SCRIPTURE: Ezekiel 22
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says’—when the LORD has not spoken. The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice. [Ezekiel 22:28-29]
This chapter again outlines how wicked the leaders and the people had become [see Ezekiel 22:6-12], showing why God had to intervene in judgment.
They cloak their sin with religious words, making it look like they are holy.
Instead of replacing the rotting boards, they whitewash them to make them look good.
But God sees behind the whitewash, He knows the heart and sees their actions for what they are – extortion, robbery, oppression, injustice.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. [Matthew 23:26-28]
Jesus sounds like Ezekiel here, challenging the religious leaders for putting on a good show, but full of hypocrisy and wickedness on the inside.
We might think that He is being too harsh here, but we have to remember that He sees beyond the whitewash, to the heart.
Like Ezekiel, He is speaking God’s warning against religious leaders who only fake goodness, but do not really live it.
God sees, God knows, He is not fooled by our religious performance.
Yes, He hears us sing “all to Jesus I surrender” and “I love You Lord”, but He also sees how we are living, and knows about the true nature of our surrender and love.
He is not fooled by our Sunday performance.
If it is real, then it will show Monday through Saturday.
He can tell whether we are truly committed to following Him, loving Him, and loving like Him.
God wants worshippers that worship Him in spirit (i.e. from the heart) and in truth (i.e. with integrity, not fake) [John 4:23].
God sees through the whitewash.
Today’s readings are a gentle challenge to us – do we truly love God, do we truly want to follow Jesus, is our worship in spirit and in truth.
PRAYER:
Lord, we all fall short in worshiping You fully. But this is not an excuse not to try. Show me where I am using religious whitewash to cover a sinful, shallow heart. And help me to worship You in spirit and in truth!
I agree, the challenge was anything but gentle to the people of the time. For me the “gentle” comes in where I am sitting in my easy chair and not going through what they were going through. God graciously warns me through their experience – it would be much more challenging if He dealt with me like He did them…
But they had their gentle warnings too, prior to this, and they did not heed them. The question for us is, like you say, whether we will let this waring be strong in our ears and grip our hearts.
Thanks for the rant, we’ve missed you here.
ok, it has been awhile … so I am ready for a rant …
These readings are anything but a gentle challenge to us … from verses 9 down it repeatedly uses the phrase “in you” pointing out the source of the indictments. The problem is the rebellion in us, the act of turning to our own ways and these acts are “in our midst”.
What makes me tremble as a leader is that God is speaking this to us … it is the leaders that are justifying their actions and “whitewashing” the acts of the people and themselves. No longer do the people understand the difference between the holy and profane, between good and evil in their midst. And what is the result? The societal network that is supposed to guard and defend the helpless, the homeless, the weak falls apart and the nation serves their own interests.
This I believe, is at the root of God’s indignation against His people – have we not been shown grace so that we can in turn show grace? Do we trample on the love given to us when we refuse to extend that love to others? As we leaders rise in our positions, do we get so caught up in our own needs that we eventually become deaf to the voice of God calling us out in His agenda? If we are not following God’s voice right now, the message is clear … our leadership will deteriate into something that is not of God and more about meeting our own needs.
Let this warning be strong in our ears and grip our hearts. Guard our hearts and minds Lord! May we be found as leaders that “build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me in the land”