For this series of articles I’m going to go verse by verse through (Ezek.14:1-11). I believe that Ezekiel had a message which was tailored for both the children of Israel in ancient times and the church living today. In a previous series of articles entitled “The Prophetic Foxes” I went through several of the verses found in the previous chapter, chapter thirteen. Ezekiel is uniquely positioned to speak into the heart of the issues which the prophetic movement is facing today in the church just as He once did in ancient Israel. God being rich in mercy and grace is not suddenly slaying the prophets today who make terrible blunders like he would have in the Old Covenant era, but the Lord’s moral clarity on these issues that we draw from the text is still one hundred and ten percent valid and applicable the church today. May we all approach such scriptures with the fear of the Lord lest we find ourselves being a part of sending the church down a similar road that the prophets of Israel once did.
YES, YOU HEARD RIGHT… GOD WILL ANSWER US ACCORDING TO THE IDOLS OF OUR HEARTS
(Ezek.14:1-11) KJV
1 “Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
2 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;â€
Yes, that’s right, you read it correctly. God answered the leaders of Israel and the people according to the idols which they had set up in their hearts. And yes, this scripture is absolutely valid for today as it pertains to the church and the prophetic movement. Why is that? First of all because God does not change (Mal.3:6). He’s the same yesterday, today, & forever (Heb.13:8). If he did it once before he can do it again, and it makes no difference what “covental era” or dispensation you find yourself in. Covenants, times, and seasons change, but God does not change. If he did it before He can do it again if He finds it expedient for the glory of his name, the preservation of his bride, and the chastening of his people.
The second reason I would give as to why this scripture applies to the church today, just as it once was applied to Israel prior to the first coming of Christ, is that the Word is an enduring message with enduring application. Since the beginning when Adam and Eve first fell, human nature has not changed, in regards to our flesh and our old man. We are new creations in Christ but we still have souls that need sanctification and further transformation. That means that we still have the same propensity to sin and set up idols in our hearts just as the people of Israel once did. Because we still have that propensity then God can and will still deal with us in similar fashion if need be.
Sometimes God has to answer us according to the idols of our own hearts so that we might know that the idols are there. When God answers and the thing which He said does not come to pass, it’s not because He’s a liar, or because He’s impotent in power lacking ability to back his word, and it’s not always because we didn’t have faith or failed to meet conditions for the word. There’s always an explanation if we have the humility and openness to understand it. Sometimes it’s because of this prophetic principle that Ezekiel established in his amazing message to the Jews: God will answer you according to your idols at times so that you might know that there are idols there. This is to the end that you can ultimately repent, cast them before the Lord of all the earth, and be free from your bondage!
Tomorrow we will continue this series.
In His Service,
Stephen Powell
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