Main Idea: Idolatry, as spiritual adultery, brings God’s wrath.
A Look at the Text:
To show the gravity of Israel’s sin, the language of adultery is once again levied against the people of God in grotesque detail. Israel’s capital, Samaria, and Judah’s capital, Jerusalem, are likened to two sisters who both cheated on God (Ezek. 23:1-4).
First, Israel defiled herself with Assyrian idols (Ezek. 23:7), and then she was given into their hands in destruction (Ezek. 23:9-10). Second, and perhaps more tragic, the younger sister, Jerusalem, saw all of this take place, and yet it didn’t change her heart (Ezek. 23:11).
The people of Judah had seen Israel’s captivity and Samaria’s fall, yet Jerusalem’s adultery was flaunted before all, and so God turned away in disgust (Ezek. 23:18). In the same pattern, destruction would come to them too (Ezek. 23:22-27).
God was making them an object of terror and plunder (Ezek. 23:46), and they would bear the penalty for their idolatry (Ezek. 23:49). God told Ezekiel to mark the date of the final siege that was being laid upon Jerusalem (Ezek. 24:1). He was bringing judgment and would not revoke or relent from His fury (Ezek. 24:14).
Bringing it Home:
The problem with idolatry has always been that it creates competition for the God who desires no other lovers in the lives of His people.
He wants to reign upon the throne of our hearts and to have our undivided loyalty. Hence, the foundation of the 10 Commandments was His self-disclosure and the command for His people to have no other gods (Ex. 20:1-3). Whole-hearted devotion was the necessary starting place for every other act of obedience.
In the modern day, we might not worship the same idols, but perhaps the most prominent one in America is the idol of materialism. The fundamental flaw of materialism is that it places that which is created in the place of honor reserved for the Creator.
If we think that material things, or really any thing, can fill us the way that only God can, and we pursue after these things in order to gratify ourselves, we’re actually cheating on God. We’re giving the created a place in our hearts that it does not belong.
Challenge:
What am I pursuing for joy and meaning in life today?
Good reminder and a great challenge to wrestle with today!