Scripture Daily

Context No. 4052 of 4322 · Ezekiel

Context · Reflection

Ezekiel 11:1-6: in context

1Moreover the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the LORD’s house, which looks eastward. Behold, twenty-five men were at the door of the gate; and I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ 4Therefore prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.” 5The LORD’s Spirit fell on me, and he said to me, “Speak, ‘The LORD says: “Thus you have said, house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind. 6You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.”

Ezekiel is shown a group of wicked leaders in Jerusalem who devise iniquity and give evil counsel, confident in their own security. And God tells the prophet something striking: I know the things that come into your mind. The very thoughts of these men, their schemes and their false confidence, were fully known to God. Nothing they plotted in the privacy of their minds was hidden from him.

This is both a sobering warning and, in another light, a comfort. It is sobering because it means that our thoughts, not just our words and deeds, are open before God. The schemes we hatch in private, the attitudes we hide behind a respectable face, the true intentions beneath our words, God knows them all. This is a call to an integrity that goes deeper than appearances, to a heart, not just an outward life, that is right before God who sees within. But for those who love God, the same truth is a comfort: the God who knows our every thought also knows our sincere desires, our hidden struggles, the prayers we cannot put into words. Nothing about us is hidden from him.

Do I live in awareness that God knows my very thoughts, not just my words and deeds, seeking a heart that is right before him where no one else can see, rather than only managing my outward appearance?

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