Sin-eating disease

Today: Ezekiel 23-24



Tonight I visited my Dad in the hospital. He has an infection on his leg--which he scraped while snorkeling amidst the coral reefs of Hawaii. This being the 21st century and all, I went online to research the different kinds of bacteria that could be causing his infection...and I started squirming in my seat. I won't go into graphic detail, but I will say that infections are just plain nasty. (And luckily, Dad is on several antibiotics and his infection has responded well to them.)


Today's passage was pretty graphic as well. God painted a gruesome picture of the perils of sin. At the end of today's chapters, the prophet Ezekiel became a painful lesson to God's people--when his wife died and God instructed Ezekiel not to mourn or carry out traditional funeral rituals. Take a look at Ezekiel's words here:

So I told them, "God's Word came to me, saying,

'Tell the family of Israel, This is what God, the Master, says:

I will desecrate

my Sanctuary,

your proud impregnable fort,

the delight of your life,

your heart's desire.

The children you left behind will be killed.
"'Then you'll do exactly as I've done.

You'll perform none of the usual funeral rituals.

You'll get dressed as usual and go about your work.

No tears.

But your sins will eat away at you from within

and you'll groan among yourselves.

Ezekiel will be your example.

The way he did it is the way you'll do it.
"'When this happens you'll recognize that I am God, the Master.'"

The wording of this passage was interesting to me, especially when you think of sin as an infection that eats away at you from within.



You see, my Dad went to his doctor because his leg started to get red and achy and painful. Too painful. I wish (and Dad probably wishes this, too!) that he would have gone to the doctor days ago, but luckily, Dad caught his infection relatively early. If left untreated, infection can seep into your blood stream--it can damage vital organs or even kill you.



Sin is like that, too. I pray that you and I will notice sin as soon as it's like a tiny scrape on our skin--that immediately, we'll ask God for His forgiveness and turn away from it. I hope and pray that we don't become calloused to disobedience. I pray that we do not have to experience the pain of a major sin infection that hurts us, others and most importantly, God Himself.



However, it's important to remember that God is the Healer of our bodies and our hearts. Thankfully, no one has to face eternal death in Hell because of sin-eating disease--God is able to forgive and give us the gift of eternal life in Heaven. We just have to ask.


Tomorrow: Ezekiel 25-27