Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols;
Ezekiel 6:9a
When I consider my sin, it’s been my tendency to focus on how it impacts my relationship with God and those around me. Yet when I consider this, I do so mostly from a selfish standpoint: how it lures me away from God, how that impacts me, the measures I need to take to repent, change, and grow. I wonder, do we ever consider how it impacts God’s heart?
The Old Testament relates our idolatrous behavior to adultery, yet somehow I never considered the impact that must have on the Lord. We serve a mighty God, yet we see in Christ that He is also tender of heart. He was moved to compassion, He wept, He was impacted greatly throughout His ministry. My heart was so broken this morning as I read these verses in Ezekiel, because I began to consider how much it wounds His heart when we sin against Him.
All through the book of Hosea we see the impact that an adulterous wife has on a relationship, it’s incredibly painful to go through. Each day our Lord waits and calls to His bride to repent and be faithful to Him, but have we ever considered how painful it is for Him to watch her go astray? Despite all of this, God’s heart is that she would return to Him in faithfulness, so that He might say “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy” (Hos. 2:19).
