Rebellion in Egypt?

In my devotions recently, I have been reading the book of Ezekiel.  The other day I was reading in Chapter 20 when I saw the following passage.

"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God. On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live.
(Eze 20:3-11 ESV)

What struck me about this passage was verse 8.

But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None
of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did
they forsake the idols of Egypt. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath
upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of
Egypt.

If I read this correctly, it says that God intended to punish the nation of Israel in Egypt for not giving up their idols and worshiping the one true God.

But instead of doing that, He delivered Israel out of Egypt culminating in the parting of the Red Sea.

When I go back and reread Exodus, I can't seem to pinpoint where these offenses against God are mentioned.  I know we all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, but I don't see their sins mentioned in Exodus.

I do see in Exodus 6:9 where they failed to listen to Moses, but that doesn't sound like idolatry to me.

Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
(Exo 6:9 ESV)


So my question to you is where is the offense?  This is not a rhetorical question.  Ezekiel is relaying God's judgment against Egypt, and the offense appears to me to have taken place before the grumbling in the wilderness, and certainly before the golden calf in 32.

Any thoughts?

Who would Jesus vote for?

As the Presidential election cycle heats up, more Christians are asking the question, "Who should I vote for?"

I won't pretend to say I know who Jesus would vote for in this election. What I do know is that he would not be a card carrying member of any political party. He does not seek the counsel of men.

So what are we to do come November 4 when we step into the voting booth?


I am basing my decision on who to vote for on the basis of the unchanging, inviolable word of God. I believe that as Christians we have an obligation to vote, first an foremost.

And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do
not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's." Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him.
(Mar 12:14-17 ESV)

We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Likewise, both candidates are flawed, sinful people. Only when Christ returns in the Millenial Kingdom will we have the perfect ruler. However, did we vote for the person who most exemplifies the principles of God's word?

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
(1Sa 16:7 ESV)

Are we prayerfully considering the candidates by the same criteria that God does?

I believe that we will be judged for our vote, so it is not something to enter into lightly.

James Chapter 2 discusses faith and works. So it is not enough to profess a belief in something, but rather there must be action. Do the candidates' actions match their rhetoric? Do they say one thing and do another, or can you trust them to keep their word. Do they put the needs of others above themselves?

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
(Php 2:3 ESV)

These are some of the criteria that I will be using to make my decision this election cycle.

And no matter who wins, I will respect the president, even though I will disagree with him.

"You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
(Exo 22:28 ESV)