{"id":10262,"date":"2020-07-16T20:00:36","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T03:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=10262"},"modified":"2020-07-12T17:21:18","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T00:21:18","slug":"ezekiel-14_1-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ezekiel-14_1-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Set That Up in Your Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ezekiel 14:1-11\u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ezekiel 14:1-23.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 14:1-8 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the word of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0came to me:
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Son of man, these men have\u00a0set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces<\/strong>. Should I let them inquire of me at all?
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: When any Israelite\u00a0sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face<\/strong>\u00a0and then goes to a prophet<\/strong>,\u00a0I the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will answer him myself\u00a0in keeping with his great idolatry.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will do this\u00a0to recapture the hearts<\/strong>\u00a0of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“‘When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and\u00a0sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet<\/strong>\u00a0to inquire of me,\u00a0I the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will answer him myself.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am theLORD.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-8:\u00a0 Ezekiel is sitting with the Jewish elders who have apparently come to see him to get some guidance from the Lord (v1).\u00a0 All of a sudden Ezekiel receives a word from the Lord that actually these elders have set up idols in their hearts.\u00a0 Thus the Lord questions whether He should answer these elders at all (v2).\u00a0 The Lord then instructs Ezekiel to speak a message to the elders which would shed light upon their idolatry and encourage them to return to God (v3-11).<\/p>\n

Notice that in these verses the following phrase gets repeated almost word for word in verses 3, 4 and 7: \u201csets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet\u201d.\u00a0 Ezekiel was evidently describing exactly what the elders had done: consult idols before going to him for the Lord\u2019s counsel.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Idolatry is a heart matter.<\/strong>\u00a0 Idolatry is when a person \u201csets up\u201d (v3, 4, 7) the idol \u201cin his heart\u201d (v3, 4, 7) and treats it as being more important than the Lord.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Idolatry is a stumbling block to others.<\/strong>\u00a0 If I set up an idol in my heart, my idolatry will impact every person within my circle of influence and be \u201ca stumbling block to other people\u201d.\u00a0 More than anyone else, it is my family who is affected when I set up an idol in my heart.\u00a0 So\u00a0make it your goal not to set up any idol in your heart, lest those you love the most be affected negatively.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. God wants to \u201crecapture\u201d (v5) the hearts of those who fall into idolatry.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0However, if we are stubborn and refuse to turn back to God, the only thing left for God to do is \u201cremove\u201d us (v8 \u2013 \u201ccut off\u201d) from His people and His presence.\u00a0 It\u2019s either be recaptured by God\u2019s presence or be removed from God\u2019s presence.\u00a0 The choice is ours.\u00a0 To be recaptured by God, it\u2019s about repenting and renouncing our previous idolatrous practices (v6) and turning to Jesus.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Ezekiel 14:9-11 (NIV)<\/strong>
        \n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“‘And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the\u00a0LORD\u00a0have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.
        \n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They will bear their guilt–the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him.
        \n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign\u00a0LORD.'”<\/em><\/p>\n

        On verses 9-11:\u00a0 The \u201cprophet\u201d God is referring to in verse 9 is a false prophet.\u00a0 Here God affirms his commitment to hold false prophets accountable (v9-10).\u00a0 Verse 11 conveys the idea that when the false prophet is removed, God\u2019s people will no longer stray or sin (v11).\u00a0 Instead they will truly belong to God and God will truly belong to them (\u201cThey will be my people and I will be their God\u201d (v11)).<\/p>\n

        What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Jesus took on the punishment that a false prophet deserved when He was branded a blasphemer and a heretic by the high priest.\u00a0 He was also crucified as a criminal, though He had done nothing wrong.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Jesus went through all of this on our behalf so that through His sacrifice we would no longer stray from God or be involved in sin, that we would truly belong to God and God to us.<\/p>\n

        Lord Jesus, since idolatry is a heart matter, Holy Spirit please protect me from all idolatry. May I not set up an idol in my heart and keep my heart focused on worshiping You alone.\u00a0 Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for me, for allowing Yourself to be branded as an idol-worshiper and a false prophet, all so that I could be forgiven and belong to Your family.\u00a0 Thank You.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

        Today\u2019s passage is Ezekiel 14:1-23.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

        On verses 1-8:\u00a0 Ezekiel is sitting with the Jewish elders who have apparently come to see him to get some guidance from the Lord (v1).\u00a0 All of a sudden Ezekiel receives a word from the Lord that actually these elders have set up idols in their hearts.\u00a0 Thus the Lord questions whether He should answer these elders at all (v2).\u00a0 The Lord then instructs Ezekiel to speak a message to the elders which would shed light upon their idolatry and encourage them to return to God (v3-11).<\/p>\n

        Notice that in these verses the following phrase gets repeated almost word for word in verses 3, 4 and 7: \u201csets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet\u201d.\u00a0 Ezekiel was evidently describing exactly what the elders had done: consult idols before going to him for the Lord\u2019s counsel.<\/p>\n

        What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

        Idolatry is a heart matter.\u00a0 Idolatry is when a person \u201csets up\u201d (v3, 4, 7) the idol \u201cin his heart\u201d (v3, 4, 7) and treats it as being more important than the Lord.
        \nIdolatry is a stumbling block to others.\u00a0 If I set up an idol in my heart, my idolatry will impact every person within my circle of influence and be \u201ca stumbling block to other people\u201d.\u00a0 More than anyone else, it is my family who is affected when I set up an idol in my heart.\u00a0 So\u00a0make it your goal not to set up any idol in your heart, lest those you love the most be affected negatively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10262"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10265,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10262\/revisions\/10265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}