Passage Read: Ezekiel 8-11
Meditation Verses: 9:9-10
Thought
They spoke as if the Lord had abandoned them, so they had no choice but to turn to other gods for help and deliverance. But the Lord had not yet abandoned them; He saw everything they were doing and it grieved Him. So He did abandon them to the consequences of rejecting Him. They had abandoned Him first and chased after other gods until the Lord was so offended that He gave them up. Not without leaving them a testimony and calling them to repentance. They refused to repent, and their excuse was that God had long ago forsaken them, as if God were the one who did wrong to them.
Application
How often and how easy it is to blame the Lord for the trouble that comes into our life, as if God is capricious and suddenly gives us up for no apparent reason. But He had in fact warned and called us to repentance. It is we who are not listening, who refuse to repent and do as He asks. We forsake Him first, not the other way around. We are wrong to accuse God of abandoning us for no reason. God will not abandon me, or any other believer, unless I refuse to listen to His voice and turn from my evil ways to His righteous ways. He'll warn and instruct, but if I don't listen and obey, He'll leave me to my own devices! If God abandons me, it's my fault, not His.