“And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.”
(Ezekiel 6:9)
In this passage, Ezekiel prophesied of a remnant that would be carried away captive and while there, in a foreign country, they would remember their God. In their prosperity they forgot Him, but in their affliction they would remember Him. In much the same way, when life is easy, our heart tends to wander; but when life grows hard, we are more likely to seek Him again.
God says something remarkable in this passage: “I am broken with their whorish heart.” How greatly God is displeased with the unfaithfulness of His people. He refers to their idolatry as “a whorish heart” because they turned away from Him and gave their love to idols. They didn’t just make a mistake; they committed spiritual adultery. They gave their hearts, their trust, and their love to other things instead of their God.[1]
Sin is not simply breaking a rule; it is departing from God. It is loving something or someone else more than Him, trusting something or someone else more than Him, or desiring something or someone else more than Him. Sin is a serious matter because it is against God Himself.
But the passage also shows what true repentance looks like. It says, “they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed.” True repentance includes self-loathing, not in the sense of hating that we exist, but hating the sin that is in us and what we have done against our God. When a person truly repents, he does not excuse his sin, minimize his sin, or blame others for it. He sees his sin clearly and is ashamed of it and grieved by it.
Like the Israelites, when we truly remember God—His holiness, His goodness, His mercy, and His authority—then we begin to see our sin as rebellion against a righteous God.
In the affliction of captivity, in sorrow, in loss, and in hardship, the remnant remembered the Lord and repented. Affliction humbles us, and a humbled heart is more ready to repent. And in fact, many people do not truly see their sin until God brings them low. Only then do they begin to think about their life, their ways, and their relationship to Him.
Let us therefore pray that God would keep our hearts from wandering, and that if we do wander, He would bring us back to remember Him, to repent of our sins, and to hate the sin that has separated our hearts from Him.
Contemplations:
- Remembering God After Wandering. Lord, Your people often remember You most after they have wandered and You have brought them into difficulty. I am also prone to forget You when life is easy and to remember You more when life becomes hard. So help me remember You in times of peace as well as in times of trouble. Do not let me be one who must be brought low before I look up, but keep my heart mindful of You daily.
- Seeing Sin as Departing From God. Father, help me understand that sin is my heart departing from You. It is loving, trusting, and desiring something or someone more than You. When I sin, I am not only doing wrong; I am turning away from You. Help me see sin this way so that I may truly hate it and turn from it more quickly.
- Learning to Loathe My Sin. Lord, Your Word says that Your people would loathe themselves for their sins. I confess that I am often more sorry for the consequences of sin than for the sin itself. Teach me to hate sin because it is against You. Give me a heart that is grieved over sin, ashamed of sin, and ready to turn from sin. Let me never become comfortable with the things that displease You.
- Affliction That Leads Me Back to God. Father, I see that You often use affliction to bring Your people back to You. When they are scattered, troubled, or brought low, they remember You. I ask that in every difficulty of my life I would not grow bitter, but wiser. Use every trial to bring me closer to You, to remind me of You, and to make me walk more carefully before You.
Prayer (Supplication)
Lord God, my heart is prone to wander and forget You. I am often more concerned with the things of this world than with my relationship to You. I ask that You keep my heart close to You and teach me to walk before You in faithfulness.
I also ask that You help me remember You at all times. Do not let me live as if You are far away or unimportant. Help me remember that You see me, that You know me, and that You are my God. And let this remembrance guide my thoughts, my decisions, and my actions.
Lord, show me my sins clearly so that I may truly repent. Do not let me excuse or minimize my sin. Help me see sin as You see it, as something that is against You and displeasing to You. Give me a heart that is ashamed of sin and that turns away from it.
I ask also that You use every affliction in my life for my good. When I go through difficulty, do not let me waste it. Use it to humble me, teach me, correct me, and bring me closer to You. Let every trial remind me that this world is not my rest and that You alone are my refuge.
Lord, keep me from a whorish heart that departs from You and runs after other loves. Give me a faithful heart, a loyal heart, and a loving heart toward You. Let me love You above all things and serve You faithfully all the days of my life.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Further Scripture References for Ezek. 6:9:
Ezek. 20:43; Ezek. 36:31; Deut. 30:2; Job 42:6
[1] Richard Steele, An Antidote against Distractions, (London: Printed for Elizabeth Calvert .., 1667), 145–151.
