Ezekiel
2 reminds me of a brief conversation I had this week with a young man
exhausted from the birth of his first child. His daughter was born
with medical complications, still keeping her in the hospital.
Although they had been anticipating her arrival for 8 months, they
barely knew her. At the same time, they sacrificed sleep and every
aspect of life to be with her there. I have no doubt this new dad
would give anything for her, and I also know he will love her more
and more with every passing day. She is more than just a mixture of
chromosomes; she is a God-given new life. He is her only father and
he will protect and provide for her and prepare her for adulthood.
In today’s short chapter, the prophet Ezekiel is face down before
the glory of God. He is about to be born into a new life and it will
not be easy. The chapter begins, “Son
of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you“.
This phrase literally means “son of Adam”, but God personalizes
it to mean “My man”. “As
He spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I
heard Him speaking to me“.
This was his unique calling. “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“.
You do not know how much God loves you.
Some
people believe that when God calls them, everything in life will
become easy, but our circumstances do not change, only our attitude
toward them. God needs His man on the street to do something that is
hard. “Son of man,
the people to whom I am sending
you are obstinate and stubborn“.
God also makes it clear Ezekiel is just to speak God’s truth,
“whether they listen or fail to
listen“. That is, we cannot
change anyone, He is God, and we are not. But when Ezekiel speaks,
“they will know that a prophet
has been among them“. Have
you been dealing with complications? Did you know there has been a
prophet among you?
God gave Ezekiel specific instruction, “Son
of man, do not be afraid of them or their words…
though…you live among scorpions“.
God adds a critical detail, “Do
not be… terrified by them… You must speak My words to them“.
God presents a powerful image in caring for His new-born, “open
your mouth and eat what I give you“.
He must trust that God will give him what he needs to grow. “You,
son of man, listen to what I say to you“.
What did Ezekiel need? “I saw
a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which He unrolled
before me“. This scroll was
not full of candy and sweets, but “On
both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe“.
Healing and hope do not come
from positive thoughts; they come from embracing God’s truth. God
sent a Savior into the world to defeat death and hell. “God…
wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
For
there is one God and one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man
Christ Jesus, who
gave Himself as a ransom for all people”
(1 Timothy 2:4-6). Maybe it
is time to stop rebelling and start living the new life God has
prepared for you?