When seeking an audience with a King…
I am moving along through the Chronological Bible and keeping up with my plan to read it through in 2018.
My current passages this week were in Ezekiel.
Don’t check out on me here.
If you have never read Ezekiel, you should.
It is so full of imagery and powerful messages from God that I am having to be disciplined to stay on track in my reading each day to not go off on a search for more…
oh I will go on a search for more…
but my morning quiet time has to stay focused so my questions are adding up in my notebook for a later study time.
However this morning I came across a passage that is concise enough to share with you.
While Ezekiel was prophesying God’s message to the people of God as they were exiled to Babylon:
so…
a real person..
speaking the real word of God…
to a real group of people..
in a real point in history…
it also speaks to us.
Because, God’s Word IS alive and active and produces His activity in us.
Today I noted in my journal a portion from Ezekiel 14:1-11.
In the passage, the situation is that the elders of Israel came to Ezekiel to seek God’s Word for them and for their direction.
However, God knew that they came to the prophet AFTER they had already set up “idols” in their hearts and minds.
“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of them?” Ezekiel 14:3 NKJV
Wow.
Does that resonate with any of you?
I have done it.
I see people of the faith do it all the time.
It’s called deciding for ourselves what is important and right and paramount in our existence and then going before God and asking Him to put His seal of approval on it.
I just had a lengthy discussion this week about the disconcerting trend of Christian leaders who are going in search of information in Scripture to support something they have already decided to try and defend.
We can err either way on this…on the conservative side or the liberal side of the faith.
But if we have established in our own minds what is right and then go into Scripture looking for whatever God would say to support us, we are no better than these blind leaders of Israel.
And we can expect no more than they could for God to give us an audience for such an inappropriate request.
We must be so very careful to enter into God’s Word with a heart that desires to know HIM…not the answer to our current issue, not the validation for something we wish to be okay..no.
We enter into His Presence to KNOW HIM and to LISTEN TO WHAT HE HAS TO SAY to us about whatever HE WANTS US TO KNOW.
We enter into His presence by realizing our capacity to have set up idols in our hearts and our tendency to put right in front of our sweet little faces the very things that cause us to stumble.
And in this humble posture of acknowledgement, we approach the Throne of the Lord our God…and we wait…for His Word to be revealed to us.
May you find Him as you seek Him…and remember…He knows what is in your heart better than you do…so bring it simply and honestly before Him each and every day.
Much to ponder from such a small portion of Scripture – be blessed and encouraged to come before Him with a clean heart, ready to listen and respond.