Main Idea: You cannot hide from the living God.
A Look at the Text:
Once more, Ezekiel was given messages from the Lord during the interim time between the initial captivity of Jerusalem and its final destruction.
It was foretold that they would be punished for their abominations (Ezek. 7:3). Their wealth wouldn’t be able to deliver them (Ezek. 7:19-20). They would be judged according to their ways, and once more God declared, “And they shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezek. 8:27).
With these predictions in place, in chapter 8, God took Ezekiel the prophet on a visionary tour of the temple in Jerusalem to see the very abominations that summoned divine judgment.
Outside, there was a great “image of jealousy” (Ezek. 8:3). Apparently, this was a massive idol that was placed outside of the north gate that made God jealous. Inside, the temple walls were engraved with idols (Ezek. 8:10).
Even the elders of Israel were a part of this idolatry and concluded that God had abandoned them and wasn’t seeing what they were doing (Ezek. 8:11-12). Women were worshipping the false god, Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14), and men stood outside the temple in worship to the sun (Ezek. 8:16).
Upon seeing all these things, God would act in wrath and would not hear cries for mercy on the day when His judgment was finally poured out (Ezek. 8:18).
Bringing it Home:
The fact that the great temple that Solomon had constructed for the worship of Yahweh was filled with idolatry is a heartrending reality. What was once a place of honor had become a place of dishonor. What was intended for good was now being used for evil.
But what is perhaps even more shocking is that the people concluded that God wasn’t seeing what was going on! Certainly, in His house of all places, He would see what was happening, and the Scripture presents again and again that God is inescapable!
Truly, the Lord taking Ezekiel on a tour with specific stops in mind reveals the sobering reality that He was present the entire time.
It is sheer folly to conclude that our actions are hidden from God. Truth be told, there are no “secret sins.” The fact that God is always present should encourage us in trials, but it should also instill a reverent fear that drives us to honor Him.
For those in Christ, we needn’t fear judgment (1 John 4:18), but let us never conclude that grace is a license for sin (Rom. 6:1-2). Even more, let us never fall into the deception that we can hide from the living God.
Challenge:
Do I have any “secret” sins?