“The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, you are living among rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.” (Ezekiel 12:1-2 NIV)
Ezekiel is always a tough book to read. Ezekiel was an unpopular prophet in an unpleasant time. Judah was a nation in death throes; just beginning to experience the consequence of their collective idolatry. The temple leadership was entirely corrupt, false prophets were prolific, the people were desperate. They were no longer a nation set apart; they were every bit as wicked and godless as their neighbors, maybe even moreso. God was grieving their adulterous hearts. It was time for Judah to pay the price for their detestable practices.
Yet Ezekiel was living among these rebels: a holy man among an unholy people. And while we may not yet be amidst death throes in America, we can certainly relate to living amidst rebellious people. One might even ask: how do we survive? How do we serve God in a nation gone astray?
If we consider the scope of Ezekiel’s story, we see three instructions for the believer left to life among the corrupt.
1.) Listen carefully. The crowd was loud in Ezekiel’s ear, but he strained hard to hear God. He let God’s voice have the strongest say. When God spoke, Ezekiel listened. Ezekiel still valued the voice of the Almighty far above and beyond the voice of his culture.
2.) Obey fully. Ezekiel held fast to God’s written law and His spoken instruction. When God asked the unpopular prophet to do unusual and uncomfortable things, Ezekiel carried them out. Ezekiels strange obedience included being bound in ropes, shaving his head, laying on his left side for 390 days and eating food cooked over dung. Ezekiel is to be credited: God said it and he did it.
3.) Speak truthfully. Ezekiel was a prophet in a time where people weren’t interested in truth. God’s people wanted to hear that the siege would end, that Babylon would back off and that everything would go back to normal. But normal was no longer God-honoring. Normal had become a big heaping pile of iniquitiy. And God was not interested in going back to any of that! God wanted to bring His people back into right relationship with Him. So He sent Ezekiel to speak truth: unflinching, unwelcome truth. Judah had forgotten God and He was going to allow them to feel the pain of separation for the express purpose of restoration.
As believers in an unbelieving culture, Ezekiel’s instructions apply to today. Our responsibilities to God are still the same: listen carefully, obey thoroughly and preach truthfully.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NIV)
Lord, we look to You from a culture that has all but forgotten about You. We listen for Your voice; be the loudest in our ear. We commit to obedience; give us strength to follow through. We commit to speak truth; equip us with Your Spirit. We want to stand for You even as the crowd goes the other direction. Enable us to be the Ezekiels of our day. Amen.