"Her (Israel) priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." Ezekiel 22:26
Profaning the Holy. My wife wrote a fantastic poem/prose called profaning the Holy. It is a story about the dichotomy of man and how we have, at times, ruined the things of God with the things of man.
It has happened many times in history where entire nations went from serving God to serving idols, from having godly Sabbaths to an 'any ol time' scenario, from following the will of God to following after their own self interest. This is reiterated in the stories in the Bible, like:
Adam and Eve
Noah and the Ark
Jonah and the whale
The tower of Babel
The money changers in the temple
The crucifixion of Christ
The point is that mankind has been profaning the Holy in each generation. There are people that break out of this worldly partaking and follow Christ, but as it was from the beginning, it is a remnant.
If God is so great and the blessings so enormous and the power so incredible, why is it that everyone doesn't recognize this and follow after God? Man's propensity to profane the Holy is powerful, starts early, and without leadership is easily cemented into a lifestyle.
That's what I want to talk about. Just for a moment let's only look at those who claim Christ as their Saviour. I am talking to the born again believers group, those who attend church or are a part of a collective group of believers.
The nation of Israel has waxed and waned in love with God and God's ways. All that God has done for the nation of Israel has not been recorded in the Bible or history in general. They had the tabernacle and lost the tabernacle, they had the ark of the covenant and lost the ark of the covenant, they claimed to keep the laws of God and they claimed to be the ones who represented God on earth, but when God came as the incarnate Christ they didn't even recognize Him. They have followed God and rebelled against God. Here in Ezekiel about 593 BC they had fallen away again into hedonism. The things of God had lost their savor and man had once again turned to his own rudimentary and mundane pleasures and forfeited their connection to the Holy.
I believe that today Christians have become somewhat like those in Ezekiel's time. Please read the verse again. "Her (Israel) priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." Ezekiel 22:26
We don't deny that there are holy things, we simply don't give them there place in God's economy.
We don't deny that there are clean and unclean, places, events, TV, radio, video games, music, books, thoughts, but we are not suited for battle and standing fast against the unholy versions.
We don't deny that there are Sabbaths and holy days, we simply put them in the same category as all other days. We have done that.
We are guilty of profaning the Holy, because we have not stood up and said no to the wishy-washy, watered down, flowery and insignificant preaching that has dominated our pulpits for years. Our pastors must tell the people about the Holy things of God, about our responsibilities and about our liberty in Christ. You must read and believe scripture once again and not let someone talk you out of it. You must follow Christ even if it is not popular. You must hold strong, when, even those in the church are telling you, that you are taking this Jesus thing a little too far.
It seems to me that even if a nation of people are heading in the wrong direction, that individuals are empowered to rise above it and lead the way of following God. How do you feel about profaning the Holy?
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