What separates statues, like those of cherubs, from idolatry? Do we get as close as we can to idolatry or avoid even the appearance of it? Let’s look at Ezekiel 6.
What abomination was found on the high places throughout Israel?
Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy to them, and say, ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh! The Lord Yahweh says to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: “Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places. Your altars will become desolate, and your incense altars will be broken. I will cast down your slain men before your idols. (Ezek 6:1-4 WEB)
How angry was God about the rampant idolatry throughout the land?
I’ll throw the Israelites’ corpses in front of their idols, and I’ll scatter your bones all around your altars. Wherever you live, cities will be in ruins, shrines made desolate, turned into utter ruin. Your altars will be punished and then broken down. Your idols will be demolished, your incense altars shattered, and all your works wiped out. The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord. (Ezek 6:5-7 CEB)
Should we take God’s warnings in the Bible seriously? Have we disgraced God?
I will let some of the people live through this punishment, but I will scatter them among the nations, where they will be prisoners. And when they think of me, they will realize that they disgraced me by rebelling and by worshiping idols. They will hate themselves for the evil things they did, and they will know that I am the Lord and that my warnings must be taken seriously. (Ezek 6:8-10 CEV)
What three methods of punishment would the people suffer for their sins?
Thus says the Lord God: “Clap your hands and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. He who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. Thus I will spend my fury upon them. (Ezek 6:11-12 ESV)
What event will cause people to know that God does not approve of idolatry?
You will all know that I am Yahweh when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, and under every green tree and every leafy oak—the places where they offered pleasing aromas to all their idols. I will stretch out My hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the wilderness to Diblah. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.” (Ezek 6:13-14 HCSB)
Should Christians make statues to bow down to and worship in our church buildings?
What agreement can a temple of God make with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said: “I will live and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Cor 6:16 ISV)
What separates statues, like those of cherubs, from idolatry? Do we get as close as we can to idolatry or avoid even the appearance of it? You decide!
Abominations Punished (Ezekiel 5)
Did Ezekiel demonstrate a then future punishment of human abominations? Are our nations without guilt? Let’s look at Ezekiel 5.
What did God ask Ezekiel to demonstrate this time as a prophecy?
“Now as for you, Son of Man, you are to go find a sharp sword and use it like a barber’s razor. You are to cut your hair and beard. Then you are to take a weighing scale and divide your shaved hair into three parts. You are to burn a third of it in the middle of the city when you’ve finished your siege. Next, you are to take another third of it and beat it with your sword.
Last, you are to scatter the remaining third to the wind, after which I’ll unsheathe my sword and pursue them. You are to preserve a few strands of hair and hide them in the folds of your garment. Then you are to take a few strands, throw them in the fire, and incinerate them. A fire will proceed to the house of Israel from there.” (Ezek 5:1-5 ISV)
Was Jerusalem located to be an example for other countries? Did Jerusalem fall into sins that were worse than those of surrounding countries?
Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. (Ezek 5:5-6 KJV)
What did God decide because Jerusalem had sinned so abominably against Him? How bad will the famine be?
Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because you have more turmoil than the nations which are all around you and have not walked in My statutes, nor done My judgments, nor done the judgments of the nations which are all around you,’ therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.
And I will do among you what I have not done and the like of which I will never do again because of all your abominations. Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and scatter all your remnant to every wind. (Ezek 5:7-10 LSB)
Did idolatry and various undetailed abominations cause God’s punishment by thirds?
Therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominations, I definitely will also withdraw and My eye will have no pity, and I also will not spare. A third of you will die by plague or perish by famine among you, a third will fall by the sword around you, and a third I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe a sword behind them. (Ezek 5:11-12 NASB)
What would the nations around know because of God’s punishment on Jerusalem?
Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal. I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. (Ezek 5:13-14 NIV)
What kind of lesson would Jerusalem be for all to see?
‘So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ (Ezek 5:15-17 NKJV)
Did Jerusalem learn its lesson or was a future generation to suffer similar punishment in 70 AD?
They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end. (Luke 21:24 NLT)
Did Ezekiel demonstrate a then future punishment of human abominations? Are our nations without guilt? You decide!
What did God ask Ezekiel to demonstrate this time as a prophecy?
