Task & Responsibility

Day Four

          Ezekiel: Chapter 3

The prophet, Ezekiel, was commanded to “eat” the roll (or scroll) depicting that he was to first receive the Word of God. The first task of those that are called by God remains the same today, we are to first study God’s Word and then we can communicate it to others. Ezekiel was told upfront that his task would not be easy. In fact, he was informed that even though he would be speaking to people of his own language that could understand his speech; they would not pay any attention to what he had to say. Those to whom he would address was the house of Israel, God’s chosen people. They had become impudent and hardhearted against God.

In our world today we witness to people who can understand our words but refuse to hearken to the words of God. They, too, have become impudent and hardhearted against God. Yet, God cares about them and His desire is to redeem them back to Himself. God wants no man to perish but for all to come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason He has called us, as He called Ezekiel, to proclaim the truth of God and to warn of the impending danger.

It would be a fearsome task for Ezekiel to stand before a rebellious people and boldly proclaim the words of an angry God to them. But this was the task he was called to do—to receive God’s Word and to deliver it faithfully. God knew what Ezekiel would need to be able to fulfill his calling and He gave it to him-- He equipped Ezekiel.  In verse eight of chapter three we read about the mental and spiritual strength and endurance God gave to Ezekiel to sustain him through the difficult task ahead.

Today, it is a fearsome thing to stand before people that do not trust in God and for us to deliver His truths. There are people who do not want to hear, they are bold in their rejection of God’s ways and their desire to serve themselves and the world is strong. Repentance is not on their list of things to do for the day. Besides, they might ridicule us and call us intolerant if we share God’s Word. They won’t want to socialize with us and could even make our life difficult if we stand firm and make our beliefs known. Nevertheless, our call is to deliver the truth. No matter what field your call has taken you into, ultimately your task remains the same as Ezekiel’s. You must first receive God’s Word and then faithfully deliver it. No fears, God will equip you—He doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called. He will prepare you just as He prepared Ezekiel.

Ezekiel was overwhelmed, to be called in such a dramatic way and be asked to preach to a world without any prospect of being heard. Our calls can be overwhelming as well. So much like Ezekiel, after we are called to do something for the Lord we are reluctant and need further instructions and motivation. God had to impress upon Ezekiel how crucial it was for Israel to hear what God had to say to them through Ezekiel. The responsibility God placed on Ezekiel was extremely heavy.

Ezekiel was called to be God’s watchman to warn both the wicked and the righteous. His message was to be clear and precise just as the call of the ancient watchmen who warned the city of approaching enemies who could destroy the city. If Ezekiel put forth the warnings and the people refused to heed then Ezekiel was blameless. However, if Ezekiel did not warn then he would be charged with the sinner’s death.

With Ezekiel’s responsibility came restrictions. His fellowship with society was limited. His voice was taken from him so that he could not speak except by divine permission. This was a sign to Israel that when Ezekiel did speak it was from God and not of himself. Also, it caused Ezekiel to surrender to God and not be able to give his own opinions.

Too many times, we fall victim to giving our opinions and not sticking to delivering the message of God and allowing the Spirit to do the work. How many times have we come across those who have left the church due to hurt feelings or the malicious tongue of a Christian? What if we had the same restrictions as Ezekiel and carried the same burden of responsibility? Would we give our personal opinions less and do more to fulfill our call to God? What if our neglect to warn our neighbor resulted in being charged for his sin? Would we make it a priority to warn?