There is much to do for the Lord. We meet and interact with different people regularly. We encourage, exhort and work with one another to uplift each other spiritually. Sometimes, we get discouraged and there may also be times that we do not know what to do with the predicament or situation we are in.
From Ezekiel’s commission, we are able to learn from the clear understanding of his duties given by God and thereby draw applications for our service to God.
Ezekiel’s name means “God strengthens”. He was in the second group of Israelites that got carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon in 597BC. Thus, he was living in captivity. He was a man who had a lot of compassion for his people and was dedicated to God. God gave him the task to preach to people who were stiff-necked even though they were in captivity.
Stand Up
“And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.” (Ezekiel 2:1-3)
God told Ezekiel to not lose heart but stand up like a man and do the work for the Lord. God had done that to others before, like telling Joshua to stand up when Israel lost to Ai because of the sin of Achan (Joshua 7:10) and to Saul (Acts 9:6). Even though Ezekiel was in captivity, there was a need for him to stand up and get busy preaching God’s word. He was to go to the rebellious children of Israel and preach to them.
The application for us today is to stand up and go preach and teach the word of God. We can’t lose heart nor find excuses. We can stand up because God is with us and we can take comfort in what Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 28:20 that He would be with them always even unto the end of the world.
Stand Brave
“For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. 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. 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.” (Ezekiel 2:4-6)
Even though the people were stubborn, with their hearts hard and they were stiff-necked, God still sent Ezekiel to them. God told Ezekiel that he would say “Thus saith the Lord GOD” and this is what every teacher of God’s word has to say no matter who the audience is. One has to stand brave in spite of the audience.
God told Ezekiel that he must stand brave whether the people will hear or refuse to hear because they will know that there is a prophet among them (Ezekiel 2:5). God also told him to not be afraid of them, what they might say or do, how they look or even what they might say about God because they are a rebellious lot. Ezekiel was still required to go to speak to them.
The application for us today is not to fear our audience or what people may say about us if we do the right thing that is pleasing to the Lord. Timothy was given the charge to preach the word and warned that there would come a time when people would not endure sound doctrine. He was to be mindful of what would happen, and thus he endured afflictions and continued doing the work of an evangelist so that he would be able to make full proof of his ministry (2 Timothy 4:1-5).
Speak God’s Word
“And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. 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. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” (Ezekiel 2:7-10)
God told Ezekiel to speak His word, no matter whether the people would hear or refuse to hear (Ezekiel 2:7). Sometimes, there might be a possibility that one may start becoming like the people we are preaching to or teaching because we get so afraid of them. This is a warning here for us that just like Ezekiel, we should speak the truth boldly and not be like the rebellious or stiff-necked people themselves (Ezekiel 2:8). God told Ezekiel to use His words when preaching (Ezekiel 2:9-10).
The application for us today is to use God’s word when preaching and teaching and to speak the truth. Let us not even think of using men’s wisdom, as Paul wrote about his speech and preaching in his letter to the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
As Christians labouring in the Lord’s vineyard, there is much to do. In Ezekiel’s case, he had to preach to rebellious people even though he was in captivity with them. We can learn of the need to stand up and not let discouragement take over us nor use it as an excuse for spiritual lethargy. We also learn of the need to stand brave despite what people may say or talk about us, or whether they will hear or refuse to hear. Finally, we learn the importance of speaking the truth of God’s word to people.