“Now as for you, Son of Man, you are to go find a sharp sword and use it like a barber’s razor. You are to cut your hair and beard. Then you are to take a weighing scale and divide your shaved hair into three parts. You are to burn a third of it in the middle of the city when you’ve finished your siege. Next, you are to take another third of it and beat it with your sword.
Last, you are to scatter the remaining third to the wind, after which I’ll unsheathe my sword and pursue them. You are to preserve a few strands of hair and hide them in the folds of your garment. Then you are to take a few strands, throw them in the fire, and incinerate them. A fire will proceed to the house of Israel from there.” (Ezek 5:1-5 ISV)
Was Jerusalem located to be an example for other countries? Did Jerusalem fall into sins that were worse than those of surrounding countries?
Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. (Ezek 5:5-6 KJV)
What did God decide because Jerusalem had sinned so abominably against Him? How bad will the famine be?
Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because you have more turmoil than the nations which are all around you and have not walked in My statutes, nor done My judgments, nor done the judgments of the nations which are all around you,’ therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.
And I will do among you what I have not done and the like of which I will never do again because of all your abominations. Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and scatter all your remnant to every wind. (Ezek 5:7-10 LSB)
Did idolatry and various undetailed abominations cause God’s punishment by thirds?
Therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominations, I definitely will also withdraw and My eye will have no pity, and I also will not spare. A third of you will die by plague or perish by famine among you, a third will fall by the sword around you, and a third I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe a sword behind them. (Ezek 5:11-12 NASB)
What would the nations around know because of God’s punishment on Jerusalem?
Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal. I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. (Ezek 5:13-14 NIV)
What kind of lesson would Jerusalem be for all to see?
‘So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ (Ezek 5:15-17 NKJV)
Did Jerusalem learn its lesson or was a future generation to suffer similar punishment in 70 AD?
They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end. (Luke 21:24 NLT)
Did Ezekiel demonstrate a then future punishment of human abominations? Are our nations without guilt? You decide!
Prophetic Drama (Ezekiel 4)
Does sin separate us from God like an iron wall? Have we endured physical and social hardship to serve God? Let’s look at Ezekiel 4.
Did Ezekiel make a model of Jerusalem under siege as a visual prophecy? Did an iron pan picture a barrier between God and Israel?
You also, son of man, take a tile, and lay it before yourself, and portray on it a city, even Jerusalem. Lay siege against it, build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it. Also set camps against it and plant battering rams against it all around. Take for yourself an iron pan and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city. Then set your face toward it. It will be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. (Ezek 4:1-3 WEB)
Did God have this very visual prophet lie on his side? Did this picture the unfaithfulness of both Israel and Judah?
Now, lie on your left side, and set the guilt of the house of Israel on it. For the length of time that you lie on your side, you will bear their punishment. I appoint to you three hundred ninety days, one day for each year of their guilt. So you will bear the punishment of the house of Israel.
When you have completed these days, lie on your right side to bear the guilt of the house of Judah. I appoint forty days to you, one day for each year. With your arm stretched out, face the siege of Jerusalem directly and prophesy against it. I’ve now bound you with cords so that you can’t turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege. (Ezek 4:4-8 CEB)
Did God have Ezekiel demonstrate yet another prophecy of bad food?
Get a large bowl. Then mix together wheat, barley, beans, lentils, and millet, and make some bread. This is what you will eat for the 390 days you are lying down. Eat only a small loaf of bread each day and drink only two large cups of water. Use dried human waste to start a fire, then bake the bread on the coals where everyone can watch you. When I scatter the people of Israel among the nations, they will also have to eat food that is unclean, just as you must do. (Ezek 4:9-13 CEV)
When Ezekiel asked God why He wanted him to defile himself with tainted bread, what was God’s answer?
Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself. From my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has tainted meat come into my mouth.” Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and rot away because of their punishment. (Ezek 4:14-17 ESV)
Rather than the polluted bread of punishment, did Jesus offer us the bread of life?
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.” (John 6:35 HCSB)
Does sin separate us from God like an iron wall? Have we endured physical and social hardship to serve God? You decide!
Did Ezekiel make a model of Jerusalem under siege as a visual prophecy? Did an iron pan picture a barrier between God and Israel?
