Ezekiel 20:27

Ezekiel 20:27 says, Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.  God told Ezekiel to tell the people of Israel that when they turned away from worshipping Him and started worshipping other gods when they were called His people that they blasphemed His name.  This was a trespass against God, since they were claiming to have a right to be called His people and live in the promised land when they were not living up to their part in the covenant relationship with Him.  Those who profess to be Christians today and worship other gods instead of worshipping God alone blaspheme the name of God and will one day be held accountable for their sins.   

Verse twenty-eight adds, For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.  God said He gave them the land and yet they began to worship the gods of others instead of worshipping Him, and they even offered sacrifices on every high hill and in every thick growth of trees claiming that they were to God, but they did not offer them according to what God had told them to do.  They were supposed to destroy all these places of false worship, but they begin to be devoted to them instead.  As followers of Christ, we are supposed to destroy everything that comes between God and us, and if we begin to adore them instead, we bring dishonor to God.  When a person has the choice between accepting God’s gift of salvation or following the gods of this world and choose the gods of this world, they are not a part of God’s kingdom, no matter where they were born or who their parents might be.  We may give a lot to God and think that will save us, but if we do not live by faith in Jesus Christ alone, our offerings will do us no good. 

Verse twenty-nine continues, Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name whereof is called Bamah unto this day.  God then asked the name of the high place that the people of Israel went to worship, but He already knew.  God just wanted each person to acknowledge that they knew what they were doing. They were worshipping at sites where the Gentiles offered sacrifices to false gods and even leaving the name of one of these false gods in place and were pleased with themselves for doing so.  As Americans, we live in a land known as a Christian nation, but if we begin to do things that are against God’s will, then we are worshipping at the altar of a false god.   

Verse thirty states, Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?  God asked the people of Israel who were alive then if they followed the ways of their fathers when they were disobedient to Him and followed other gods.  The same question applies to those who profess to be Christians today. 

Verse thirty-one continues, For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.  God continued to point out the ways that the people of Israel were sinning against Him.  God said that they shouldn’t be deceived by thinking that He was going to hear their inquiries to Him when they were worshipping other gods.  When we come to Jesus Christ for salvation, we will be forgiven and God will hear our prayers.  Those who haven’t may call out to Him for help in times of trouble, but He will not answer if they haven’t accepted His gift of salvation. 

Verse thirty-two concludes, And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.  God said that what they thought was going to happen when they worshipped these false gods was not going to happen.  They thought that if they worshipped the gods of the Gentiles that they would find peace with them.  Some people today may think if they just go along with what the world teaches instead of putting their faith in God that they can to find peace and prosperity, but they will never find true peace.  They may have temporary peace with the world, but they will never have the everlasting peace of God.