NOTES for Eze 14:1-23

People who had admitted idols into their hearts might not themselves have noticed how it happened. If they came to ask the prophet about the Lord's will, this means that they considered themselves quite devout and observant of the commandments. The point is not only that they may have considered outward piety sufficient despite insufficient inward faithfulness to God, but also that it is all too easy to fashion idols for ourselves out of everything around us without it even occurring to us that we have already become idolaters.

True, we do not bow before statues of pagan gods or burn incense before them, but is it easy for us to resist the temptations of pursuing money, physical health, a career, pleasures?.. The list could go on for a long time, and no one will take any of these things away from us if they occupy their rightful place in our hearts and do not claim dominion over us. But when placed at the centre of our attention, all these interests and needs cease to belong to us, and then we become their property. Everything necessary, once transformed from a means into an end in itself, ceases to serve us.

We need not abandon reasonable interests, but if everything is to remain in its proper place, we must put the Giver of good things at the centre of our attention.