What is the meaning of Ezekiel 18:15? He does not eat at the mountain High places were outdoor shrines where Israel mixed pagan ritual with their own sacrifices. Refusing the festive meals there showed wholehearted loyalty to the LORD. • 1 Kings 14:23 notes how “they also built for themselves high places…on every high hill,” spotlighting the widespread temptation. • Leviticus 17:7 warns that sacrificing anywhere but the tabernacle is really “so they will no longer offer their sacrifices to goat demons.” • By avoiding the mountain feasts, the righteous man obeys the first commandment and mirrors Paul’s later call: “Flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14). Living out this line today means rejecting every setting—physical or digital—where worship of anything but God is celebrated. nor look to the idols of the house of Israel The issue is not only participating but even “looking to,” a posture of trust and admiration. Idolatry can be subtle long before outward bowing occurs. • Psalm 24:3-4 links pure worship with “clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol.” • Ezekiel 14:6 presses the point: “Repent and turn from your idols; turn your faces away from all your abominations.” • 1 John 5:21 echoes the same heart-level vigilance: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” A faithful life keeps eyes—and hopes—fixed on the Lord alone, refusing to entertain lesser allegiances. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife Moral purity is as essential as doctrinal purity. Adultery tears at covenant, community, and personal integrity. • Exodus 20:14 plainly states, “You shall not commit adultery.” • Leviticus 18:20 broadens the warning: “Do not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.” • Proverbs 6:32 adds the personal cost: “He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.” • Jesus deepens the standard in Matthew 5:27-28, calling even lust of the heart adultery. The righteous person honors marriage, guards thoughts, and treats every spouse as sacred to God, not as an object for selfish gratification. summary Ezekiel 18:15 sketches the lifestyle of a person who truly belongs to the Lord: no compromise with the culture’s worship, no secret fascination with its idols, and no betrayal of covenant fidelity in marriage. Such obedience flows from a heart enthralled with God alone, proving that righteousness is practical, visible, and rooted in everyday choices. |
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