20250807 [새벽묵상] 우상을 마음에 두고 하나님을 섬기지 말라 | Do Not Serve God While Harboring Idols in Your Heart (겔/Ezk 14:1~11)

14:1 이스라엘 장로 두어 사람이 나아와 내 앞에 앉으니

14:2 여호와의 말씀이 내게 임하여 이르시되

14:3 인자야 이 사람들이 자기 우상을 마음에 들이며 죄악의 걸림돌을 자기 앞에 두었으니 그들이 내게 묻기를 내가 조금인들 용납하랴

14:4 그런즉 너는 그들에게 말하여 이르라 나 주 여호와가 말하노라 이스라엘 족속 중에 그 우상을 마음에 들이며 죄악의 걸림돌을 자기 앞에 두고 선지자에게로 가는 모든 자에게 나 여호와가 그 우상의 수효대로 보응하리니

14:5 이는 이스라엘 족속이 다 그 우상으로 말미암아 나를 배반하였으므로 내가 그들이 마음먹은 대로 그들을 잡으려 함이라

1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry. 5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’

14:6 그런즉 너는 이스라엘 족속에게 이르기를 주 여호와의 말씀에 너희는 마음을 돌이켜 우상을 떠나고 얼굴을 돌려 모든 가증한 것을 떠나라

6 “Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!

14:7 이스라엘 족속과 이스라엘 가운데에 거류하는 외국인 중에 누구든지 나를 떠나고 자기 우상을 마음에 들이며 죄악의 걸림돌을 자기 앞에 두고 자기를 위하여 내게 묻고자 하여 선지자에게 가는 모든 자에게는 나 여호와가 친히 응답하여

14:8 그 사람을 대적하여 그들을 놀라움과 표징과 속담 거리가 되게 하여 내 백성 가운데에서 끊으리니 내가 여호와인 줄을 너희가 알리라

7 “‘When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself. 8 I will set my face against them and make them an example and a byword. I will remove them from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

14:9 만일 선지자가 유혹을 받고 말을 하면 나 여호와가 그 선지자를 유혹을 받게 하였음이거니와 내가 손을 펴서 내 백성 이스라엘 가운데에서 그를 멸할 것이라

14:10 선지자의 죄악과 그에게 묻는 자의 죄악이 같은즉 각각 자기의 죄악을 담당하리니

14:11 이는 이스라엘 족속이 다시는 미혹되어 나를 떠나지 아니하게 하며 다시는 모든 죄로 스스로 더럽히지 아니하게 하여 그들을 내 백성으로 삼고 나는 그들의 하나님이 되려 함이라 주 여호와의 말씀이니라

9 “‘And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the Lord have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 10 They will bear their guilt—the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him. 11 Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

                이번주에 우리는 자기 마음대로 예언하는 거짓 선지자들에 대한 하나님의 경고와 예언의 말씀을 들었습니다. 에스겔을 통하여 전하시는 이런 하나님의 경고의 말씀을 그 당시 바벨론 포로지에 있던 이스라엘 장로들도 들었던 것 같습니다. 오늘 말씀을 보니 이제 그들은 거짓된 선지자가 아닌 참 선지자인 에스겔을 찾아옵니다. 에스겔 앞에 앉은 그들은 하나님의 뜻을 구하며 마치 경건한 듯이 행동하고 있습니다. 아마도 그들의 마음 속엔 이렇게 참 선지자를 통해 하나님의 뜻을 구하면 심판을 피할 수 있지 않을까 하고 기대했는지도 모릅니다. 그러나 하나님께서는 그들의 마음을 꿰뚫어 보셨습니다. 에스겔에게 직접 임하신 하나님의 말씀은 단호했습니다. 3절 한번 같이 읽겠습니다. “인자야 이 사람들이 자기 우상을 마음에 들이며 죄악의 걸림돌을 자기 앞에 두었으니 그들이 내게 묻기를 내가 조금인들 용납하랴” 마음에 우상을 두고 죄악을 일삼는 그들에 대해 하나님께는 하나님께 묻는 것을 조금도 용납하지 않겠다고 하시는 것입니다. 이를 통하여 하나님께서 남겨진 유다 백성들에게 전하고자 하시는 뜻은 분명합니다. 우상을 마음 한켠에 품고 죄악을 일삼으며 하나님을 섬기지 말라는 것입니다. 오늘은 우상을 마음에 두고 하나님을 섬기지 말라는 제목으로 말씀을 전하기 원합니다.

