November 16

Ezekiel 33:1-34:31; Hebrews 13:1-25; Psalm 115:1-18; Proverbs 27:21-22

If you live in California, and maybe even other parts of the United States, then you’ve probably heard about the devastating wildfires that have been ravaging northern California. So many lives and homes lost. Some of those with houses destroyed or lives lost had no idea that the fires were coming. The winds moved so quickly and forcefully that the flames were upon them without any warning.

However, most people were given a warning that the fires were coming. Alarms were sounded and mandatory evacuations issued.  Yet some people refused to leave their homes. Why? Why wouldn’t they heed the warnings and alarms given to them about a life-threatening situation?  That seems kind of crazy, right? I mean, run for your life, right?! The only conclusion I can come to, as to why they would refuse to go, is that they didn’t really believe they were in that much danger. They may have thought the warnings were overstated and everything was going to be fine. 

I think this must be the same syndrome the Israelites have in the book of Ezekiel. Over and over again Ezekiel is commissioned by the Lord on their behalf. “Son of Man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning for me” (Ez. 33:7).  But Israel doesn’t want to hear the warning of coming destruction. They don’t believe it’s really going to happen. They say, “Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession” (vs. 24). They think they are going to be fine, that things are going to be as they have always been.

God says to Ezekiel, “My people come to you and listen to your word, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain” (Ez. 33:31). Their sin keeps them from seeing, and practicing, the truth. Disaster IS coming, and they should take heed. But they continually disregard the words of the prophets; being wise in their own eyes, they continue on with their sin and arrogance.

It is easy for us to see their mistakes because history shows us that destruction and devastation did indeed come just as was predicted. But I wonder if we had lived in that time, and without the benefit of hindsight, would we have been any different?

How often are we justified and wise in our own eyes? Convinced that we see and know best? We don’t grasp the weightiness of sin saying, “Surely that isn’t what God’s Word says/means. That was for a different time period, things are different now.” Or we live our lives in comfort, oblivious to the signs of the times happening all around us, saying “Surely things aren't going to be all that bad. Let’s not get too radical here.” Do we listen to the words, but refuse to put them into practice? Do our mouths express devotion, but our hearts indicate otherwise?

These words are challenging to me. I would like to believe that everything is going to be fine. But here on this earth, we know we will face hardship and challenges and many difficult things in our lives. Do we heed the warnings when they come? Maybe that verse that convicts your heart, or that word from a dear friend or sister, or the sermon you heard on Sunday seems to speak just to you. Heed the warning, dear friends, and hear the alarms. Flee sin and anything that might keep you from seeing, hearing, and acting on the truths in God’s word. Let’s not get caught in the trap of thinking everything is going to be just fine, and go down in the fires and ashes.

We serve a good, good God. “We say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’ (Heb. 13:6). He is so ready and willing to help us and be with us in our times of need. Let us turn to him daily, listening to his voice, and responding in obedience.

- Mary Matthias

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