Today’s Reading, Ezekiel 5-8
Focal Scripture: Ezekiel 8:12 “He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? For they are saying, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has abandoned the land.’”
The tone of every home is set by the leader. In a two parent household the leader biblically should be the father. If he is patient and kind the family will experience patience and kindness. If he is rude and controlling, the other people in the house will begin to reflect that same attitude. The leader sets the stage for the environment. The leader also sets the stage for what is worshipped. The leader also prepares those in his house how to stand up for truth. Leaders influence the environment in a large way.
In today’s reading Ezekiel gets a sneak peek into the elders of Israel. They are hiding in the dark worshipping idols. The text is very specific here and says that each is at the shrine of his idol. This means that they took that one to build a shrine and place their idol in it to be worshipped. This is not a mistake, this is planned out rebellion against God. No wonder the people worshipped idols. The leaders who claimed to love and serve God, had their hearts elsewhere.
Today, I want to speak directly to men. I know that sometimes women lead in homes and in life for a variety of reasons. However, the biblical standard is for men to stand up and lead the way God does. If our homes are failing apart it is nobody else’s fault except ours as the leader. If our marriages are crumbling it falls on us as the head of the house. If our children are not trained properly we have nobody to blame but ourselves. Is this a difficult task, absolutely. It is actually impossible unless you rely on the Lord.
Right now, I know some of you are saying what about this exception and what about that exception. I understand that sometimes we can do everything right and people make bad decisions. In this context we are talking about not leading well and being directly to blame for what takes place. Men, we are responsible for the spiritual condition of our homes. We can’t point and put the blame on others. If our families are worshipping idols it is probably because we are also.
Don’t make excuses like the nation of Israel’s leaders and say God has abandoned us. We need to humble ourselves and ask the Lord to make us the leaders he has called us to be everyday.
We are expected to lead and lead we do, whether it’s toward the God of heaven or towards false idols.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Ezekiel 9-12