This week, we heard God's warning against false prophets who prophesy out of their own hearts. It seems that the elders of Israel, who were in exile in Babylon at that time, also heard this warning. As we see in today's passage, they now come to Ezekiel, the true prophet, instead of the false ones. Sitting before Ezekiel, they act piously, seeking God's will. Perhaps they hoped that by seeking God's will through a true prophet, they might escape judgment.

However, God saw right through their hearts. The word of the Lord, which came directly to Ezekiel, was firm. Let's read verse 3 together: “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?” God is saying that He will not tolerate them inquiring of Him even a little bit, because they have set up idols in their hearts and are engaged in wickedness.

Through this, God's message to the remaining people of Judah is clear: Do not worship idols in your heart while serving God.

Today, I want to deliver a message under the title, “Do Not Worship Idols in Your Heart.”

                우상을 마음에 두고 하나님을 섬기지 말라, 그 첫번째, 우리는 두가지 신을 한꺼번에 섬길 수 없습니다. 오늘 말씀의 1-3절의 말씀은 앞의 서두에서 말씀드렸듯이 이스라엘 장로 두어 사람이 에스겔을 찾아와 하나님의 뜻을 구하는 내용입니다. 그러자 하나님께서는 그들이 하나님께 묻는 것조차 조금도 용납하려 하지 않으시는 모습을 보여주십니다. 그러나 그들이 하나님을 섬기지 않았다면 하나님의 뜻을 구하려 에스겔에게 나아오지 않았을 것입니다. 그렇다면 하나님께서는 대체 왜 그들을 이렇게까지 엄격하게 대하시는 걸까요? 오늘 말씀 4-8절을 통해 반복되고 있는 하나님의 말씀에서 그 힌트를 찾아볼 수 있습니다. 4절 말씀에서 하나님께서는 앞에서 했던 말씀을 그대로 반복하십니다 그리고는 5절에서 이렇게 말씀하십니다. “이는 이스라엘 족속이 다 그 우상으로 말미암아 나를 배반하였으므로” 이스라엘 백성의 정체성은 하나님의 선택을 받은 하나님을 섬기는 사람들입니다. 그러나 그들이 우상을 하나님과 함께 섬겼을 때에 하나님께서는 그들이 하나님을 배반하였다 라고 말씀하십니다. 7절 말씀도 마찬가지입니다. 이번에는 이스라엘 백성들과 그들 가운데 있는 외국인들까지 포함하여 말씀하십니다. 이 7절 말씀을 보면 3절에서 함께 보았던 “자기 우상을 마음에 들이며 죄악의 걸림돌을 자기 앞에 두었으니 그들이 내게 묻기를” 이라는 말씀을 확장하심으로 하나님이 이 말씀을 하시는 의도를 정확히 파악할 수 있습니다. 7절 함께 읽어보겠습니다. “이스라엘 족속과 이스라엘 가운데에 거류하는 외국인 중에 누구든지 나를 떠나고 자기 우상을 마음에 들이며 죄악의 걸림돌을 자기 앞에 두고 자기를 위하여 내게 묻고자 하여 선지자에게 가는 모든 자에게는 나 여호와가 친히 응답하여” 마음 속에 자기가 원하는 우상을 버리지 않고 하나님께 나아오는 자들을 뭐라고 말씀하십니까? 나를 떠났다. 그리고 그들이 지금 이렇게 하나님께 나아오고 있는 것을 가지고 뭐라고 말씀하십니까? 자기를 위하여 내게 묻고자 하여. 그들이 하나님께 나아왔던 것은 하나님의 뜻을 구함이 아니라 심판을 피하려는 지극히 이기적인 목적이었던 것입니다. 그들의 모습을 보십시오. 그들 스스로는 하나님을 섬기고 있다고 생각했을지 모릅니다. 그러나 그들의 마음 안에 우상이 있는한 그들은 하나님을 섬기고 있는 것이 아닙니다. 하나님을 배반하고 하나님을 떠나 있는 것입니다.

