The Parable of the
Empty House

Why is "empty" a problem?

The Empty House reveals that houses never remain long unoccupied...

Matthew 12.43-45

"But when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it roams through dry [arid] places in search of rest, but it does not find any.

44 Then it says, I will go back to my house from which I came out. And when it arrives, it finds the place unoccupied, swept, put in order, and decorated.

45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there. And the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So also shall it be with this wicked generation."

The Empty House: Empty houses, or spaces never remain unoccupied- The space can be swept, and cleaned - but MUST be occupied - Where "unoccupied" is - a vacuum exists that will automatically get filled with something Simply removing and avoiding evil is not enough The Word of GOD and the Holy Spirit of GOD must fill every part of our "spiritual heart"...that alone is our protection against "re-entry". If we don't we can end up like the people in Genesis 6.5 "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." So bad that GOD's recourse was the flood to destroy that generation... Note the last part of v45 above, "So also shall it be with this wicked generation.."

The "imagination" is a whole world inside the mind...

Parables are powerful "word-pictures" that are meant to be engrafted into our thinking...as mental pictures do control our thought-life. That's where the "imagination" gets involved. The imagination allows mental exploration of the past, present, future. It is the ability to see pictures and images in the "movie theater" of the mind. The imagination is the "workshop" of the human mind. It is the only thing in the world we have complete control over. That's why GOD takes great interest of what goes on there, and judges what we allow to grow there - Genesis 6.5

This is really fascinating, yet scary stuff - 

• The Lord is allowing us listen in on demonic conversation -
• Gives us an insight into demonic reasoning!
  
• There is no indication about the length of time the unclean spirit was away, only that he was restless and decides to return to the person he left.
• “I will return to my house.” - that's scary!
  
• Conveys a sense of ownership and familiarity, of dwelling.
  
• A home is where he once felt welcomed
• However, when he returns he finds it in a very different condition that when he left:“having been swept and having been put in order.”
• Jesus is focusing on this one key condition - “unoccupied.”
• He calls and gets seven [7] demons more wicked than himself
• Possible expected opposition in re-establishing his occupancy and control
• Result - worse off than before
  

The person has undergone a significant, even good change of life. His house was clean and in order externally, but the problem was that it was empty. It was in order, but had no occupant. Neither another demon, nor the Holy Spirit.

We must never allow the house to remain empty... we must allow the Spirit of God, to move in and reign as Lord of our lives, personally.

2 Peter 2.20-21

"For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first.  For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them."

Return to 75 parables