Men have set up their idols in their hearts.

Ezekiel 14 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Idolatrous Elders Condemned

Then some elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them at all? ⁴ Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will be brought to give him an answer in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols, ⁵ in order to lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel who are estranged from Me through all their idols.”’

⁶ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your abominations. ⁷ For anyone of the house of Israel or of the immigrants who stay in Israel who separates himself from Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me for himself, I the Lord will be brought to answer him in My own person. ⁸ I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people. So you will know that I am the Lord.

⁹ “But if the prophet is prevailed upon to speak a word, it is I, the Lord, who have prevailed upon that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. ¹⁰ They will bear the punishment of their iniquity; as the iniquity of the inquirer is, so the iniquity of the prophet will be, ¹¹ in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Thus they will be My people, and I shall be their God,”’ declares the Lord God.”

“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them at all?” There are many things which can be an idol in heart, many things we put before God. Speaking of idols God says: "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.… (Exodus 20:5-6) In Ezekiel’s time, before Christ, people were judged on their actions. God was intolerant of idols, whether they be idols of other gods or idols of the heart, God is a jealous God.

We live under the new covenant in Christ and are no longer under the law. Still, even now as we live under grace through Jesus Christ, God is a jealous God. His jealousy is not like human jealousy. It is not self seeking or self centered. God is jealous for us because He is what is best for us. James 1:17 says: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.     God is jealous for us because He wants to do good for us. God says:  For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.(Jeremiah 29:11) While many of the other things that come along may seem good, anything we prioritize over God hinders the fulfillment of His plan, His will for our lives.

God gives us free will to decide what we will do, even what we will put first in our lives. There are many things which can become idols in our lives, replacing God as our priority. Some of them are obviously bad and destructive; addictions, greed, the desire for money or power, alliances with evil spirits etc. Other idols of our hearts can be based on good motives and intentions. We can desire to provide well for our families and so work hard, but if either our job or our family, which are both good things, take precedence over God in our lives it can become an idol and a stumbling block. Even our ministry or our service for God can become an idol we put before God Himself.

God doesn’t want to take any of those good things from us. He simply wants us to have the fulfillment of His plan and His will in and for our lives. As we look around creation we can see that God is a God of order. Throughout creation, from the vastness of the universe to the smallest details of molecular structure, everything in creation is perfectly ordered and balanced, beyond human knowledge or comprehension. Being a God of order, He simply wants that order for us. That’s why He began the commandments to His people:  “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ³ “You shall have no other gods before Me. ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.  Before they could begin to try to follow any other commandment, God’s people needed first to put God first. Jesus says: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

God is a God of order. He has a plan for each of our lives. He desires to give us: “Every good and perfect gift from above” Every perfect gift He wants to give us is part of His perfect will for us.  His ways are higher than our ways. At times we can’t see or understand the things that God has in mind for us. At those times we need to heed the advice of Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. The psalmist says: Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. ⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. (Psalm 37:3-5) The God who ordered the universe simply wants us to have the proper order in our lives.

Jesus says: your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.(every good and perfect gift)  ³³ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:32-33)  Most people are very familiar with Jeremiah 29:11, quoted earlier. What does God say after that?

 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,  God is jealous for us. He wants to be first in our heart, to seek Him with all of our heart, to delight in Him, to love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind. That’s the order, the perfect order which God wants for our lives so that we can walk in the fullness of His perfect plan and will for our lives.

Heavenly Father I do desire Your perfect will for my life. God of all creation, God of order help me by Your Holy Spirit to walk in Your order for my life, seeking You with all my heart, delighting myself in You, loving You with all my heart, soul and mind; trusting You for everything else. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, through Him alone all things are possible. Thank You.    Amen.