Read Ezekiel 6 – 10
Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory. Ezekiel 10:4 KJV
God’s presence, the very presence described in detail for us in chapter one, is vividly removed from the Temple and city of Jerusalem because of their continuance in sin. This did not mean God had forsaken them. The rest of Ezekiel makes this clear. But the city and the Temple which had been identified with His name had become so defiled that the presence of God could no longer remain. Keep in mind though, the people were already far removed from God, while He was still there, according to 8:12 and 9:9, while they were bowing down to false images they were also saying the Lord was far removed and could not see what they did. But God had not moved; they were the ones who had moved. I think we would be wise, whenever we feel like saying, “God is far from me.”, to ask, “What has changed about me?”, because likely, it is us and not God who has moved.
Lord, I am glad that today your presence can never be taken from me. But I can quench (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and grieve (Ephesians 4:30) your presence because of sin to such an extent that no one but You can recognize I belong to You. What a terrible condition for any child of God to be in! Protect me from such foolishness!
A question to ponder: Israel was bowing to idols in plain sight of God and we wonder how they could do that, but how do we do the same thing today?
