Idolatry Leads to Uselessness

Our Idolatry Always Costs Us

Ezekiel 15:1-8

Nothing will keep the gospel from advancing in us and through us more than our pursuit of sin. Are you ready for an agricultural pop quiz? What is an apple tree supposed to produce? Apples. What is an orange tree supposed to produce? Oranges. What is a pear tree supposed to produce? Pears. I’m sure you get it by now, but let me ask you, What if each of these three trees does not produce their intended fruit? What else are they good for? Perhaps shade or firewood, but neither of these benefits is the primary purpose for which these trees were created.

In Ezekiel 15 we are informed the grapevine exists for one purpose. It is not useful for making furniture (vv. 2-3). It is not useful as a wall peg (v. 3). If the grapevine is not producing fruit, then its only use is for the fire (v. 4). Once burned, the vine is even less useful (v. 5). Like the vine in the illustration, Jerusalem and God’s people had become fruitless and worthless.

What led to Israel’s uselessness? They acted unfaithfully toward God (v. 8). They cheated on God with gods that did not exist and with idols they brought into their hearts. They engaged in disobedience and disbelief. Peter did not want those he loved becoming unfruitful, so he told them how to avoid it:

Make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Pet 1:5-8)

Even in exile God did not want His people to be useless or unfruitful. Through the pen of Jeremiah, God sent a letter to the exiles. He told them to “seek the welfare of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it has prosperity, you will prosper” (Jer 29:7). For seeking the welfare of their city to even be a possibility “suggests that many Jews managed fairly well in captivity” (Smith, Prophets, 253). God always has a purpose for when He places us somewhere. Even exile is a stewardship for God’s people.

The exiles are not to be passive, but they are intentionally to seek the good of the Babylonians. Paul told the Galatians, “As we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith” (Gal 6:10). We cannot simultaneously seek the good of our cities and join them in sin. Even if the Israelites considered the Babylonians to be their enemies, they were still to intercede for them. This admonition is the same one we have received from Jesus (Matt 5:44).

The greatest good God’s people can do for the cities in which they live is to proclaim the gospel. Of course, the gospel will not advance through us if it is not advancing in us. Furthermore, we cannot seek the good of the city if we continually seek ways out of the city. Likewise, we cannot seek the good of the city if we make the walls of the faith community a fortress we stay behind. Uselessness was never a path God chose for His people but one they chose for themselves every time they pursued sin.

How about your faith family? Is your congregation seeking the good of its city, or is it seeking sin just like everyone else? In what ways is your city a better place to live because your church exists? How often does your faith family pray for the good of your city?

I am not sure how much time I have spent pursuing sin in my life, but I do know two things about it. First, I’ve spent a lot of time in rebellious pursuits. Second, all of that time has been wasted. Sin never provides a single benefit. Instead of seeking sin and becoming useless like those in Jerusalem, let us seek the good of our cities and pray for them. Our exile will one day come to an end as well. Let us always be mindful of Peter’s exhortation:

Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires that war against you. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Pet 2:11-12)

Our Idolatry Must Be Covered by Another

Ezekiel 14:12-23

Paul once said,

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience is testifying to me with the Holy Spirit—that I have intense sorrow and continual anguish in my heart. For I could almost wish to be cursed and cut off from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers, my own flesh and blood. They are Israelites. (Rom 9:1-4)

Could you imagine trading your eternity for the benefit of others? Paul said he almost desired to perish and be forsaken if it meant his people, the Israelites, would not be. I find it most interesting these were the people who tended to bring Paul the most harm, but he was resilient in his love for them and concern for their souls.

Paul’s “almost-wish,” however, is not a possibility. He is not able to save others because he is not able to save himself. All of Paul’s righteousness has been given to him rather than earned by him, and it does not transfer to another designee of his choosing.

As Ezekiel 14 draws to a close, God tells Jerusalem He is going to send sword, famine, dangerous animals, and plague in order to wipe out both man and animal from it (v. 21). What’s more, no one can stop it. When you think of righteous men mentioned in the Bible, who in particular comes to your mind besides Christ? If you are struggling to generate a roster, the Lord has three suggestions for you. His list includes Noah, Daniel, and Job (v. 14). God includes this trio merely to point out that even if they were in Jerusalem they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness (v. 14), but they could do nothing to save the city from God’s judgment. In fact, they are powerless even to deliver their sons and daughters (v. 16). God’s people have chosen idolatry, their idolatry has made them useless, and now God is going to wipe them out for their pursuit of sin and lack of repentance.

In light of the conclusion of Ezekiel 14, we are reminded there is only one whose righteousness can save Jerusalem and every other city. Christ’s righteousness alone can be imputed to others. Unlike Noah, Daniel, and Job, Christ can save us from the wrath that is coming because He took it upon Himself (1 Thess 1:10). Since we cannot transfer any personal righteousness to others, the greatest thing we can do is to share the gospel with them and beg them to flee to Christ. If God did not withhold His judgment from His holy city or from His Son when our sin was laid on Him, then He will not withhold His judgment from anyone else.

Conclusion

Secret sin is only a secret to other people. It’s no secret to us or to God. As much as we want God to turn a blind eye to our rebellion, He refuses. We were created for His glory (Isa 43:7) and not for our cravings. If God leaves us to ourselves, we will become worthless and will eventually be destroyed. Christ, however, can deliver us from these bodies of death and provide the only means of escaping God’s coming judgment (Rom 7:24-25). On our best day our blood could never do the work Christ’s has done. We should depend on Christ alone, and we should seek the good of our cities by calling them to turn from their sin and live.

Reflect and Discuss