Speak with My words to them.

Ezekiel 2:1-3:15 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Prophet’s Call

2 Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” ² As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. ³ Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. ⁴ I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵ As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

⁸ “Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” ⁹ Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. ¹⁰ When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.

Ezekiel’s Commission

3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. ³ He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

⁴ Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. ⁵ For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, ⁶ nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; ⁷ yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely. ¹¹ Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’”

¹² Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord in His place.” ¹³ And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound. ¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me. ¹⁵ Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib, and I sat there seven days where they were living, causing consternation among them.

There is a gift of prophecy, a God given gift to some individuals, to see and hear what God’s will and word is for a situation or a time. Ezekiel was such a man, called by God to speak to God’s chosen people, Israel. Our text today begins with God’s calling, His commissioning Ezekiel:    “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!”  As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.  Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.  

Let’s move forward, from Ezekiel’s day to our own. It is no longer just the nation of Israel who God has chosen. John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”       Jesus came from the nation of Israel. He came as their Savior, their Messiah, but He came also because God so loved the world. Jesus came as the Savior of all, whoever believes.   Romans 10:11-15 says:   Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?  How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”        We are the ones who have been called and commissioned as God’s prophets, witnesses for Christ today.

When God called and commissioned Ezekiel, it says: As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me  and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.      As Jesus calls and commissions His disciples He says:  “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)  We have the Spirit of God, with us and in us, giving us the same ability as Ezekiel, to hear what God is speaking. When God called Ezekiel, the text says:      I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.    Ezekiel was not to be concerned with whether or not they received His message, neither should we.

The text continues:  Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”  Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back…He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll.  He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.    We too are to fill ourselves with God’s word, not literally eating it but reading and ingesting His word. The psalmist says: How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103) So will God’s word be to us, sweet, satisfying and nourishing.         Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.     If we are, like Ezekiel, filled with God’s words, then we can speak God’s words where He sends us.  

So here is Ezekiel’s commission, God said:   I have sent you to them who should listen to you;  yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate.  Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.” Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely.  Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’”   Here is ours, Jesus says:     “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”        Jesus says, some will believe others will not. We are not responsible for their response to God’s word, nor should we be afraid of them or be dismayed before them.  

The text says:  Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord in His place.”     May you too, be lifted up by the Spirit today. Blessed be the glory of the Lord.    “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”      Amen