Hand in the Cookie Jar

Ezekiel 6:8-10

⁸ “But I will let a few of my people escape destruction, and they will be scattered among the nations of the world. ⁹ Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins. ¹⁰ They will know that I alone am the Lord and that I was serious when I said I would bring this calamity on them.

Getting away with stealing cookies from the cookie jar is one thing. It is a totally different thing to get caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. As a child, stealing cookies when you know you were told not to and not getting caught enforces a bravado that, without being checked, can turn into rebellion and a disdain for authority. Let’s just say you don’t get caught stealing cookies for a while. In time, you get bold and think no one is noticing. It becomes a habit of stealing cookies until it is no longer something to hide and do in secret, you now get clumsy and bold enough to steal in plain sight. When you get caught, you get mad because something you were used to getting, that you really shouldn’t be receiving on a daily basis, is taken away. Your small thieving act of stealing has now developed into outright rebellion against authority.

Ezekiel had the task from the Lord of letting His people know they had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Except it is not cookies they are stealing, they are turning their backs on the Lord. Once a small, secret act of false worship to a wooden god or burning incense in private had blown up into a nation that had completely abandoned the Lord. These same people, now being punished for their sin in Babylon, must endure a punishment meant to reprogram their hearts.

In verse nine, the Lord reveals an uncommon attribute of Himself. It reads, “They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols.” God is telling us how He hurts when we turn away from Him. When I was a kid, I heard parents say on television, “This hurts me more than it hurts you,” and pow, the hand of the parent went to spanking time. Now, a parent for many years, I can tell you how it hurts when my own children don’t heed our instruction. We see the train wreck coming, warn them, and punish them for their behavior, only to watch them proceed to wrecking ball as if no one had told them it was coming. It is hard to watch. All my girls are grown women now and doing great. Those times of parenting were hard. My heart can feel the Lord in verse nine because I was the one punishing and rebuking my own children, only to see them ignore the warnings.

If I have just described you, then the Holy Spirit is speaking to you right now. Those warnings and punishments you have ignored have been there for a reason. Just like the kid who got used to stealing cookies, you have become used to ignoring the Lord and the Holy Spirit speaking to you, pleading with you to turn from your sins and repent, only to ignore all the warnings. You may not have even been caught yet. You may have been caught, and you are dealing with some serious consequences, and your heart is in black mode, not listening to better judgment. Either way, now is the time to turn back to the Lord, even in the small areas that you refuse to give up. If the Lord is telling you to give it up and turn from that sin, do it immediately. If you have not already, become humble before the Lord and repent of your words, actions, and disdain, and come back to the Lord. Verse ten is a wake-up call for every one of us who thinks we won’t get caught sinning against the Lord. It reads, “They will know that I alone am the Lord and that I was serious when I said I would bring this calamity on them.” Don’t be the person whom the Lord has to break in order for your heart to be turned to Him. We have the Bible and these stories as a guide for us to learn from. Don’t miss the warnings.

Prayer: Father, I pray that we turn back to you and heed your correction in our lives. We repent of all the sins and bad habits that are sin against you, Lord. I fill that void with your word that tells us we are more than overcomers through Christ who strengthens us. In Jesus’ name, amen.