By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text: Ezekiel
16:15-34
Matthew
5:16
Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
in heaven.
(NKJV)
When walking in the house
at night we need light to see our way around, so we do not run into things,
like walls, or worse yet, trip or fall, injuring ourselves. The modern
convenience of electricity makes it possible for us to simply flip a switch to
turn on the power source for an electric light to light up the room. However,
if the power source of electricity were not there, the light would remain dark.
We live in very dark times that need the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but
sadly, the light of the Gospel in the Church is either dim or nonexistent due
to lack of power. It is time for the Church to plug into the power source of
the Holy Spirit.
Jerusalem has played the
harlot by trusting in its beauty and fame instead of the Lord (Ezekiel
16:15). Jerusalem is guilty of taking the things God has provided and using
them to make idols and set them up in multicolored high places of worship (Ezekiel
16:16-19). Jerusalem has played the harlot with the God they entered into a
covenant relationship with (Isaiah
54:5-8).
Their harlotry even went
to the point that they sacrificed the sons and daughters God gave them in
worship of their false gods (Ezekiel
16:20-22). The modern equivalent of this is the aborting of babies in
worship of promiscuous and immoral behavior. Jerusalem had no regret for all
their abominations and wickedness for they even built shrines to themselves and
high places on every street (Ezekiel
16:23-24). This caused the beauty Jerusalem was proud of to be abhorred (Ezekiel
16:25). They even provoked God to anger by committing harlotry with the
Egyptians, the ones from whom God delivered Israel (Ezekiel
16:26).
With His anger stirred,
the Lord stretched out His hand against Jerusalem by diminishing their
allotment and giving them up to those hating them, the daughters of the
Philistines (Ezekiel
16:27). Adding fuel to God’s anger, they even committed Harlotry with the
Assyrians and those in Chaldea (Ezekiel
16:28-29). Seeing the people of Jerusalem committing all these abominations,
the Lord declares they have a degenerate heart doing the deeds of a brazen harlot
(Ezekiel
16:30).
While the people of
Jerusalem are committing the acts of a brazen harlot, unlike a harlot they
scorn payment, instead acting as an adulterous wife taking strangers in place
of her husband (Ezekiel
16:31-32). Instead of taking payment from men like a harlot, these people make
payments to their lovers, hiring them from all around to engage in their
harlotry (Ezekiel
16:33). The people of Jerusalem are the opposite of a harlot, giving
payment instead of receiving it (Ezekiel
16:34).
A word from the Lord
through Ezekiel compares the lewd acts of Jerusalem to those of a harlot and
adulterer (Ezekiel
16:15-34). When God entered into a covenant relationship with Israel, they
became the bride of the Lord (Isaiah
54:5-8). Like the vows one makes at a wedding, they were commanded to
remain faithful to the bridegroom (Exodus
20:1-6). In this text, Ezekiel uses strong language and imagery comparing
the acts of Jerusalem worshipping other gods to acts of harlotry and adultery.
However, the acts of Jerusalem are unlike the typical acts of harlotry and
adultery for instead of accepting payment, they make offerings to those they
commit harlotry and adultery with (Ezekiel
16:31). Jerusalem is self-absorbed in its fame and wealth, no longer
worshipping God with their heart.
The Church is also in the
position of a bride, a bride awaiting the return of the bridegroom who is away
preparing a place for the bride (John
14:2-3; Matthew 25:1-13). However, as the Lord tarries so all have a chance
for salvation, the Church has become impatient like the unwise virgins (2
Peter 3:9). Like Jerusalem, the Church has also become lukewarm towards its
bridegroom and self-absorbed in its wealth and prosperity (Revelation
3:14-22). In this state the oil of the Holy Spirit has gone low, making the
Church unprepared for the return of the bridegroom.
Jesus told his disciples
to remain in Jerusalem until they would receive power from the Holy Spirit for
ministry (Acts
1:8). Jesus also commanded believers to let their light shine in the
presence of men so they could experience the glory of God through their lives (Matthew
5:16). The power of the Holy Spirit is the oil that causes the light to
shine in the lamp of our lives but sadly many in the Church have let the oil in
their lamps run low, dimming, or even extinguishing the light of the God’s
glory in their lives. In the last days, as the return of the Lord, the
bridegroom draws closer, the Church must seek a fresh filling of the oil of the
Holy Spirit so the light of the Gospel can shine brightly in a dark world.
Please join me in praying for the oil of the Holy Spirit to fill our lives.
If you are reading this
and have not prayed for the forgiveness of sin in your life and to make Jesus
the Lord of your life, I invite you to pray with me now,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
May God challenge,
convict, and bless everyone reading this post.
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