Ezekiel 14:3: “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?”

December 9th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Ezekiel is referred to as “son of man” 93 times in the Book of Ezekiel. This is also the title Jesus often used to refer to Himself in the New Testament, “Son of Man.” In part this brought to the people’s minds the prophecy of the coming Messiah as the Son of Man, found in Daniel (Dan. 7:13–14). But there is also great humility in this title; it pointed to the fact that though Jesus was fully God, He was also fully man, and therefore able to sympathize with us (Heb. 4:15). For Ezekiel, God used it to remind him that he was only a human being, and as such, should remain humble as God used him as His prophet and mouthpiece among His people.

In this verse, God was speaking to Ezekiel, “son of man,” concerning a group of elders of Israel who had asked Ezekiel to seek God for guidance on their behalf. But in reality these religious leaders were worshiping idols and leading lives filled with habitual sin. They liked to appear spiritual but they were in fact simply playing games with God. The Lord had continued to give them grace and truth up until this time, but they had refused to submit and surrender to Him. They had allowed idols to become their life’s focus, and God was calling them on their hypocrisy. Galatians tells us that God will not be mocked, “for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (6:7).

As believers, we must continually be assessing our lives in light of eternity. When professional golf player Paul Azinger learned in 1993 that he had cancer, he said:

I was in shock. I had thought that Dr. Jobe would tell me they had discovered some form of weird infection in my shoulder or possibly even a stress fracture. The one word I never expected to hear him say was cancer.

Thankfully, his cancer was curable. After going through chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Azinger returned to the golf tour cancer free. When asked if golf was still important to him, he said:

Yes and no. Yes, of course golf is important to me. I love the game; it is how I make a living. But no, golf is no longer at the top of my priority list. In fact, it runs a slow fourth. My priorities now are God, my family, my friends, and golf. Golf is no longer my god. Golf is hitting a little white ball. God is my God, and God is a whole lot bigger than golf.

Isn’t it interesting how cancer and other life-threatening diseases have a way of putting priorities in the correct order?

“LORD, we thank You for the eternal perspective You have called us to this day.”