guest bedroom!
What is your reaction? Do you passively let the creature take over your house and mess up everything you've spent so much time making perfect? Don't you wish your family had come to share time with you instead of - whatever that is?
I would be hurt, and might not invite my family back for a while, give them some time to get their priorities in order. And I would call the police or animal control to get rid of the hairy menace.
No, it wouldn't be allowed to live in my house. I didn't invite it and I don't have to keep it.
I am not God and I can't think or feel a fraction of what He can. This is what I envisioned when I read the chapter.
I feel bad that we are so willing to abandon the loving, the perfect, the most awesome and turn to what is dust and ashes at best, and at worst, is completely evil and deadly.
May God save us from making stupid choices as to what we put first in our lives,
Kathi
"The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood." v. 3
Verses 10 and 11 show the elders worshiping "crawling things and detestable animals" with incense. Verse 14 depicts women in the annual mourning for the death of Tammuz, a version of Osiris, Adonis, and Ba'al, all which came from the story of Nimrod, the founder of false religion.
16 "He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east."
We don't ordinarily find jealousy to be a good emotion. Why should we think it is something the becomes a holy God?
What if...?
What if you lived in a beautiful house? You had come up with the plans for it yourself. You had chosen all the furnishings and decorations. The colors suited you perfectly and there was no other place in the world that you would rather live.
What if your family members came to celebrate a holiday with you and you were anticipating a superior event? Oddly enough, they bring with them an uninvited guest. Bigfoot, sasquatch, yeti. Call it what you will, it is large, hairy, and hasn't had a bath since...ever! It eats all of the food you laid out for your guests and then handles all of your precious things. Some break.
Worse yet, your relatives think it is the most interesting thing ever created and they want you to let it move into your guest bedroom!
What is your reaction? Do you passively let the creature take over your house and mess up everything you've spent so much time making perfect? Don't you wish your family had come to share time with you instead of - whatever that is?
I would be hurt, and might not invite my family back for a while, give them some time to get their priorities in order. And I would call the police or animal control to get rid of the hairy menace.
No, it wouldn't be allowed to live in my house. I didn't invite it and I don't have to keep it.
I am not God and I can't think or feel a fraction of what He can. This is what I envisioned when I read the chapter.
I feel bad that we are so willing to abandon the loving, the perfect, the most awesome and turn to what is dust and ashes at best, and at worst, is completely evil and deadly.
May God save us from making stupid choices as to what we put first in our lives,
Kathi
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