Ezekiel 13:8-9 – Make time to nurture our walk with God

In today’s reflection, we return to continue where we have left off in Ezekiel 13:1-7. There God turned to deal with the false prophets. They were leading the people astray, corrupting their morals and eroding their trust in the Lord. Two things they did were highlighted in those verses: prophesying falsehood and misleading with a lying vision. For what they were doing they had not only incurred God’s pleasure but also His disfavour. So, God prescribed three consequences. Ezekiel 13: 8-9 describes the three outcomes God had stipulated for these false prophets.  

Firstly, would lose their council with the people. In other words, they no longer have any speaking rights. Secondly, they would lose their place in the record as God’s people, The Jews scrupulously kept a national record of their citizens. Names of these false prophets would not be found in the nation’s register. They would be cut off from the community of God’s people. Thirdly, they would be excluded from the land of Israel.  This meant they would die in exile and never enter the land of Israel again. The finality of their judgment would prove the truth about God. His words had never failed, not then, not now, and not forever.

Knowing the outcome of false prophets should cause us to be careful not to become prey to their false teachings. Bear in mind that false prophets do not have a true love for God. They only use His name to lend credibility to their message.  Their primary drive is profit and not being a true prophet. They will spare no effort to peddle falsehood for personal gain. The presence of false teachers and their teachings underscores the importance of building our relationship with God.

Our goal in life is to be like Christ. And to attain that goal, we must commit to an intentional lifelong process of growth in the Word of God. To facilitate that, we cannot afford to only come to God in sporadic moments of our impulses. We need to have a consistent and regular time with God. We need to cultivate good spiritual disciplines such as prayer and personal Bible study. Start today!