We've all been blind to things before.
Sometimes you know it -
you know you're missing something.
Other times you don't even realize it.
You're blind to things and don't even know what you could be seeing.
Ezekiel was a prophet sent to reveal blindness.
God sent him to warn His people
and tell them what they were missing.
The people were so blind,
so terribly lost from God's purpose and presence,
they couldn't even see their own sin and had lost the desire to be clean.
Sin had blocked their view of God.
Sin replaced sight.
God opened Ezekiel's eyes in a special way
and showed him hidden secrets.
Ezekiel wanted sight -
so God let him see.
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In Ezekiel chapter 8, Ezekiel has a vision.
God takes him to four different places so he can see firsthand
the corruption of Israel, specifically with the leaders.
Where were these places?
In the temple.
The core of the corruption was happening right in the middle of the Lord's temple.
Blind.
The leaders were blind to their own evil and idolatry.
Ezekiel saw behind closed doors.
He saw the secret rooms, the secret actions.
God wanted him to know and understand.
God wanted him to warn His people.
Chapter 9 speaks of the judgment that would come,
but it also describes those who would be saved from the wrath:
. . . put a mark on the foreheads of all those who weep and sigh because of the sins they see around them. - Ezekiel 9:4
He would spare those who were saddened by what they saw.
Sight.
There were some who could still see.
They could see the difference between a god and God.
They could see through the camouflage of evil.
They could see the separation growing between God and His people.
Sight gave them sorrow over the sin.
Had Israel stopped worshiping God?
Actually, they were still following the rituals and activities.
The temple was still used to worship God -
BUT -
They had added idols and other beliefs and ceremonies.
They had clouded the purity.
The holiness of worship was lost.
Then, in Chapter 10, something awful begins.
This part wrecks my spirit every time.
The Glory of the Lord leaves the temple.
The purpose of the temple was to establish a holy place
for the Lord to dwell among His people.
It was built specifically for the presence of the Lord.
God's people were supposed to keep it holy and worship the Lord there.
And now
The presence of the Lord was leaving.
It left.
And the worst part -
They never knew.
The Lord had left, and His people didn't notice.
They continued their "worship".
The routines and rituals kept going
- without God.
. . . Blind
God had left, and judgment was coming.
Ezekiel 11:2 tells why:
For you have refused to obey me; instead, you have copied the sins of the nations around you.
Compromise.
God's law and will and purpose told the people to be holy, to be different, and set apart.
God is the only God and the only One to be worshiped.
The people, even the leaders, were blending and adding.
They were copying the other nations with complete disregard for God's holiness.
Disobedience and idolatry were bringing judgment.
Such a terrible job and message for Ezekiel,
but there is some good.
There is always a bit of hope, because the Lord has not abandoned them forever.
He has a plan to restore His people.
He wants them to see.
A Shepherd is coming.
He will show them.
He will lead them.
They will be His.
Ezekiel 35: 25-27
"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command."
God's Spirit will return to His people, but not in a building.
The Spirit of God will restore life to His people,
and He will live in them and work through them.
They will not only see His restoration,
but they will see Him.
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What about me?
Am I letting the Lord be my Shepherd?
Am I following His lead?
Will I let Him into the secret places?
Behind the closed doors?
Do I want to see?
Do I want the sorrow so I can repent?
Will I let Him change my stony heart?
Where am I allowing compromise?
Am I going to clear out the idols?
As I face another tomorrow and start another year,
I don't want to stay the same.
I want to be His temple.
I want His presence.
I want His leadership.
I want to put Him first.
I want to change, because -
I once was blind,
But now I see.
Ezekiel 14:3
Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that lead them into sin.
Ezekiel 37:23
They will stop polluting themselves with their detestable idols and other sins, for I will save them from their sinful backsliding. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 43:9
Now let them put away their idols and the sacred pillars erected to honor their kings, and I will live among them forever.
Hosea 10:12
"Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and shower righteousness upon you."
Isaiah 9:2
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
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