Ezekiel 2:5

The Bible says in Ezekiel 2:5-7, “And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.[6] And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.[7] And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.” When people oppose you, resist you, and reject your words, that is not going to be very pleasant to deal with. One of the things that can happen from a human standpoint is fear. God is preparing Ezekiel ahead of time, and God says not to fear. Christians ought to be the bravest people in the world. We do not care what people think. We care what God thinks. If people remain rebellious, at least God is happy that someone took them the gospel. God happily stated that the people of Israel “shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.”

The Bible says in Ezekiel 2:8-10, “But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.[9] And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;[10] And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” Ezekiel is told to make sure that he is not rebellious like the children of Israel had become. It is easy to become rebellious because we each have that sinful human nature which naturally is full of itself and turns against God. How can we keep that from happening? Do what God told Ezekiel to do: “open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.” Is there something to eat that will keep us from being rebellious against God? Of course not, that statement is symbolic of reading and taking in the Bible, the written Word of God. Ezekiel was given a scroll, “a roll of a book.” In the book were written “lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” Those are the consequences of turning away from God.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 3:1-4, “Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.[2] So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.[3] And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.[4] And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.” The symbolism of eating the Word of God was also used by Jesus when Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.” Ezekiel was told to be filled with the Word. The way to be prepared to preach is to learn the Word. Taking in the Word is a good thing. The Word will be in your mouth “as honey for sweetness.”

The Bible says in Ezekiel 3:5-7, “For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;[6] 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.[7] But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.” Ezekiel was given a ministry to take the truth to the children of Israel. God knew what the results would be: there would not be any results as far as numbers of people who would respond properly to Ezekiel’s message. Some missionaries have a lot to overcome. One of the big problems is learning another language. Ezekiel did not have that problem. Everything was just right. Jerusalem had already been destroyed by the Babylonians, so you could not have a better lesson to show people that it will not turn out well if you do not turn to God. Ezekiel certainly had the message from God and the power of the Spirit. He was a Jew speaking to Jews. But there was only one big problem: the same problem that everyone faces who wants to be a testimony for Christ: the people to whom he was speaking had hard hearts and did not want the truth. If you are a servant of God, and people do not want God, then they will not want you either. God said in verse 7, “the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me.”

The Bible says in Ezekiel 3:8-11, “Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.[9] As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.[10] Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.[11] And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.” When we live for Christ and when we preach the gospel, we hope that lost souls will get saved, and we hope that saved people will grow in the Lord, but that may not happen. It did not happen for Ezekiel. Our responsibility is to make sure that we have the right message. God told Ezekiel where to get the message. God said in verse 10, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.” In order to preach the Word of God, we must know the Word of God. One reason to read and learn the Word of God is to deliver it to others. God told Ezekiel to speak unto them “whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.” Our goal is to deliver the Word of God, faithfully and truthfully and honestly. That is the main goal. If we end up speaking to people like Ezekiel had: those with hard and rebellious hearts, then we will have few outward results. But at least we are doing what needs to be done. God knows and God sees. You are going to have to be strong and you are going to have to be harder than they are, in a certain way. Just as they are determined not to hear the truth, you must be determined to hear the truth. If they have a hard head, you must have a harder head. If they are determined not to serve God, you must be even more determined that you are going to serve God. God said to Ezekiel in verse 8 and the first part of verse 9, “Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.[9] As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead”

The Bible says in Ezekiel 3:12-17, “Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.[13] I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.[14] So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.[15] Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.[16] And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,[17] Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.” The key word in this passage is “watchman.” In ancient times cities had walls around them and they had watchmen who would constantly be on the lookout in case an enemy came on the attack. Someone needed to be ready to warn everyone else. That is what a preacher does: he warns everyone of the spiritual dangers that are coming. Any given day at any given moment there can be an attack from the evil forces. This is a world of temptation and trial. There is no vacation from the spiritual warfare. Be careful. Be a watchman. Be on the look-out for the enemy of your soul.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 3:18-19, “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.[19] Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” These verses talk about the great responsibility that believers have to share the Gospel of Christ. When Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” that was a command. He is not giving us a choice. God’s plan is that people are given a chance to believe when they hear the gospel. But if no one tells them the gospel, then they cannot be saved. This is stated in Romans 10:13-17, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.[14] How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?[15] And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things![16] But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?[17] So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The Bible says in Ezekiel 3:20-21, “Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.[21] Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.” In addition to being another statement about the responsibility of believers, these verses also make a statement about a believer, sin, and death. What happens when a Christian sins? For one thing there is a difference between the Old Covenant of the las and the New Covenant of grace. In the Old Testament the death penalty was given for many many different kinds of sins. In the New Testament times in which we live, we are forgiven because of the death of Christ. God’s love for us is not based upon how good we are, but is based upon the death of Christ on the cross. Jesus already died in our place, and so we will not die. Jesus suffered the penalty of death so that we do not have to die. But if there is a Christian who turns away from the Lord, then the Lord does chastise us as a father chastises his son. The purpose of the chastisement is to teach us so that we will wake up, return to walking with the Lord, and be even better Christians. But if a Christian refuses to turn back to the Lord, that really means that such a backsliding Christian is of no use to the Lord in this world. If you are of no use to the Lord, why should He leave you on the earth. And so it says in First Corinthians 11:30, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” Sleep means death in this context. It also says in First John 5:16, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, you can bow before Him today and trust in Him. If you do know Jesus as Savior, make sure that you are turned to Jesus to follow Him in surrender and love.

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