In Ezekiel 8 the Lord showed His prophet a hole in the wall. Behind the wall was sin being played out through idol worship in His inner court. In verse 6 He asked Ezekiel if he saw what they were doing. Verse 7 says, “So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall.”

Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Iniquity is doing anything independent of God. We create a hole in our wall of protection when we sin against the Lord. It gives the enemy opportunity to oppress us.

There is another hole. Isaiah 7:5 revealed that it was a plot against Israel. Verse 6 says, “Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over the, the son of Tabel.”

Two holes: one of our own making through hidden sin, and another created by the enemy. Remember in Job the conversation between God and Satan? Job 1:10 says, “Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side?”

Ezekiel 22:30 gives us more insight into the breech. It says, “So, I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found no one.”

The ‘gap’ in the above verse is taken from the illustration of a vineyard. There was a protective wall of stones or a hedge around the vineyards to protect them from encroachment. If a small critter made a gap in the hedge, it could get in to destroy. If the gap was undetected, something bigger would come along to enter and make more destruction. Song of Solomon 2:15 says, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.”

We see a warning for us in Proverbs 24:30-31. It says, “I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding. And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles.” Ignored (unconfessed) hidden sin propagates weed seeds that choke God’s word in our hearts.

I wrote this in my journal this morning and circled it: anything I do apart from You is sin. Romans 14:23 Amplified says, “…For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin (whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful).”

John 15:5 says, “…for without Me you can do nothing.” We live by faith. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” Colossians 1:10 says to walk worthy of the Lord. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. 1 John 1:7 says that we are walk in the light. 2:6 says we are to walk as Jesus walked.

Conclusion: when we walk dependent on the Lord, we will bear fruit that glorifies Him. Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Our fleshly actions are absolutely independent of God.