Remember?  Yesterday our passage ended with “When I saw all this, I fell to my knees, my face to the ground. Then I heard a voice.”  Well, Ezekiel gets a “chair turn” from God in today’s passage!  God’s Voice speaks to his prophet priest with words of importance for his ministry as well as the people to whom God tells Him to speak.

Ezekiel 2, The Message

It said, “Son of man, stand up. I have something to say to you.”

² The moment I heard the voice, the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. As he spoke to me, I listened.

^3-7 He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here. But don’t be afraid of them, son of man, and don’t be afraid of anything they say. Don’t be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They’re a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They’re hardened rebels.

⁸ “Only take care, son of man, that you don’t rebel like these rebels. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

^9-10 When I looked he had his hand stretched out to me, and in the hand a book, a scroll. He unrolled the scroll. On both sides, front and back, were written lamentations and mourning and doom.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND TODAY?

Rebellion against God and all that He is never goes well for us.  Rebellion is physically unhealthy as it raises stress levels as we hold grudges, find ways to fight back to get even or as we spend wasted time to create ways to “one up” others, or consistently think of evil things to say and do to make the one against you appear demonic to others so you can form sides for war.  Whew, exhausting, right?

Yes, rebellion, in worldview thinking, is taking sides against the current establishment as opposed to making peace through unity.

Jesus came to earth to a rebellious people whose existence was living under Roman oppression while trying to survive their current poor circumstances.  Jesus experienced the mean words and hard looks—from His own people!  God’s priests were full of pride with political aspirations as they walked the line between the Roman government and Jewish living under the Law of Moses.  Seeking power and prestige became their only life goal. 

Jesus came to “rebel” against this way of thinking.  Jesus was revolutionary but not in any way shape or form as the world had viewed revolution.  Even his beloved disciples didn’t completely understand this shift in thinking when Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God.  Kingdom of God thinking draws people together in unity and peace.  There is only one “side” to be on—God’s side.  God’s side includes everyone!

When we talk of the Kingdom of God today, we still get the looks Ezekiel was warned about and for sure got in his day.  God’s advice to him is priceless!  The Voice tells him:

• Tell them what I tell you.
• Don’t be afraid of their mean words and hard looks.
• Whether they listen is not your concern.  Wait, what?!  Yes, the rest is between the people in earshot and God!

As believers who want others to know about God.  We are impressed by His Spirit to tell His story, but we need to understand that until people say yes, they will say no.  Their no, not yet comes with wondering, hard looks and sometimes mean words while deciding if they want to leave their known for God’s unknown ways of life they have not experienced.  They do not know God—yet.  But if we say what God tells us to say, He will do the rest!  We too, must not be so concerned with whether or not they listened.  We pray and obey.  God works and continues to work.

Rebellion is seen all around us and rebellious behaviors never escape God’s notice.  Our best strategic tactics, however, in Kingdom of God thinking was taught by Jesus, Son of God and we must take it all in—

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more payback. Live generously.”  –Jesus, Luke 6:27-30 

Read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and list all of Jesus’ ways to develop Kingdom thinking and behaving!  It’s all there!  In case you’re wondering…

Eat what I give you

Being a priest, Ezekiel knew that the Hebrew Scriptures pictured God’s Word as food to be received within the heart and digested inwardly. Job valued God’s Word more than His “necessary food” (Job 23:12), and Moses admonished the Jews to live on God’s Word as well as on the bread (manna) that the Lord supplied daily (Deut. 8:3; see Matt. 4:4). The prophet Jeremiah “ate” the Word of God (Jer. 15:16), and so did the apostle John (Rev. 10:8–10).

God’s prophets must speak from within their hearts, or their messages will not be authentic.  The world today is starved for authenticity, for what is really real.  Be real.

Work the Words into Your Life

“If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.” –Jesus, Luke 6

To be real, then is to read and digest God’s Word so that it becomes who we are.

“Had Ezekiel heard the description of the hardness of his people before he saw the vision of God’s glory, he may have had a difficult time accepting his call. But having seen the glorious throne of the sovereign Lord, Ezekiel knew that he had all the help he needed to obey God’s will. The only motivation that never fails is doing all for the glory of God.” –Warren Wiersbe

Lord,

Thank you for this lesson that humbles us and reminds us of our motivation to be a real truth teller of what you give us to say.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen