Day 157

“The cords of hell were round me: the nets of death came on me.” (2 Sam 22:6, BBE)

It is frightful to consider that when people come to Christ there is often such an overwhelming threat of deception in the outer courts of faith that they end up being bound to the horns of the altar with bonds of iniquity (Acts 8:23). Yesterday Ezekiel 8 enlightened us as to how certain rituals performed in the temple had the guise of legitimate worship but were in fact a case of profane fire on the altar (Num 26:61), in reality worshipping other gods. In this way many believers, without realising it, call God “my Baal” instead of “My Husband” (Hos 2:16, GNB). Thus Ps 74:3-4 states: “Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.”

In these “chambers of imagery” (Ezek 8:12, EST) the temples are invaded and evil insignia scrawled on the walls, mostly because of the individual’s exposure to certain harmful elements, his lack of discernment and because the foundation of his faith was never properly laid (Ps 11:3). As Jeremiah so aptly writes, “And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.” (Jer 14:3). In the Douay-Rheims Bible of 1899 Isa 34:13-14 describes this state of things as follows: “And thorns and nettles shall grow up in its houses, and the thistle in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be the habitation of dragons, and the pasture of ostriches. And demons and monsters shall meet, and the hairy ones shall cry out one to another, there hath the lamia lain down, and found rest for herself.”

Returning to Ezek 8 we find that because the temple faced the west, the Jews were not permitted to, like the Gentiles, face east when worshipping. This was postulated to prevent them from turning their backs on the Holy of holies and worshipping the gods of the uncircumcised. To bow before the sun rising in the east would infer sun worship, an act explicitly forbidden by God (Deut 4:19). It may seem a bit far-fetched within our contemporary context, but in Denise Woods’ book Reaping the Whirlwind it becomes clear how closely the Afrikaner’s religious tradition is linked to sun worship, a fact which should be cause for grave concern.

  • Sela: Ask the Holy Spirit to cast light on your initial entry into the Kingdom of God.
  • Read: 2 Sam 10; Prov 14; Heb 8
  • Memorise: Heb 8:1-2 & 13.
  • For a deeper understanding: Read Victor Uchegbulam’s book Breaking the spiritual horns in the nation.