S) "7 Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, 'Son of man, now dig through the wall.' So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. 9 And He said to me, 'Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here.'"
Ezekiel 8:7-9 (NASB)
O) Ezekiel was given a vision of the spiritual adultery that was happening in Jerusalem, seemingly even happening inside God's own temple. This particular passage seems to give us an excellent analogy of what it means to have an idolatrous heart, even today. Notice, that the wicked abominations were happening behind a wall. That is to say that there seemed to be an attempt to hide the idolatry. Yet, Ezekiel is able to see a hole in that wall. Now, simply looking through the hole, Ezekiel may have been able to perceive some of what was happening within. He may have even seen enough to convince him of the guilt of the adulterous worshipers. However, even though he might have been able to see some, with careful examination, God did not leave it there. He had Ezekiel dig that hole out, large enough to create an entrance. Then, he was told to enter and see the guilt there. Now, in Ezekiel's vision, he was only brought to witness their guilt. However, in examining closely, we can see several other merits to following this as an analogy.
A) First, I need to remember that with everything I observe through this, I may be the guilty man behind the wall, just as easily as I could be Ezekiel in this story. Secondly, it should only be out of love for them, and love for the LORD, that I would ever seek to discern wrong behavior. In so doing, I must understand that I am inviting the same sort of careful examination, the same judgment, upon myself (see John 7:24 and Matthew 7:2). So, the first principle at work in the example of Ezekiel's witness, is that people who profess to be worshiping the LORD, and submitting their lives to Christ Jesus as King, may be harboring secret idols in the worship of their hearts. Second, if I see it, I should not ignore it. By "digging" through what I observe, and entering in, I will do a few things. A - I will expose something so that it cannot be hidden. Allowing it to remain hidden would only prolong the problem. If my whole initiative is based on love, then ignoring sin would be just about the least loving thing I could do. B - Digging through that hole, I will make my witness unmistakable. The guilty person should know that I know. This will cut off many issues about slander or gossip. This will erase misunderstandings about motives. C - Then I can also make it plain, that my heart is loving. By entering to that same place, I am seeking to minister to them, with them, as I witness their sin. I can only love someone if I can be with someone. I cannot truly love them, help them, if I am taking a "hands off" approach. If I expose sin, but then abandon the person, that only adds to shame and will cause them to rebuild their wall thicker, and with fewer holes.
P) Father, You are holy and so You require holy people. That starts with me. Help me to examine my own life first. Certainly, if anyone ever digs through walls I have erected, humble me and let me respond with weeping for my guilt and rejoicing for their love. When I do carefully examine another person's life, let me never do it with anything less than the love You have for them, Father God. When I am careful to consider my wife's heart, or my children's hearts, or close friends, or any other people to whom I might seek to minister, let me approach the entire issue with humility and wisdom from You. When I observe heart idols, or secret sins, do not let me ignore them. Give me the courage to dig an entrance, and go in to them. Give me the wisdom and courage to love them, like Jesus Christ broke through the walls in my own life to love me. May the Holy Spirit give us unity, that they might be reconciled to You, and that I may share the love of Christ with them in that reconciliation. Let only Your will be done. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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