Ezekiel 8:12-18: a reflection

12Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery? For they say, ‘The LORD doesn’t see us. The LORD has forsaken the land.’” 13He said also to me, “You will again see more of the great abominations which they do.” 14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’s house which was toward the north; and I saw the women sit there weeping for Tammuz. 15Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? You will again see yet greater abominations than these.” 16He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house; and I saw at the door of the LORD’s temple, between the porch and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the LORD’s temple and their faces toward the east. They were worshiping the sun toward the east. 17Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger. Behold, they put the branch to their nose. 18Therefore I will also deal in wrath. My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.”

In a vision of the hidden idolatry practiced in Jerusalem, God exposes a delusion at its heart: the people did these things in secret, in the dark, telling themselves that the LORD does not see. Have you seen what the elders do in the dark, God asks the prophet, every man in his room of images? For they say, the LORD doesn't see us. They committed their idolatry in secret, in hidden rooms, comforting themselves with the thought that God did not see what they did in the dark. But this was a delusion; for God did see, and showed the prophet the very things they thought hidden. Nothing done in secret is hidden from God. This confronts the delusion that God does not see the sin we do in secret. God sees the sin we do in secret, thinking he does not. Nothing we do in the dark is hidden from God. The thought that God does not see is a delusion. God sees even what we do in secret.

Notice the self-deception the people practiced. They did their idolatry in secret, in hidden rooms, in the dark; and they told themselves that the LORD did not see them, that what they did in secret was hidden from God. Perhaps the secrecy itself fed the delusion: since no human eye saw them, they imagined no eye saw them at all, not even God's. But this was a fatal delusion. God saw everything; he showed the prophet the very abominations the people thought hidden, exposing what they had done in the dark. This confronts a delusion we can share. We can do in secret what we would never do openly, telling ourselves that because no one sees, it does not really count, that it is hidden, even from God. But nothing is hidden from God. He sees what we do in the dark, in secret, when we think no one is watching, as clearly as what we do in the open. The secrecy that emboldens us to sin is an illusion; God sees. This should sober us: our secret sins are not hidden from God, who sees all. And it should turn us from thinking we can sin in secret with impunity, to living honestly before the God who sees everything. God sees our secret sins as clearly as our open ones. Do not imagine that what you do in secret is hidden from God. The secrecy that emboldens sin is an illusion; God sees. Live honestly before the God from whom nothing is hidden.

That is worth taking to heart, for God sees the sin we do in secret, and the thought that he does not see is a delusion, as God exposed the hidden idolatry of those who said the LORD does not see us. We can do in secret what we would not do openly, telling ourselves that because no one sees it is hidden, even from God; but God saw the very things the people thought hidden in the dark. Nothing is hidden from God. Do not imagine your secret sins are hidden from God; live honestly before the God who sees all. Do not imagine that the sin you do in secret is hidden from God, but live honestly before the God from whom nothing is hidden, for God exposed the delusion of those in Jerusalem who did their idolatry in secret, in hidden rooms and in the dark, telling themselves that the LORD did not see them, by showing the prophet the very abominations they thought hidden; for the secrecy itself may feed the delusion, so that since no human eye sees us we imagine no eye sees us at all, not even God's, but this is a fatal delusion, since God sees everything and nothing done in secret is hidden from him, and we can share this delusion, doing in secret what we would never do openly and telling ourselves that because no one sees it does not really count or is hidden even from God, but nothing is hidden from God, who sees what we do in the dark as clearly as what we do in the open, so that the secrecy that emboldens us to sin is an illusion, which should sober us and turn us from thinking we can sin in secret with impunity to living honestly before the God who sees everything.

Lord, in a vision of the hidden idolatry practiced in Jerusalem, you expose a delusion at its heart: the people did these things in secret, in the dark, telling themselves that the LORD does not see. Have you seen what the elders do in the dark, you ask the prophet, every man in his room of images? For they say, the LORD doesn't see us. They committed their idolatry in secret, comforting themselves with the thought that you did not see what they did in the dark. But this was a delusion; for you did see, and showed the prophet the very things they thought hidden. Nothing done in secret is hidden from you. Show me the self-deception the people practiced. They did their idolatry in secret, in the dark; and they told themselves that you did not see them. Perhaps the secrecy itself fed the delusion: since no human eye saw them, they imagined no eye saw them at all, not even yours. But this was a fatal delusion. You saw everything; you exposed the very abominations they thought hidden. This confronts a delusion I can share. I can do in secret what I would never do openly, telling myself that because no one sees, it does not really count, that it is hidden, even from you. But nothing is hidden from you. You see what I do in the dark, in secret, when I think no one is watching, as clearly as what I do in the open. The secrecy that emboldens me to sin is an illusion; you see. Take that to my heart, for you see the sin I do in secret, and the thought that you do not see is a delusion. Keep me from imagining that what I do in secret is hidden from you; help me live honestly before you, Lord, from whom nothing is hidden, not thinking I can sin in secret with impunity, but knowing that you see everything I do, in the dark as clearly as in the open.