The exiles in Babylon were not engaged in the public worship of idols. They had not given in to the flagrant idolatry that was going on back in Jerusalem. But in Ezekiel 14, when their leaders come to seek spiritual counsel, God accuses them of having “taken their idols into their hearts” (v 1-5). This is a sobering phrase, exposing a danger no less treacherous in our day. How many of us attend church, striving to maintain a positive image in public, while not treasuring Christ in the depths of our hearts? Truth be told, we are far more interested in our sports and hobbies, our careers and ambitions. Little time is actually enjoyed in personal prayer and the study of God’s Word. Seldom is there an effort to share the gospel with neighbors. And while we profess to believe all the right things, if anything goes wrong in our lives, we are unable to maintain our trust in the living God. Feeling He has abandoned us, we doubt His love and turn to our idols for comfort and security. We claim to be Christians, but our loyalties are divided. Our commitment to Christ is half-hearted, for we too have “taken (our) idols into (our) hearts.” This is no trivial matter, for the LORD says plainly that those who set up idols in the heart separate themselves from Him, and He will set His face against them. If they seek guidance from God’s spokesman, the LORD Himself will provide an unexpected answer—by cutting them off from His people (v 6-8). As for the prophet who gives false assurance, this too is part of God’s judgment upon them: “I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet.” While God cannot be the direct author of lies or deceit, and while humans are truly responsible for their own actions, all things can ultimately be traced back to God’s decisive will. Those who seek false gods rather than the true God will always find what they are looking for—lies in place of the truth. And every lying tongue will unwittingly accomplish the sovereign will of God, confirming the guilt of both prophet and idolater. Yet the final goal of God’s judgment on the exiles is to bring them salvation, cleansing them from sin and shame. In the end, all believers will worship Christ Jesus with undivided hearts (v 9-11). But in a world of evil, sometimes judgment becomes so inevitable that even the presence of the most righteous people who ever lived could not delay it. God may choose to spare a wicked city or nation for the sake of His own who reside in that place (Gen 18), but not even Noah, Job, or Daniel could deliver Jerusalem at this point in history. Indeed, when the exiles see the wicked behavior of these new refugees, they will realize how right God was (v 12-23). For further meditation: