I did a Bible study on Daniel this year. If you remember from Daniel 1:1-2, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem. What I didn’t know was that one-hundred years earlier, King Hezekiah made a very foolish mistake that most likely precipitated this event.
Read the story for yourself in Isaiah 39:1-8. In summary, Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem, was deathly ill until God stepped in and healed him. When Merodach-Baladan (if you’re looking for a baby name, I don’t think this one is taken!), son of Baladan King of Babylon heard this, he sent envoys loaded down with letters and a gift to Hezekiah. How did Hezekiah respond? He ate it up!
Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine oil, his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them (Isaiah 39:2).
Beth asked how we were opening our treasuries to Satan like Hezekiah did to Merodach-Baladan. That night, I wrote in my journal:
My 'walls' are down, my 'gate' is open. I am welcoming my newest crush in to look at all my treasures and take them if he wants. It doesn’t sound so bad because he’s a Christian—and a very pure one at that. But he is consuming my heart and stealing my affection from God.
Did you catch that? I wasn’t dressing immodestly like I had in the past. I liked a pure, Christian man. What could be wrong about that?!
As John Calvin said, “The evil in our desire typically does not lie in what we want, but that we want it too much.” I thought about him almost constantly—much more than I thought about God. I asked God’s forgiveness, and asked,
Would you give me some tangible boundaries? I don’t want to board up my heart and fortify it against him; I want to fortify it against Satan, for Your sake. I belong to You. I need You to let me know what that looks like, Lord, whether that affects my Google chat, Facebook, activities, or conversations . . .
The details of your story are most likely different than mine, and the boundaries will differ as well. However, like me, I know you have a deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9) and an Enemy who wants to destroy you (John 10:10).
In what “little” ways are you welcoming the Enemy into your life? Ask God to show you where your tiny cracks and/or wide open doors are. After all, you’re God’s temple, reserved exclusively for Him!
You are beautiful and treasured by Him. He has purchased you, and you belong to Him. Don’t share your treasures with the Enemy.
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