We must declare God’s message

“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…And whether they listen or fail to listen – for they are a rebellious people – they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ezekiel 2:3,5 NIV)

Can you imagine what it was like for Ezekiel? From what we can tell he was now thirty years old and a Levitical priest (see chapter 1). This would have been the year that he would have taken up his service in God’s temple in Jerusalem. But – and here was the problem – he was not in Jerusalem. He had been taken as an exile to Babylon. Everything he had been preparing his life for up until that point was gone! What was he to now do?

But God still had work for Ezekiel. He appeared to him in Babylon to tell him that his work for YHVH was just beginning – in fact, he was to be God’s voice to the Israelites in captivity. God called him to be a prophet.

Have we been in a similar situation, at least similar in that what we were preparing to do with our lives was suddenly taken away? A door was closed and we were left wondering what we were going to do. We need to realise that if we are intent on serving God there will always be opportunities for us. We can’t expect God to appear to us in a vision to tell us what he wants us to do, like he did for Ezekiel, but doors will be opened. 

Although called to be a prophet, Ezekiel’s work for the Lord would not be straightforward.

“The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’… 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 2:4,6-8)

Ezekiel was being sent to his own people who were in the same situation in which he found himself: they were exiles in a foreign land. But notice how God described the Israelites: rebellious, obstinate, stubborn, rebellious, and rebellious. How many times does God call the Israelites ‘rebellious’? Add to that the warning that Ezekiel had to make sure that he wasn’t rebellious like them!

Again, I think there is a parallel to our lives as Christians. We are called to tell the good news of Jesus to those around us – our people, if you will. What are they like? To be honest, most are like Israel of old: refusing to listen, rebellious, obstinate, stubborn, rebellious, and rebellious! Yet, like Ezekiel, God expects us to take his message to those around us.

Despite whether the Israelites would listen or not, Ezekiel still had to let people know what God had said. Ezekiel wasn’t to allow the people to terrify him no matter how bad it got (after all, they were a rebellious people). 

Isn’t that also the same for us? We have a message to declare and proclaiming the good news of Jesus doesn’t depend on whether people today listen or not. Their reaction cannot determine whether or not we tell them about Jesus. The only way they can be freed from sin is to learn what Jesus has done for them and how they need to accept this gracious gift. We need to always speak a good word for Jesus.

Photo by Jon Galloway: “By the Rivers of Babylon” – display in the Citadel, Jerusalem,

Readings for next week: Ezekiel 1-10