(13) Don’t Fall for Satan’s Tricks

God called the church in Ezekiel's day a rebellious house. Many of the people were not listening to God. Instead, they had fallen for Satan's tricks. They can no longer see or hear. So God

God made Ezekiel perform actions symbolic of the judgment that would fall upon unrepentant sinners. As always, God previews judgment so that we should repent. The application of this section of Ezekiel is obvious: "Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all abominations" (14:6). And God makes this application personal; you must do the repenting yourself. You can't rely on the general godliness of the church community to which you belong. God told Ezekiel that if Noah, Daniel, and Job were among his people "they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness" (14:14ff.).

In three ways Satan had tricked God's people to turn away from him. Let us heed God's warning and resist these traps ourselves, and repent where we have already given in.