Drifting Away From Home and How to Return

This article is an excerpt from Lifeway Women’s new Bible study Come Home.

Even while in exile, God’s people struggled to believe that the exile events were from God’s hand. Even though their sin was so blatant, they struggled to see it—or more likely, they wouldn’t see it. They weren’t willing to even imagine they were sinners who deserved judgment. What made matters worse for the people of God was that many false prophets pretended to have heard from God and told the people exactly what they wanted to hear. 

God’s people wanted peace without the God of peace. God’s people wanted peace while making war against God with their sin. The false prophets gave them permission to live this way with their misleading message. The people invested in this godless thinking to their own demise. 

Of course, God is I AM. He knew what would happen, and He’d been warning them for years and years. The book of Deuteronomy bears witness to this. Deuteronomy is the second telling of God’s law, offered by Moses to the new generation who was about to enter the promised land. Ironically, the wonderfulness of the promised land left God’s people uniquely vulnerable to sin. Even in “perfect” homes, sin has a way of sneaking in. When things are going exceedingly well for us, we can’t drop our guard against sin.

Later in Deuteronomy, God warned Moses about the people’s future rebellion (31:15-17). In Deuteronomy 32, God wrote a song through Moses to bear witness to their disobedience, so they would know that their “many troubles and afflictions” were a result of their sinful actions. And perhaps, the song which would be passed down to their descendants, would lead future generations to repentance. God’s people would carry God’s melody in their vocal cords to remember what was true. 

Though much of the tune is a song of betrayal, God promises vindication and compassion for His people in the end (vv. 36-43). The fact that God packaged His promises with a song reveals His wisdom and care. We may be prone to forget things, but songs have a way of sticking with us no matter what. Have you ever heard a song from decades ago and somehow you know every word? Or how a person suffering from a disease like Alzheimer’s might forget the names of their loved ones but can still recognize a beloved hymn? 

Moses sang this song over the people as some of his last words, the grand finale of the “retelling of the law.” This is how he concluded: 

45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”  

Deuteronomy 32:45-47 (NIV)

Unfortunately, even though they were armed with Moses’s song and even though God faithfully sent prophets to reorient them to the truth, God’s people did what He said they would do. They forgot Him. They were full from the blessings of the promised land, and it numbed them to see what truly made the promised land significant: the God who gave the blessings. 

And so, God left in Ezekiel 10. 

Of course, even though God’s presence left the temple, He was still I AM. That means no matter what, no matter when, no matter where, He Is. And yet, He removed this special expression of His presence from the sacred place so that His people could remember that His presence is the truest gift, the ultimate welcome mat, that which makes home home. Without God’s presence, God’s promises lose their glory! He was training His people to want Him—not just what He could give them. After all, the whole aim of His story of home is for God and His people to dwell together! 

As it turns out, home was more than a place, more than people, more than peace; it was a Person. Without God’s glory, home was no home.  

And yet there is good news ahead.  

Yes, Ezekiel testified to the removal of God’s glory, but that’s not the end of the story.