Today you should read: Ezekiel 22
“…but me you have forgotten.”
As the Lord declares all the “abominations” of Israel, he lists some pretty terrible things. However, all these things are summed up in this, “but me you have forgotten.” In verse 26, speaking of the priests, the Lord said they “made no distinction between the holy and the common.” In these two ideas, we find the shattered foundation of defiled religion.
Two majorly major themes that carry through the whole Bible are “Remember the Lord” and “Be Holy for I am Holy.” The Israelites before and the Church after have found themselves in awful circumstances for failing to follow these two commands that carry throughout the totality of Scripture. Every abomination listed finds its roots here—you cannot do the wickedness and perversion found in this chapter if you actively remind yourself of the Lord and His goodness while also pursuing holiness.
In verse 31, again for all the consequences, the indignation and consuming fire, we find the source, “I have returned their way upon their heads.” Obviously, the Lord used (and uses) a variety of circumstances to get His people’s attention—including the wicked Babylonians. However, have we ever considered that bearing the brunt of the Lord’s indignation or His consuming fire is just reaping the natural consequences of our own sin? With the awfulness that humanity inflicts on themselves and others, the Lord only need not spare us for the consuming fire to ignite. Our sin keeps the pilot light lit, but only the Holy Spirit keeps turning the gas knob down.
How do we “Remember the Lord?” Obviously, celebrating worship on the first day of the week is a biggie. However, that should only account for some of our remembrance—daily time in the Word, praying, and other disciplines help us “remember.” There are also special seasons of remembrance like holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries that we stop and say, “Only by the grace of God go I.”
The charge of making “no distinction between the holy and the common” should challenge us. I’ve defined holiness as “set apart for an intended use,” but with a connotation of reverence. When we had a cat and I used the litter scooper, the thing was definitely “set apart for intended use,” but was not quite celebrated. Holiness assumes specialness. And while we’re much too good Christians to look at church and the things of God the same way as a pooper-scooper, we all must admit that we sometimes give the same “harrumph” when scooping cat doody as when fulfilling our Christian duty.
God’s Holiness must not be small in our lives, but take up our entire vision. It’s not that we cannot use common things—games, Jamboree’s, snacks—it is simply that we must maintain the distinction between what is common and give preference to that which is holy.
Let us Remember the Lord and Be Holy. In keeping these two mighty commands of Scripture, we can avoid the fate and consequence of abomination.
By: Tyler Short — Connections Ministry Associate
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