Ezekiel 11:17-21
17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”
In the midst of declaring God's judgement upon Israel's sin, there is a message of hope for a remnant, those for whom God "will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them" (verse 19). But there is also a condition here, that they remove "all its detestable things and all its abominations" (verse 18). If we are going to walk with God, we have to start by removing any detestable images or idols from our lives. That means getting rid of all pornography we may have stored, and cutting off access to pornographic media. If we can't do this, then it implies that we are still one of "those whose heart goes after their detestable things" and God's response to that is to "bring their deeds upon their own heads" (verse 21). That should be a sobering reminder of the need to clean house and set appropriate boundaries.
Lord, show me any detestable things that I need to get rid of.
17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”
In the midst of declaring God's judgement upon Israel's sin, there is a message of hope for a remnant, those for whom God "will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them" (verse 19). But there is also a condition here, that they remove "all its detestable things and all its abominations" (verse 18). If we are going to walk with God, we have to start by removing any detestable images or idols from our lives. That means getting rid of all pornography we may have stored, and cutting off access to pornographic media. If we can't do this, then it implies that we are still one of "those whose heart goes after their detestable things" and God's response to that is to "bring their deeds upon their own heads" (verse 21). That should be a sobering reminder of the need to clean house and set appropriate boundaries.
Lord, show me any detestable things that I need to get rid of.