 THEIR HEARTS ARE GREEDY… This picture of a tent set up to honor Jesus’s birth in the midst of a refugee tent city, stands in stark contrast to the title of this post. Forced to flee from their homes and facing poverty and persecution, these Christians identified with Jesus as a fellow refugee, well acquainted with their struggles. Here they are, glorifying God in a way most of us Christians can only dream of: “Jesus is all we have left.” Today’s lesson from 585BC is about another nation who also worshipped God, but became so focused on their needs, He ended up chastising them and labeling them “greedy”. The evening of December 25 on our Gregorian calendar begins the 5th day of the 10th month on God's calendar, the anniversary of the fall of the mighty city of Jerusalem, capital of the nation God called "the apple of His eye". When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched against Jerusalem, the once great and glorious nation of Judah, the remaining remnant of Israel, fell, and fell hard. Ezekiel 33:23-26 recounts the Almighty's reply to the lamenting people of Judah who have come before the prophet Ezekiel, seeking God’s restoration and approval. A refugee had escaped and come to Ezekiel with first-hand news. “In the twelfth year of our exile, on the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, 'The city has fallen'. Then the Word of the Lord came to me, 'Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, "Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession." Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?’” God’s ancient “chosen people” took pride in the fact that they observed the Word of God and were the rightful inheritance of Abraham's blessing. They were so haughty and secure, they were pronouncing peace upon themselves, reckoning that they deserved it. The real truth was their daily lives were full of religious hypocrisy and disrespect for the Almighty’s Word, which He pointed out in no uncertain terms. And now, their expectation, indeed their self-righteous prayer, was that God would look favorably on them and restore peace to their nation. A prophet is not responsible for the salvation of those He speaks to. God will take care of that. But He IS responsible for warning folks of what is coming. "Say this to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.” Ezekiel 33:27-29. Sounds like God's plan was to make prideful religious people refugees in their own land! Maybe then, they would finally "get it". Indeed, the refugee status of God's chosen people was VITAL to His overall plan of redemption. Our response to the identity Jesus chose separates us as the sheep from the goats in the very last parable Jesus taught. “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:45-46. God sums it all up with His words to Ezekiel 33:31-33 “My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. When all this comes true--and it surely will--then they will know that a prophet has been among them." The true intentions or “hearts” of those calling themselves God’s people were motivated by greed and self-interest. The Hebrew word for "greedy" is "covetousness," which reveals a lack of genuine love and obedience to God Himself—and of course, the deep-seated need for more than God provides. Right now, God’s Word crosses the chasm of time to reveal the hearts of 21st century Christians who greedily can’t seem to get enough during our “holidays”, which is actually a contraction of “Holy and “Day”. Consider the full quote from the Christian refugee living in a tent. “…When Christmas is over, when you have had all your presents and food, Jesus is all we have left.” Yes, after we’ve had all the things we thought we needed and couldn't get enough of, what we really needed was a refugee who didn’t have presents, celebrations and food, to remind us that all we ever really needed in the first place, WE ALREADY HAVE IN JESUS! THEIR HEARTS ARE GREEDY... Listen to "Away From The Manger: The Refugee King” by Liz Vice Away from the manger they ran for their lives. And they ran and they ran and they ran… No stars in the sky but the Spirit of God And they ran and they ran and they ran… And we sing and we sing and we sing… Alleluja! Alleluja! Alleluja! Alleluja! |
Fontana Community Church
20 Fontana Church Road, P.O. Box 93
Fontana Dam, NC 28733
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