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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Ezek. 22
“Her priests do violence to my instruction and profane my holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they do not explain the difference between the clean and the unclean. They close their eyes to my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” (Ezek. 22:26). In spite of God’s judgment on His people, the heart of man did not change. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day were guilty of these same things. And I believe we still see these things even in the body of Christ, the Church, today. We attempt to blend the ways of the world, our human nature and the desires of our flesh, into God’s Kingdom. It isn’t good. And it is what Jesus came to set right.
God starts this word to Ezekiel with, “As for you, son of man, will you pass judgment? Will you pass judgment against the city of blood? Then explain all her detestable practices to her.” (Ezek. 22:2). The “son of man” reference in this question and statement makes me think of Jesus’ words in John 12:47. “For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” Jesus, the Son of Man, did not pass judgment. Instead, He explained the things mentioned above. Read about Jesus’ actions and teachings and you will see how He sets right our understanding about God’s law, what makes a person holy and clean, and God’s Sabbaths. He came to give us understanding and move us to repentance that we might be reconciled with our God.
Ezek. 23
At the end of this long analogy of the nations of Israel and Judah as prostitutes, God states, “So I will put an end to depravity in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your depraved behavior.” (Ezek. 23:48). Since Oholah and Oholibah represent these two nations, it seems fair to assume that “all the women” refers to the other nations of the world. Thus I see that God used His people as an example to the rest of the world. Because of them, we know the depravity of our own hearts, God’s holiness, and how Christ reconciles the two.