Today's Bible Reading: EZEKIEL 5:1-9:11
Ezekiel 8:7,12
And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. . . . Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures?
We all have our secrets, those things that we do or have done in seclusion and hope that no one discovers. We all have portions of our life that are walled in so no one can observe our behavior behind closed doors. So long as we can keep them from becoming exposed, we will continue our charade. We hope we aren’t found out.
But here is a telling verse. Secrets are not secret to God. Dark rooms are not dark to Him. Hidden sins can’t be hidden from His sight. Here are leaders, ministers, elders who are caught up in secret sins. They are secretly indulging in their iniquity. Hidden “in the dark”, they engage in their fleshly desires. They delight in their debauchery. They assume their anonymity will conceal them. They think that what they do in the dark will not come to light. They even conclude that the all-seeing God doesn’t see them. They say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’” But they were terribly wrong. As Job has said, “For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps. There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.” (Job 34:21-22). You can’t escape the eyes of the Lord.
But now they are exposed. There was "a hole in the wall". Their dark secrets are seen. Their vileness becomes visible. What they had veiled becomes unveiled. Their hidden “room of pictures” is exposed. Their false presumption becomes unraveled. God had not forsaken them or forgot about them. He knew exactly where they were and what they were up to. He found them. Now, He confronts them. He calls them out. His judgement looms over them. There is a hole in their wall. They are found out. Everything hidden has now been uncovered.
Here is a sober truth. Eventually, there will be holes in our walls. Our dark rooms of sin will be penetrated with the illuminating presence of God. Our secrets will be revealed and our sins disclosed. Conviction will be felt. Forgiveness will be sought. Oh, for a merciful moment from the Merciful one. Oh, for an offer of grace from the grace giver. There is no excuse we can claim and there is defense we can muster. We are exposed. As the writer of Hebrews declares, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb 4:13).
But don’t wait till there is a hole in your wall to come out of your dark room. Take a hard look at your life. Confront your secrets. Come clean. Confess your sins. Close down the room. Cry out for forgiveness. Cling to the hope of redemption and restoration you have in Christ through the transforming power of his Spirit. Come out of “the dark” and live in the light. Your “room of pictures” is not worth the ruin that will result. Destroy what is destroying you. No longer let what is behind your wall, wall you off from the Lord. Trust Him to help you take down your pictures and tear down your wall. Whatever it is that has got a hold of you, let it go. Do it now before it does you in.
Today take stock of the secrets that you conceal. Ask the Lord to help you take steps to demolish the walls that harbor your hidden sin. Don’t just come clean and confess them, but completely destroy them. Ask the Lord to help you change your delights and desires from the pleasures of sin to pleasing Him.
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