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I Will Not Be Inquired of By You - Ezek 20
I Will Not Be Inquired of By You - Ezek 20
Ezekiel tells us the old old story, a story of rebellion and religion. Even during the dark days of the destruction of their country, people did not turn to the LORD with all of their hearts. Notice these reoccurring phrases and concepts in this chapter:
· I am the LORD your God
· I blessed, instructed, and called you to be my people, but you rebelled.
· I didn’t punish because I acted for my name’s sake and NOT because of your goodness.
· I will now punish you for all the rebellion, idolatry, and sin.
· Then, you will know that I am the LORD
· I will yet gather you from this captivity and then those who are gathered will worship me in truth and holiness.
It is almost amazing that people would utterly reject the LORD and yet come to be counseled by Him. Why would they do that? How often do people ‘ask again’, hoping for a different answer? They want to have God, but they want him to accept them as THEY are. To such people, the LORD declares “I will not be inquired of by you!”
Earlier, Isaiah had simply stated: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).
Do you realize how little people have actually changed? We still want God to worship God but we insist on doing it ‘our way’. We still teach the doctrines of men as if they were God’s teaching. We rebel and worship. We get into trouble and we petition the LORD, yet we don’t change our ways.
The LORD is gracious and He will abundantly pardon our sins, but He demands our hearts. As long as we are friends of the world we make ourselves enemies of God. As long as our hearts are set on things below, we cannot be acceptable to the LORD.
What does it take to turn our hearts unto God? Punishment? Mercy? Deprivation? Blessings? Love? “We love Him because He first loved us” (1John 4:19). Where is your heart?
Hugh DeLong
