Defiled worship

Ezekiel 8:6 (HCSB)

He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing here, so that I must depart from My sanctuary? You will see even greater abominations."

 

The glory of God departed the temple, and this is why. The people were doing detestable things there. They were worshipping idols in the temple of Jehovah!

 

Before we condemn them we better look at ourselves. Remember, God says “examine yourselves.” Where is the temple of God today? Not those made with human hands but that created by the art of God—the human body. Are we ever guilty of worshipping that which is not God in the temple of God? Do we defile our bodies? Do we commit detestable practices in the temple?

 

When a man takes the body that God has redeemed and inhabited with His Holy Spirit and use that body in an act of adultery or fornication, is that not an abomination? We are worshipping the body instead of the One who made the body! Do we obsess over the way we look? Now, it is good to take care of the temple. But is it proper to focus a disproportionate amount of time and attention on the body? It is one thing to keep it in shape, it is another thing altogether to be obsessed with “looking good” or “looking young.” On the other hand, some defile the temple by indulging it in other ways—over eating or using drugs or alcohol. It is all about making the body “feel good.” We do not live for our bodies—in live in our bodies.

 

The Bible teaches us that now the glory of God indwells the body of every born again Believer in Jesus Christ. The glory will never leave, but it can certainly be smothered beneath a mound of sin. Let us be careful! Let us keep the vessel clean so the light can shine through it. And remember, we worship in this temple not the temple itself.