Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 12 (NIV)
“And you will know that I am the Lord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.”
Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 19-20 (NIV)
” I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”
Ezekiel chapter 12: verse 22 (NIV)
” Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by and every vision comes to nothing’”
These chapters of Ezekiel read as though a snapshot of our current culture has been taken. Our laws, which were founded very much on Bible principles are being changed to accommodate the desires of those who want to be able to do whatever they want, and sadly some of the church has conformed to fit in with those desires, rather than continue to promote the teaching of the Bible. People don’t see any consequence in ignoring the teaching of God, because sadly, they don’t expect Him to move.
In chapter twelve of Ezekiel, we read how the people of Israel had become complacent and did not expect God to move anymore. They had even written a proverb about it. That’s exactly the position we find most of western society to be in.
But thankfully, it won’t always be that way. People will once again follow the ways of God. But until then as followers of Jesus, we need to be careful not to conform to the ways of the majority. We need to be the examples that Jesus wants us to be as His ambassadors. That will at times make us unpopular. But so were the Old Testament prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah. But they were faithful and obedient. And even Jesus was not as popular as many people actually think He was. All was well when He was doing miracles, but even those who set out to follow Him turned their backs when He taught about living wholeheartedly for God. We need to be as wholehearted and obedient as those who stood firm in the past. It may look to those who show no interest in spiritual things, that God is doing nothing. Some even deny His very existence. But those of us who know Him also know different, and need in these days to keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Dear Lord,
I am grateful for the examples in Your word of all those who stood for You in the most difficult of times as an example to others. But I am also blessed to have met and been taught by those in my lifetime who have done the same. In these times of uncertainty, and the widespread disregard for Your ways, help me to be faithful. I pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.