Re: Verse reading–Ezekiel 20:1-32 (day one)
“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them. . .’I will not let you inquire of me.’ ” (v 3) In the seventh year of their exile, a strange and sad moment comes for the leaders of Judah in Babylon. After much adversity they are ready for spiritual help, only to find that God is unwilling to communicate with them. So long as the idols of Egypt are still secretly in their homes (see v 7), and so long as they remain resistant to the faithful participation in the covenant sign of Sabbath, He will be fiercely silent. Most of forget that repentance from sin is part of the faith equation. “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2) Why should God face us until we are willing to face ourselves and our sin?