Ezekiel 16 is a fascinating passage. It is a graphic allegory of GOD’s relationship with the people of Israel. As GOD is speaking against the people for their sins, He says this: "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen." (v.49, 50)
She was ‘arrogant, overfed and unconcerned.’
This is her sin.
This is the Sodom as in Sodom and Gomorrah which GOD destroyed by fire.
That hits pretty hard. If arrogance is the opposite of humility, I’m definitely there. Overfed. I don’t think we think about this one very often. I often comment in humour how every gathering or party must have food. In our North American culture, our social lives are to a large degree intertwined with snacks, dinners and coffee outings. Statistically, we are definitely in the overfed category rather than that of the starving.
Unconcerned. The next statement is "they did not help the poor and needy." A few months ago I read a blog that stated that in preaching the emphasis should be put on what the Word talks about a lot. What keeps coming up as I read is the matter of the poor. Often in the old testament GOD lists neglecting the widows and orphans as one of the major sins committed. In Matthew 25 Jesus talks about seperating the sheep from the goats. The difference highlighted is how they treated the poor and the oppressed. James says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." To name a few examples. It comes up again and again and again. This is clearly something very close to GOD’s heart. The people of Israel did not do so well. How well are we doing?
I sponsor a child with Compassion Canada. Her name is Lydia. She’s 16 years old and lives in Uganda. Every time I get a letter from her I am so blessed to see how she’s growing and developing. I could pat myself on the back for this, but I don’t think I can say I’m done my job. To have that $35 sent to her every month is relatively painless. But it’s hard for me to be compassionate. I am not always moved by the statistics, the promo videos, the stories. But even worse, I’m often blinded to the poor in my very own neighbourhood. Here they don’t look like bums living in a cardboard box or bloated children. Here they look like nice little old ladies who do puzzles, wierdo kids and many other things that are subtle disguises for the "poor."
I’m writing this entry because I’m feeling challenged by this. GOD makes it abundantly clear that it’s a big deal to Him. So it should be a big deal to me.
the.happenings 