Wednesday 13 March 2019

What happens in Vegas ...

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There is a classic line that starts by suggesting: "What happens in Vegas...
...stays in Vegas."
It implies that what we get up to away from home should not be spoken of - in other words, we are given license to behave as we like, as long as the stories don't get back to our loved ones, friends and colleagues. However, the truth invariably comes out and we are left with some serious explaining to do. 

In a similar picture today, Ezekiel is taken on a journey by the Spirit and shown what the elders of Israel are getting up to in "Vegas". As we get to verse 12 we reach the moment of truth:

He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’”

The Elders believed that God wasn't watching what they were getting up to behind closed doors, but God had taken notice.  God was heart-broken that they had forsaken his ways and had taken up new idols. This is one of the strong reasons why God allowed his people to go through their time of testing and to be refined in exile. It was to see how much they really wanted to be part of God's family and to open the doors for them to return.

Reflection: Are there times in our lives where we think God is not there for us and are we then tempted to turn to other 'idols'? 

Living in Grace
D3LM3

 

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