Ezekiel

Ezekiel 14: God calls each heart to repent

Begin in prayer

Before hearing God's answer to hearts holding idols, let us ask Him to uncover our own loyalties. Pray that the Lord would settle our hearts, draw near to our family and show us Christ in Ezekiel 14.

and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh.

Zechariah 8:17

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us the sin of our hearts and help us see Christ as the Savior to whom each must come. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

God exposes idols in the hearts of elders who come to Ezekiel and commands Israel to turn from its abominations. He will judge the idolater who seeks an answer while separated from Him. If a prophet is deceived and speaks, the LORD has deceived him and will destroy him. Both prophet and inquirer must bear their iniquity. Famine, evil animals, the sword and plague are judgments God sends against a sinful land. Even Noah, Daniel and Job could save only their own lives, without delivering sons or daughters. A remnant brought out of Jerusalem will show the captives that God's judgment has cause.

As you read Ezekiel 14, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God calls people to turn from idols because each must answer for their own sin.

The elders' public inquiry conceals a heart already committed to idols, and God refuses to treat that divided loyalty as faithful seeking. God calls their chosen idols a stumbling block, showing that the worship they hold dear brings them into sin. God's answer exposes the heart that approaches Him, and His command calls it to turn from every abomination. A prophet who speaks deception shares the inquirer's guilt, showing that seeking a religious answer cannot make their shared rebellion safe. Noah, Daniel and Job are named as righteous men, yet even their presence would not deliver anyone else from the announced judgments. Their righteousness cannot cover sons or daughters, so family connection offers no escape from personal responsibility. The survivors brought to the captives provide visible evidence of Jerusalem's ways. Seeing those ways will show why God judged, vindicating His declaration that He has done nothing there without cause.

How does Ezekiel 14 show us that God calls people to turn from idols because each must answer for their own sin?

God exposes idols kept within the heart.

The elders bring idols in their hearts while coming to God's prophet (verses 1 to 6). God sees the loyalty that separates them from Him. He commands them to return and turn away from their idols.

God holds prophet and hearer accountable.

God will judge both the idolater who inquires and the prophet who is deceived (verses 7 to 11). He says He has deceived that prophet. Both bear their iniquity as God acts to end His people's wandering.

God requires each person to face their sin.

Noah, Daniel and Job could not deliver sons or daughters from the judgments God describes (verses 12 to 23). Only their own lives would be saved. God sends all four judgments on Jerusalem, cutting off people and animals (verse 21). Jerusalem's surviving remnant will show the captives that God has judged with cause.

Memorize

Return, and turn yourselves from your idols! Turn away your faces from all your abominations.

Ezekiel 14:6

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what idol is in my heart, and will I turn from it to Jesus?

God commands, “Return, and turn yourselves from your idols!” These elders cannot seek His word while treating the idols in their hearts as harmless. Nor can righteous people around them deliver them from the judgment He announces. Each must face the Lord's call.

Christ is the Savior sinners need before this holy God. He carried His people's sins to the cross and died under their sentence instead of them. By His obedience and death He completed everything needed to save them. God raised Him from the dead, and His sufficient work stands forever.

Please turn from your idols and put your faith in Jesus. He promises forgiveness to all who come to Him, however sinful their hearts have been. Come with your own guilt and ask Him for mercy. His mercy gives repentant sinners forgiveness and a new reason to worship God alone.

Parent's note

Tell your children that each must answer to God, and Jesus died and rose to save sinners who come to Him. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for uncovering the idols in our hearts, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12

Lord, thank You for calling sinners back to Yourself through Jesus Christ. Forgive our hidden loyalties and help each one turn from sin and trust Him personally. Please give us hearts that love You above every idol and receive Your truth with willing obedience. Amen.