What Makes God Hearing Impaired?

Ezekiel 8:16-18: "He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east. He said to me, "Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them."

This passage in the book of Ezekiel has the Spirit of God taking the prophet Ezekiel to the temple to see the detestable things that the religious leaders were doing. Whereas these leaders were to be honoring the LORD through the required sacrifices, they were instead turning their backs upon the presence of the LORD and were worshipping the sun. Of course, this was just one episode in a plurality of scenarios in which the entire Jewish people were adulterating themselves against their covenantal commitment to the LORD alone (Ezekiel 6:9). Each man had an idol in his house . . . an idol in which he worshipped instead of the true God (Ezekiel 8:9-12). And although the idols varied from home to home, in reality these rebellious people were worshipping inanimate objects that would not reprimand them for their immoral, detestable practices. These idols displaced the One True God in the people's lives because the feigned substitutes would not hold them accountable for their debased, immoral lifestyles.

The point had been reached when the people had become rather flagrant in their detestable immorality and idol worship, for what they once did behind closed doors was now being practiced on mountaintops (Ezekiel 6:13). They had become obstinate and rebellious people who demanded that they have right to do whatever their sinful hearts desired to do (Ezekiel 2:4); thus, they were asserting their own quest for lordship over the true God. The worshipping of inanimate idols was merely a subtle way of attempting to displace the obvious fact that they worshipped themselves.

God would soon bring judgment against the Israelites through the invasion by the Babylonians (605-586 BC). First, God removed His Glory from the temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10). And as He exited the temple and ascended from the Mount of Olives (Ezekiel 11:23), God removed His protective hand from His chosen people. Soon thereafter, the Babylonians would invade the land, taking some captive and destroying most of the others. Some believe that as many as 90% of the population in the land were displaced or killed as a result of the invasion. The people would cry out to God for deliverance; however, God would not hear them. The point of no return had been reached; God's patience had been replaced with His judgment.

Over 1000 years prior, God had told Moses that these events would occur. In Deuteronomy 31:16-18, God said that the people would "prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they were entering" (Deuteronomy 31:16). God told Moses when He brought judgment, He would turn a deaf ear to them due to their chronic wickedness.

Today, we would do well to hear these words of the Lord. Because the Lord is not fickle and does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17), we should examine ourselves as to our ultimate allegiance. Are we submitted to God alone or are we following after our own selfish desires? As Deuteronomy 33:3 tells us, those who bow to the Lord and are obedient to His instruction should expect to find His protection and love. They are the ones who will be set apart for His purposes and glory. Those who want to worship themselves can expect God's wrath to be poured out upon them in this life and in the life to come. They will cry out, but God will not listen