In my quiet time I’m reading through the book of Ezekiel. Today’s reading was about the sin of Israel and Judah. From Ezekiel we learn at least three things about sin:
1. Sin doesn’t satisfy.
God said to Israel in Ezekiel 16:28-29, “You have prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, too. It seems you can never find enough new lovers! And after your prostitution there, you still were not satisfied. You added to your lovers by embracing Babylonia, the land of merchants, but you still weren’t satisfied.” The Bible is clear. Sin does not satisfy. Quit the opposite its true. Sin creates an insatiable hunger for more sin. God says to Israel in Ezekiel 16:26, “Then you added lustful Egypt to your lovers, provoking my anger with your increasing promiscuity.” Israel’s longing for fulfillment was not quenched by sin, rather sin intensified her longing. And the same is true for us.
2. Sin is fulfilling a God-given desire in an unrighteous way.
God said to Israel in Ezekiel 16:32, “Yes, you are an adulterous wife who takes in strangers instead of her own husband.” Israel was the bride. God was the groom. But Israel didn’t turn to the groom to meet her needs. She turned to adultery. You see, Satan always tempts us to fulfill righteous, God-given desires, in sinful ways.
- The desire for sleep is a God-given desire. Satan will tempt us to fulfill our need for sleep in an unrighteous way – through slothfulness and laziness.
- The desire for sex is a God-given desire. Satan will tempt us to fulfill our need for sex in an unrighteous way – through lust, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc.
- The desire for food is a God-given desire. Satan will tempt us to fulfill our need for food in an unrighteous way – through gluttony.
For every God-given desire, there is a righteous and unrighteous way to fulfill it. The follower of Christ, with God’s help, chooses the righteous way.
3. Sin leads to death.
God said to Israel in Ezekiel 16:39, “Then I will give you to these many nations who are your lovers, and they will destroy you. They will knock down your pagan shrines and the altars to your idols. They will strip you and take your beautiful jewels, leaving you stark naked.” Israel turned to foreign nations to find fulfillment. These are the very nations that ended up attacking, conquering and exiling Israel to foreign lands as slaves. You see, the Bible teaches that sin leads to death. Proverbs 14:12 says “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” And Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We ought not to turn to sin for fulfillment. It’s the very thing that will steal our joy and lead us into slavery.