You Cannot Serve Two Gods at Once

The first point is that you cannot serve two gods at once. As I mentioned in the introduction, verses 1–3 of today's passage show a few elders of Israel coming to Ezekiel to seek God's will. God, however, shows that He will not tolerate them inquiring of Him even a little. But if they were not serving God, they would not have come to Ezekiel to seek His will in the first place, right? So why is God so strict with them?

We can find a hint in the repeated words of God in verses 4–8. In verse 4, God repeats what He said before, and in verse 5, He says, “This is so that I may grasp the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.” The identity of the Israelites is that they are the chosen people who serve God. But when they served idols alongside God, God said they had betrayed Him. Verse 7 says the same thing, this time including the foreigners living among the Israelites.

Looking at verse 7, we can precisely grasp God's intention in speaking this word, as He expands on the phrase we saw in verse 3: “who set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces and then come to a prophet to inquire of me.” Let's read verse 7 together: “When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separates themselves from me and sets up idols in their hearts and puts a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself.”

What does He say about those who come to Him without forsaking the idols they want in their hearts? He says, "They have separated from me." And what does He say about them coming to Him right now? "To inquire of me for themselves." The purpose of their coming to God was not to seek His will, but a purely selfish one: to avoid judgment.

Look at their actions. They may have thought they were serving God. However, as long as there were idols in their hearts, they were not serving God. They were betraying God and separating themselves from Him.

This is why God tells them not to serve God while harboring idols in their hearts.

바로 이것이 하나님께서 그들에게 우상을 마음에 두고 하나님을 섬기지 말라고 하시는 것이지요. 바로 여기에 오늘의 말씀 두번째 포인트가 있습니다. 우상을 마음에 두고 하나님을 섬기지 말라 그 두번째, 하나님은 우상을 섬기는 자들을 대적하십니다. 6절에서 하나님께서는 그들에게 말씀하십니다. “그런즉…너희는 마음에 돌이켜 우상을 떠나고 얼굴을 돌려 모든 가증한 것을 떠나라” 하나님께서는 8절 말씀인 심판의 경고를 하시기 전에 먼저 그들에게 우상을 떠나라고 말씀하십니다. 왜 입니까? 11절에 “이는 이스라엘 족속이 다시는 미혹되어 나를 떠나지 아니하게 하며 다시는 모든 죄로 스스로 더럽히지 아니하게 하여 그들을 내 백성으로 삼고 나는 그들의 하나님이 되려 함이라 주 여호와의 말씀이니라” 하나님께서는 그들이 우상을 떠나고 얼굴을 돌려 모든 가증한 것에서 떠나면 그들을 다시 당신의 백성으로 삼고 당신은 그들의 하나님이 되시려는 마음을 갖고 계셨습니다. 그래서 심판의 말씀을 하시기 전에 먼저 우상을 떠나라고 말씀을 하시는 것입니다. 그런데 이 말씀을 듣고도 7절의 말씀처럼 누구든지, 이스라엘 백성이든지 외국인이든지 우상이 아니라 하나님을 떠나는 사람들은 8절 말씀에 그 사람을 대적하시겠다고 말씀하십니다. 4절 말씀에서는 “그 우상의 수효대로 보응하시겠다”고 말씀하십니다. 5절에서는 “내가 그들이 마음먹은 대로 그들을 잡으려 함이라”고 말씀하십니다. 다시 8절 말씀으로 돌아오면 하나님이 그들을 대적하심이 어떠한 것인지 말씀하십니다. 그들이 다른 사람들에게 놀라움과 표징과 속담거리가 되게 하신다고 하십니다. 자 방금 제가 하나님께서 그들에게 우상을 떠나라고 먼저 말씀하셨던 것은 그들로 다시 하나님의 백성으로 삼으시려고 하신 것이라고 말씀드리지 않았습니까? 그런데 8절 나머지에 그 말씀을 듣고도 그들이 마음을 돌이켜 우상을 떠나지 않으면 어떻게 한다고 하십니까? “내 백성 가운데에서 끊으리니 내가 여호와인 줄을 너희가 알리라”라고 말씀하십니다. 하나님의 심판, 대적하심의 정점이란 당신의 백성 중에서 그들을 끊어내시는 것입니다. 우리는 이것이 하나님이 원하시는 것이 아님을 압니다. 하지만 우상을 포기하지 않고 자신이 걸려 넘어질 것을 알면서도 그 죄악을 사랑하여 죄악의 걸림돌을 자기 앞에 의도적으로 박아두는 사람에게 하나님께서는 그를 대적하시고 그를 당신의 백성에게서 끊어내실 수 밖에는 없는 것입니다.

