SAY, "THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS"

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak My words to them. You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel—not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to Me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”

And He said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”

The hand of the Lord was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.” So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.

 

Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people. But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.

Ezekiel 3:4-11, 22-27

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There is no doubt in this statement:

Anyone who chooses to follow Jesus and accept Him as Savior (in other words, a Christian) is expected to tell others about the word of the Lord and what it says.

I can say this with absolute confidence because Jesus Himself gave all His disciples the following tasking:

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20a

Part of making followers of Jesus is to share the word of God with them, the very word that tells us about the life of the Christ they are to model their own lives after. We’re also to make sure that people hear the expectations of God. For to live like Jesus is to live in obedience to the Father, just as He did

Now, all this sounds good coming out but there’s one issue we all could encounter as we seek to carry out the call to share the word of the Lord with others:

People might not choose to listen.

Indeed, we can exert every ounce of our energy toward sharing the words of God with other but there is absolutely no guarantee that they will open their ears, their hearts, their minds, or their souls to a single word you say. And as we look at our passage for today, we find the scriptures showing us that this issue was exactly the one Ezekiel faced as he set out to share God’s message with the Israelites. Look again at these words here:

He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak My words to them. You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel—not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to Me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”

And He said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.” Ezekiel 3:4-11

Note here that God is warning Ezekiel about what might happen when he goes to carry out His will. He let His prophet know right up front that the Israelites were “unwilling to listen” because they were “hardened and obstinate”, a “rebellious people.” God knew well enough first-hand because they had already closed their ears when He spoke to them so He knew they would easily block out Ezekiel, one of their peers.

Yet despite this, I want to you to see that God did not use this as an excuse to allow Ezekiel off the hook. He didn’t tell His messenger to forget giving His message to His people because they wouldn’t listen anyways. Rather, He told Ezekiel to go and speak His words to the people of Israel without fear or terror of what might happen. God promised to make Ezekiel as “unyielding and hardened” as the Israelites so he would be able to go to His people in exile and simply proclaim, “This is what the Lord says”, whether they listen or not.

In other words, God’s word would be proclaimed one way or another. If people failed to listen to it, they couldn’t say they never had the chance to do so.

As we set out to be God’s hands and feet in this the twenty-first century, we too are called to share the words of the Lord God Almighty. And just as Ezekiel discovered, not everyone is going to be wild about hearing what the Lord has to say. Nonetheless, we tell them anyways because it’s our obligation to God but even more our obligation to the people we are trying to help find salvation.

We, like the prophets of old, are to say to others, “This is what the Lord says” and then proclaim His words with bold confidence.

If those we speak to choose not to listen, that’s their problem, one they will have to answer to God for.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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CONSUMING THE WORD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which He unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

And He said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He gave me the scroll to eat.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

Ezekiel 2:9-10, 3:1-3

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotion, we read about how God called Ezekiel the priest to serve as His prophet.

The task seemed simple enough.

All Ezekiel had to do was receive the message God wanted to pass to His people and then share that message with that audience. Yes, God told Ezekiel to expect resistance as the Israelites were a stubborn, disobedient lot. That’s what got them in trouble in the first place. But no matter whether they chose to listen or not, Ezekiel’s assignment was to act as God’s megaphone, pronouncing whatever He was told to pronounce.

Saying the words of God didn’t sound too bad, even if the people rebutted them. But as we see in today’s devotion, God had a little more in mind for His prophet than just merely saying His words. Look again at the closing verses of Ezekiel, Chapter 2, and the opening verses of Chapter 3:

Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which He unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

And He said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He gave me the scroll to eat.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.  Ezekiel 2:9-10, 3:1-3

It didn’t take God long to put His prophet to work after commissioning him. For the scriptures tell us that God stretched out His hand to Ezekiel and unrolled a scroll before him in such a way that allowed the prophet to read it.

What message did the scroll contain?

It wasn’t good news, that’s for sure. For we read that the scroll had words written on both sides and those words had a common theme: despair. Indeed, as we look at our passage we’re told the words were associated with lament, mourning, and woe.

At this point, you would think, “Ok, that makes perfect sense. The Israelites had sinned against God and violated His commands, worshiping false gods and inciting His anger and judgment. Of course, His words to them would be words of sadness, grief, and misery.”

But God wanted His newly appointed messenger to do much more than just read and/or speak the words. He wanted Ezekiel to eat them. He said so Himself:

“Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel. Eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.”  

Imagine if you were Ezekiel. How would you feel at this point? Wouldn’t this all seem a little strange to you? Don’t you think that you might even question God and ask if He really said to EAT the scroll?

We all probably would. After all, we’re all human.

But note what Ezekiel did. He didn’t debate God. He didn’t hesitate doing what God told him to do. Rather, the prophet’s own words tell us how he responded:

“So I opened my mouth, and He gave me the scroll to eat. I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.”

