Ezekiel 23:16: “As soon as her eyes saw them, / She lusted for them / And sent messengers to them in Chaldea.”

September 16th, 2021 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In this chapter, God compared Israel and Judah to 2 adulterous sisters who went after lovers, foreign nations and their false gods. This verse depicts Judah’s infatuation with the Chaldeans. They were captivated by the portraits of great Chaldean warriors that were painted in brilliant colors on the walls of their buildings. They coveted the Babylonian lifestyle, which led to a political alliance and sin.

Both nations had a history of trusting in alliances with foreign nations instead of trusting in God. 2 Kings 16 tells how Pekah, king of Israel, aligned with Syria and came against Ahaz, king of Judah. Instead of trusting in God, Ahaz sent word to the king of Assyria asking for help. Assyria agreed but at a steep cost, Judah would become a vassal to the Assyrians. And if that wasn’t bad enough, when Ahaz went to meet with the Assyrian king he became enamored with the design of an alter to their false god and had it replicated and brought into the temple in Jerusalem.

Famous baseball pitcher and believer Orel Hershiser said:

There are two theories of pitching. One is that you try to convince the batter that a particular pitch is coming and you throw something different. The other theory, that you don’t hear as much, but that I use, is that if the batter expects a particular pitch, you throw it, but you throw it in a place where he can’t hit it.

He meant that if a pitcher knows what a batter wants or expects, he can throw the ball almost there, which will throw the batter off and he won’t be able to hit well. If the batter is a highball hitter, the pitcher can throw it just a bit too high. The hitter’s eagerness will prevent him from backing off the swing. That is the way the enemy works in our lives. He knows just what kind of pitch we are a sucker for and then throws it our way, almost within our reach. We will be tempted because it looks so good, but it is just another trap.

“LORD, please give us eyes to see the traps being laid for us this day before they come and give us the strength to turn away.”