You also, son of man, take a tile, and lay it before yourself, and portray on it a city, even Jerusalem. Lay siege against it, build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it. Also set camps against it and plant battering rams against it all around. Take for yourself an iron pan and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city. Then set your face toward it. It will be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. (Ezek 4:1-3 WEB)
Did God have this very visual prophet lie on his side? Did this picture the unfaithfulness of both Israel and Judah?
Now, lie on your left side, and set the guilt of the house of Israel on it. For the length of time that you lie on your side, you will bear their punishment. I appoint to you three hundred ninety days, one day for each year of their guilt. So you will bear the punishment of the house of Israel.
When you have completed these days, lie on your right side to bear the guilt of the house of Judah. I appoint forty days to you, one day for each year. With your arm stretched out, face the siege of Jerusalem directly and prophesy against it. I’ve now bound you with cords so that you can’t turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege. (Ezek 4:4-8 CEB)
Did God have Ezekiel demonstrate yet another prophecy of bad food?
Get a large bowl. Then mix together wheat, barley, beans, lentils, and millet, and make some bread. This is what you will eat for the 390 days you are lying down. Eat only a small loaf of bread each day and drink only two large cups of water. Use dried human waste to start a fire, then bake the bread on the coals where everyone can watch you. When I scatter the people of Israel among the nations, they will also have to eat food that is unclean, just as you must do. (Ezek 4:9-13 CEV)
When Ezekiel asked God why He wanted him to defile himself with tainted bread, what was God’s answer?
Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself. From my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has tainted meat come into my mouth.” Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and rot away because of their punishment. (Ezek 4:14-17 ESV)
Rather than the polluted bread of punishment, did Jesus offer us the bread of life?
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.” (John 6:35 HCSB)
Does sin separate us from God like an iron wall? Have we endured physical and social hardship to serve God? You decide!
A Prophet's Duty (Ezekiel 3)
Pastors may comfort us and prophets discomfort us, but don’t we really need both? Let’s look at one prophet’s duty in Ezekiel 3.
Was Ezekiel to eat a scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel?
Then he told me, “Son of Man, eat! Eat what you see—this scroll—and then go talk to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll. Then he told me, “Son of Man, fill your stomach and digest this scroll that I’m giving you.” So I ate it, and it was like sweet honey in my mouth. (Ezek 3:1-3 ISV)
To whom was Ezekiel sent? Would other nations have listened to him, like Nineveh listened to Jonah?
And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. (Ezek 3:4-6 KJV)
Was God disappointed in Israel, because she was even worse than the nations around her?
Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because you have more turmoil than the nations which are all around you and have not walked in My statutes, nor done My judgments, nor done the judgments of the nations which are all around you,’ therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. And I will do among you what I have not done and the like of which I will never do again because of all your abominations. (Ezek 3:7-9 LSB)
What would be some of the consequences experienced by a nation practicing idolatry and abominations?
Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and scatter all your remnant to every wind. Therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominations, I definitely will also withdraw and My eye will have no pity, and I also will not spare. A third of you will die by plague or perish by famine among you, a third will fall by the sword around you, and a third I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe a sword behind them. (Ezek 3:10-12 NASB)
What knowledge will come as the result of a nation punished by God?
Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal. I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. (Ezek 3:13-14 NIV)
What will the nations around Israel learn from her punishment?
So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken. (Ezek 3:15-17 NKJV)
What lesson should we in New Testament churches learn from Israel’s bad examples?
These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.
Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. (1 Cor 10:6-11 NLT)
Pastors may comfort us and prophets discomfort us, but don’t we really need both? You decide!
Was Ezekiel to eat a scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel?
Then he told me, “Son of Man, eat! Eat what you see—this scroll—and then go talk to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll. Then he told me, “Son of Man, fill your stomach and digest this scroll that I’m giving you.” So I ate it, and it was like sweet honey in my mouth. (Ezek 3:1-3 ISV)
To whom was Ezekiel sent? Would other nations have listened to him, like Nineveh listened to Jonah?
And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. (Ezek 3:4-6 KJV)
Was God disappointed in Israel, because she was even worse than the nations around her?
Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because you have more turmoil than the nations which are all around you and have not walked in My statutes, nor done My judgments, nor done the judgments of the nations which are all around you,’ therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. And I will do among you what I have not done and the like of which I will never do again because of all your abominations. (Ezek 3:7-9 LSB)
What would be some of the consequences experienced by a nation practicing idolatry and abominations?
Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and scatter all your remnant to every wind. Therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominations, I definitely will also withdraw and My eye will have no pity, and I also will not spare. A third of you will die by plague or perish by famine among you, a third will fall by the sword around you, and a third I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe a sword behind them. (Ezek 3:10-12 NASB)
What knowledge will come as the result of a nation punished by God?
Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal. I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. (Ezek 3:13-14 NIV)
What will the nations around Israel learn from her punishment?
So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken. (Ezek 3:15-17 NKJV)
What lesson should we in New Testament churches learn from Israel’s bad examples?
These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.
Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. (1 Cor 10:6-11 NLT)
Pastors may comfort us and prophets discomfort us, but don’t we really need both? You decide!
Ezekiel Called (Ezekiel 2)
Is a prophet called to pamper people with smooth words? Let’s look at Ezekiel 2.
How did God begin His calling of Ezekiel as a prophet? Did the Holy Spirit enter him? Was the term Son of man also used by Jesus?
And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. (Ezek 2:1-2 NKJV)
To which nation was Ezekiel assigned? Are the two nations of Israel and Judah righteous, or stubborn and rebellious and hard-hearted against God?
“Son of man,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation [Heb. nations] that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ (Ezek 2:3-4 NLT)
Does a prophet or preacher know whether or not their message will be refused? Is there a temptation for any preacher to water down God’s message so people won’t be offended?
They, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that there has been a prophet among them. (Ezek 2:5 WEB)
Is the church really any different to Israel, a household of rebels? How many Christian preachers preach the Word undiluted, whether they listen or not?
And as for you, human one, don’t be afraid of them or their words. Don’t be afraid! You possess thistles and thorns that subdue scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words or shrink from their presence, because they are a household of rebels. You’ll speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they refuse. They are just a household of rebels! (Ezek 2:6-7 CEB)
How many Christian preachers are in rebellion against God by refusing to listen to everything God has to say, to digest what God has given?
Ezekiel, don't rebel against me, as they have done. Instead, listen to everything I tell you. And now, Ezekiel, open your mouth and eat what I am going to give you. (Ezek 2:8 CEV)
How many Christian preachers totally ignore the passages of lament and mourning and woe, only to focus on passages of encouragement?
And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. (Ezek 2:9-10 ESV)
Was John told something similar to Ezekiel, to consume God’s word? Did it start out sweet and end up bitter?
Now the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter. (Rev 10:8–10)
Is a prophet called to pamper people with smooth words? You decide!
How did God begin His calling of Ezekiel as a prophet? Did the Holy Spirit enter him? Was the term Son of man also used by Jesus?
And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. (Ezek 2:1-2 NKJV)
To which nation was Ezekiel assigned? Are the two nations of Israel and Judah righteous, or stubborn and rebellious and hard-hearted against God?
“Son of man,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation [Heb. nations] that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ (Ezek 2:3-4 NLT)
Does a prophet or preacher know whether or not their message will be refused? Is there a temptation for any preacher to water down God’s message so people won’t be offended?
They, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that there has been a prophet among them. (Ezek 2:5 WEB)
Is the church really any different to Israel, a household of rebels? How many Christian preachers preach the Word undiluted, whether they listen or not?
And as for you, human one, don’t be afraid of them or their words. Don’t be afraid! You possess thistles and thorns that subdue scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words or shrink from their presence, because they are a household of rebels. You’ll speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they refuse. They are just a household of rebels! (Ezek 2:6-7 CEB)
How many Christian preachers are in rebellion against God by refusing to listen to everything God has to say, to digest what God has given?
Ezekiel, don't rebel against me, as they have done. Instead, listen to everything I tell you. And now, Ezekiel, open your mouth and eat what I am going to give you. (Ezek 2:8 CEV)
How many Christian preachers totally ignore the passages of lament and mourning and woe, only to focus on passages of encouragement?
And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. (Ezek 2:9-10 ESV)
Was John told something similar to Ezekiel, to consume God’s word? Did it start out sweet and end up bitter?
Now the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter. (Rev 10:8–10)
Is a prophet called to pamper people with smooth words? You decide!
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