God Opposes Those Who Worship Idols

This brings us to the second point of today's message: God opposes those who worship idols. In verse 6, God says to them, “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!’” Before giving the warning of judgment in verse 8, God first tells them to turn away from their idols. Why?

Verse 11 explains: “Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign Lord.” God had the desire to make them His people again and be their God if they would turn away from their idols and all their detestable practices. That's why He first tells them to abandon their idols before speaking words of judgment.

However, after hearing this, if anyone—be it an Israelite or a foreigner, as in verse 7—still separates themselves from God instead of turning from their idols, God says in verse 8 that He will oppose that person. In verse 4, He says He will “answer them according to their great idolatry.” In verse 5, He says, “I will seize them in their hearts.”

Returning to verse 8, God tells us what it means for Him to oppose them. He says He will make them a sign and a byword, and an object lesson to others.

I just told you that God first told them to turn from their idols because He wanted to make them His people again. But what does He say in the rest of verse 8 will happen if they hear that message and still do not turn their hearts and abandon their idols? “I will cut them off from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” The culmination of God's judgment and opposition is to cut them off from His people. We know this is not what God wants. But for a person who refuses to give up their idols, who loves wickedness and intentionally plants a stumbling block before themselves, God has no choice but to oppose them and cut them off from His people.

                말씀을 맺습니다. 하나님께서 말씀하십니다. “너희는 마음을 돌이켜 우상을 떠나고 얼굴을 돌려 모든 가증한 것을 떠나라.” 우리는 우상과 하나님을 동시에 섬길 수 없습니다. 하나님께서는 그것을 “내가 조금인들 용납하랴”라고 말씀하십니다. 우리가 하나님보다 귀한 것을 우리 마음 속에 둘 때에 하나님께서는 우리에게 네가 나를 배반하였다. 네가 나를 떠났다라고 말씀하십니다. 우리가 알면서도, 내가 넘어질 것을 알면서도 그 유혹을 뿌리치지 못하고 항상 내 앞에 놓는 죄악의 걸림돌이 있습니까? 이제는 얼굴을 돌려 그 모든 가증한 것에서 떠날 때입니다. 지금 이시간 우리의 안의 우상과 죄악의 걸림돌을 하나님 앞에 내려놓고 그것을 떠나게 해달라고 기도합시다. 우상을 마음에 두고 하나님을 섬기지 마십시오. 함께 기도하시겠습니다.    

Conclusion

God says, “Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!” We cannot serve idols and God at the same time. When we put something we cherish more than God in our hearts, God says to us, "You have betrayed me. You have separated from me."

Is there a stumbling block of sin that you intentionally place before you, knowing you will trip over it but unable to resist its temptation? Now is the time to turn your face and turn away from all those detestable things. Let's pray together right now, laying down the idols and stumbling blocks of sin in our hearts before God and asking for His help to turn away from them.

Do not worship idols in your heart while serving God. Let's pray together.