So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshipping the sun toward the east. Ezekiel 8:16
When a person does not like something or someone, that person will turn his back towards what is not liked. Sometimes it is done to rile up someone else or to show that the other person is being ignored.
Ezekiel records that God brought him into the inner court of the temple. There he saw some men with their backs towards the temple of God, facing east and worshipping the sun.
No one likes to have someone else turn their backs towards them. It is often seen as a sign of disrespect or rebellion. This becomes even more true when the one being turned against is the one in authority.
All over the world, there are millions of people who claim to believe in Jesus and that they are Christians. Among these, there are many who are like the men in Ezekiel’s experience. People claim to believe in Jesus, yet turn their backs towards Him and His temple.
The turning of their backs is seen in that they purposefully live in some sinful way. They worship the things of this world and take on the sinful characteristics of this world. Jealousy, anger, drunkenness, adultery, fornication, lying, stealing, cheating and many other sins are committed, with no thought of repentance or change. Their backs are turned against God.
Every believer is to keep their face upon God, following Him and obeying His commands. They are to repent of all sin and worship Him alone.
When you love and care for someone, you would never want that person to turn his back towards you. You would take offense to that being done.
God loves you more than any person ever could and only wants what is best for you. He has forgiven you of all your sins and given you life. Do not allow yourself to turn your back towards Him and begin to worship the things of this world. Seek God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. Worship God alone and never the things of this world.
Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will always keep your face towards God; that you will seek to live according to God’s commands; that you will only worship God; and that the world will see you worshipping God alone.
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
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