Did They Ever Really Believe?

While reading Ezekiel 20 today, something “new” caught my eye:

“‘But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt‘” (emphasis added)

Ezekiel 20:8 (NIV)

When I’ve thought about the Israelites and their rebellious and idolatrous attitude, I usually think of how they moaned, groaned, and complained each time they encountered difficulty. First, it was at the Red Sea; then it was at the waters of Marah and Elim. For the most part, I considered their attitude a reflection of their circumstances. Even though I thought they could do better.

Perhaps we might even let them slide a bit if we consider how long they looked forward to freedom. After all, I know what it’s like to hope for something and then suddenly have that hope crushed right in front of my eyes. Solomon put it this way:

Hang Them All and Let God Sort Them Out?

I can’t look at the news or social media lately without hearing about someone committing horrific and evil acts. Which, if I think about it, isn’t really a “new” thing. Still, what typically stands out—beyond the acts themselves and those who perpetrate them—is how society responds. Given my identity as a Christian, the algorithms show me more “Christian”-related content. This includes commentaries from those who wear the Christian moniker.

I expect society’s response to be all over the place. After all, we are a diverse culture with often very drastic viewpoints. Thus, it’s expected that there will be divisions, with one side calling for someone’s head while the other demands they go free. I may be naive, but I expect better from Christians.

Keys

tapping—

tippity tap
tippity tap

From the Open Field: What Ezekiel 16 Says About Grace

I was reading Ezekiel 16 when the Lord’s description of Jerusalem moved me. I realized that as I read this beginning passage and the verses that follow through a personal lens—what my spiritual life looked like before Jesus—those detestable practices described later are much more heartbreaking. In fact, the language used elsewhere in this chapter is far less offensive when you realize the depth to which Israel sank.

If you consider how human hearts ebb and flow between love and hatred, between hyperbolic passions, then the graphic language used later in this chapter is much easier to understand. Certainly, I can’t be the only one to have loved so deeply as to want the moon for someone and then, after betrayal, to declare they are dead to me.

The key to recognizing how the beginning of Ezekiel 16 spiritually relates to salvation is in verse 3: