Daily Devotions
Ezekiel
"Profaned My Sabbaths"
Text: Ezekiel 22:8
JERUSALEM’S SINS
The royal family committed scandalous crimes. The general population saw the disregard of the princes for the things of God. They too followed their examples and filled Jerusalem with many dreadful sins.
“You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed;
in you are those who eat on the mountains;
in your midst they commit lewdness.”
Ezekiel 22:8-9
1. The holy things.
a) This would be a reference to the faith of Israel.
b) There were many things that were to be regarded as “holy things”:
i) The Temple
ii) The artefacts in the Temple
iii) The Scriptures
c) These things were now despised by the people.
2. The Sabbaths
a) The Sabbath was a day set aside for worship and doing good deeds.
b) There were Sabbath years too.
c) The concept of the Sabbath was also despised and disregarded.
3. Slander and Murder
a) Slandering people was commonplace in Jerusalem.
b) Relationships deteriorate.
c) Murder became a major problem in Jerusalem.
d) Blood was shed time and time again.
4. Idolatry prevailed
a) Many made trips to mountain tops to offer worship at shrines.
b) Many idolatrous practices involved temple prostitution.
c) Jerusalem itself was a centre for idolatrous worship.