Now, go back and recall the message on the scroll. There were no joyful words written on it, nothing one would celebrate anyways. No, the words skewed toward melancholy and were harsh so you would expect the scroll to taste bitter according to its verbal content.

But that’s wasn’t the case, was it?

Ezekiel testified as much when he said the scroll “tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth”.

Huh? Did Ezekiel have some messed up taste buds or something? How in the world could a scroll with such negative content taste so good?

The answer comes by thinking about the word of God itself.

For if God’s words are words of judgment and correction, then they are as sweet as when His words praise and commend us. In both cases, He is trying to shape us into the people He wants us to be, people who turn from sin and embrace His righteousness, people who live in accordance with His will, way, and sweet tasting word.

Ezekiel would not just get to consume the words of God but share that sweetness with the Israelites. As we journey through the book that bears his name, we’ll see him do just that.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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THE CALLING OF A PROPHET

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” As He spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.

He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against Me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak My words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

Ezekiel 2:1-8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

God needed a messenger to serve as His spokesperson to the Israelites and He decided that the messenger would be the priest Ezekiel. We know this because He tells us Himself as we look at His words here in opening verses of Chapter 2:

He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” As He spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.

He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against Me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak My words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”  Ezekiel 2:1-8

You’ll recall from yesterday’s devotion that Ezekiel had first received a vision, a vision that gave him (and us) a glimpse into the throne room of God and the glory within. The scene was so incredible and amazing that Ezekiel fell facedown and it was there, prostrate before the majesty of God, that He heard the Lord speaking to him. As chapter 2 opens, we see what He said to Ezekiel.

First, we see that the Lord commanded Ezekiel to get up and stand on his feet in order to receive what He had to say to him but note that Ezekiel did not raise up on his own power but rather by the power of the Spirit which came into him and raised him to his feet.

Next, we see the Lord appoint Ezekiel, giving him the following task:

“I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against Me to this very day… whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

The Lord doesn’t leave anything out in ordaining Ezekiel for the work He wanted him to do. He was to go to the Israelites and tell them what God wanted him to tell them. And whether they listened or not, they would know that Ezekiel was not just a priest anymore but also a prophet.

Additionally, the Lord ensured there was full disclosure regarding what He was telling Ezekiel to do. He did not refrain from telling him about the challenge he would face in trying to share God’s messages to the Israelites. They had rebelled against God and so they were surely rebel against anyone who God sent as well. They had an inclination toward being obstinate and stubborn. And God sensed that they would even try and threaten Ezekiel so He prepared His prophet for what might come saying:

“Do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”

Yes, Ezekiel was going to face lots of difficulties in carrying out God’s calling. His words would not be welcomed by the rebellious Israelites. But God’s newest prophet did not need to fear because God was with him and for him. God would make sure that Ezekiel would remain safe. All he needed to do was remain obedient to God and that leads to the final takeaway from God’s assignment.

For Ezekiel was not to allow the rebellious nature of the Israelites to infect him and his responsibility to carry out what God commanded. God made sure He told His prophet to refrain from rebelling himself but rather to open his mouth and receive the words God would feed him, words he would turn around and share with those God sent him to.

This sets the stage for the rest of this book and we are just a little over a chapter in.

How will Ezekiel fare in doing what God wanted him to do?

Keep following through the devotions from this book and we’ll find out together but before we close, there are some important application points for us to use as we seek to carry out the Lord’s work in our own lives. They are as follows:

1. When God calls us, He sends His Spirit to us.

It was the first thing that Ezekiel received. It was the first thing the disciples of Jesus received after He departed to equip them for their service. And it’s what we receive too to carry out the Lord’s will and way.

2. God will tell us exactly what He wants us to do and will do it with great detail.

Jesus told His disciples that if they got hauled into court on account of the Gospel, they weren’t to worry about what to say because He would give them the words to say. Today, He not only tells us where to go and what to do once we get there but He prepares us through His word and Spirit to deal with whatever we encounter. Through the ministry experiences of Jesus, we find the way to handle anything God will bring us to.  

3. Don’t expect that it will be easy to carry out God’s work.

God told Ezekiel right up front that he could expect resistance from the Israelites because of their disposition toward stubborn disobedience and reluctance to listen. It was going to be a challenge carrying out the Lord’s demands and today we find it’s no less challenging more than 2,000 years later.

4. God demands our obedience in serving Him.

There is no option to opt out of what the Lord calls us to do. Ezekiel was warned about rebelling against the Lord and that same warning applies to us today. The bottom line is that we are to do what He tells us to do, work with who He tells us to work with, and trust that He is always there with us, helping through it all.

The old saying sums it up best: The Lord will never call you to something He isn’t going to pull you through.” All we need to do is to serve Him with bold confidence and unwavering commitment.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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