God will not play spiritual pat-a-cake with us by allowing us to seek His help while we continue turning to our idols and self-efforts. If God doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers, maybe we need to ask ourselves, “Am I playing spiritual games with God?”
And what about those who might be playing games with their own eternity by claiming a relationship with God and living another way?
Today’s Readings:
Ezekiel 19 & 20
Psalm 125.1-5
Proverbs 28.22
Hebrews 10.1-18
Could You Be Playing Games with God?
Ezekiel 19 & 20:
Prophesying to the Captives
As you’re reading the book of Ezekiel, it might help to remember that this book does not follow Jeremiah chronologically. Ezekiel was a contemporary of Jeremiah, although Jeremiah was about 20 years older and began his prophetic ministry over 30 years earlier. Their prophecies about the fall of Jerusalem and the various deportations cover the same events, but while Jeremiah was prophesying to the people in Jerusalem and later in Egypt where he was forced to go late in his ministry, Ezekiel was prophesying in Babylon to those who had been taken captive.
In chapter 20, some of the elders of Israel living in captivity came to Ezekiel and asked him to seek the Lord on their behalf. But it’s obvious from God’s response that, despite coming to the prophet, they continued with their idolatry.
A History of Idolatry
In response, God summarized the history of their nation. He reminded them of their 400-year captivity in Egypt where they had turned to the gods of their captors. Even after God brought them out of Egypt so they would have the freedom to worship Him as they had been commanded, they quickly turned back to false gods (remember the golden calf).
Then after all the ways He demonstrated His provision and power, they refused to trust Him to help them take possession of the Promised Land. Of the 12 spies sent in, only Joshua and Caleb believed that their God was able! So God caused them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Even after He allowed them to go in and possess the land, they continued to get involved in idolatry and live life their own way.
People Like Us
Sometimes we forget that the events of the Old Testament are historically true. These were real people and real events.
And if we’re honest, at the heart level, they were not that much different from us. How many times have we prayed and asked God for help and wisdom while we continue to try to work things out in our own strength and in our own way? How often have we turned to our idols for help (something sweet to comfort ourselves, a drink to help us relax, buying something to lift our spirits …) or manipulation (getting angry, pouting, crying, withholding affection …) in order to control someone or something?
Turning Back to Our False Gods
How about you? Are you still tempted to turn back to false gods? Do you come to God and “inquire of Him”—pray for His answers—and then work things out your way because God doesn’t do what you want or doesn’t do it on your timetable?
Of course, there are other ways that we play games with God. We’re playing games when we profess faith in Christ, go to church each Sunday, and then continue to live life our own way. We’re playing games when we beg God to get us out of the mess we’ve made with our own sinful words and actions and when He does, go right back to the same behavior.
God will not play spiritual games with us. He will not share His glory with the gods of our own design. Just as in Old Testament times, God wants us to “know that He is God”! Let’s pray for His help in recognizing our own sin and idolatry.
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 125.1-5:
Those Who Trust in the Lord
On the other hand:
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever (v.1).
Proverbs 28.22:
Quick Riches & Quick Poverty
A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, and does not consider that poverty will come upon him.
This man or woman has a sinful view of life, especially in the area of material gain. Their narrow self-focused view blinds them to the fact that all they work so hard to get can be taken from them suddenly! Remember Ezekiel 14—they have put the stumbling block of their iniquity right before their eyes and it blinds them to anything else!
Hebrews 10.1-18:
Remember Them No More
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD. I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’ (vv. 16-17).
One definition for the word “remember” is “to bring an image or idea from the past into the mind.”
Think about that. As His blood-bought children, God chooses not to bring back those images of our past sins. And we are commanded to do the same with each other:
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Eph. 4.32).
We are to forgive one another even as God has forgiven us and “remember” one another’s sins no more. And not replay some video over and over in our minds, bringing it to our remembrance again and again!
Coming Up:
In the next few days, we’ll discuss whether church attendance is necessary or optional, trusting God in suffering, the key to the Christian life, and ask the question, “Where is God when life is hard?”
I hope you’ll join us.
Getting Ready for 2025:
The holidays are just around the corner and the new year will be on us before we know it. What will you do to make Bible reading an ongoing habit in the coming year? I’d like to encourage you to set a goal to read through the Bible again or for the first time. If you join me, I’ll take you through a plan that covers both the Old and New Testaments in about 15 minutes a day. You can read each day’s post or watch as I read through the passages on YouTube. Sign up here for my daily email. It has links to the written post and the YouTube video. And it can serve as a gentle reminder to stay on track and I believe you’ll benefit from the additional information I share and grow as you learn to apply God’s Word to your own life.
You can check out our YouTube channel here.
If this post spoke to you, I would love it if you would share it on your favorite social media platform.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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