“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.--Ezekiel 2:6-10
Dear Girls,
In the previous study we looked at the beginning verses of chapter 2 through verse 5. We are looking now at the remainder of the chapter, but before we do that I need to point out two things from the very beginning of this chapter. First, Ezekiel was called by God to speak to the people. He was commissioned so to speak. The next thing to note is that Ezekiel fell on his face when he sees the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord, and it was God that strengthened him and put him back on his feet. God empowered him to do the job that He gave him to do by filling him with His Spirit.
Which brings me back to the last several verses of this chapter where God is exhorting Ezekiel not to be afraid of these people, nor to be afraid of their words. He said the people would be like briers and thorns and scorpions dwelling with him. He was also told not to be dismayed by their looks, but just to speak the words that were given to him to speak by God. When you are in Christ, you will at times be surrounded by opposition just as Christ was and will at times face hardship and persecution for speaking His word. Paul in 2 Timothy 4:2-8 tells Timothy this:
"Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."--2 Timothy 4:2-8
Do the job the Lord has given you. Ezekiel stands in such contrast to his countryman who were in a state of rebellion. Ezekiel opens his mouth wide and takes inside him what work the Lord has for him to do. The words the Lord was giving Ezekiel to speak to his countrymen were words of sorrow, lamentation and woe. Ezekiel was not being given a happy ministry. Ezekiel was going to be disliked...but the Lord empowered him and made him strong. Girls, the gospel is offensive to the unsaved...the cross is an offense.
"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ".--2nd Cor 2:14-17
None of us are sufficient in ourselves...God will empower us for the jobs He has given each of us to do. It is He, that will lead us in triumph...it is He that will perform all things for us. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
Love
Mom
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Your Job and God's Job....
So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” 2 Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. 3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. 4 For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ 5 As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. 7 You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
This is a short chapter but filled with much wisdom. Ezekiel was given the responsibility to declare the word of the Lord to a people whom God Himself describes with words like rebellious, impudent and stubborn. He also acknowledged that they would not likely hear. Once Ezekiel had spoken what God wanted him to speak, his job would be done. The same is true for us, girls. My job, or your job is to speak the truth of the word of God. You are not to stop speaking just because you think the people are not going to hear. It is easy to become discouraged when you don't feel people are listening...BUT... Our job is to speak the truth and the results are up to God and the ones being spoken to. There is much rest in that. Obey...do your job and leave the results to God.
Love
Mom
And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” 2 Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. 3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. 4 For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ 5 As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. 7 You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
This is a short chapter but filled with much wisdom. Ezekiel was given the responsibility to declare the word of the Lord to a people whom God Himself describes with words like rebellious, impudent and stubborn. He also acknowledged that they would not likely hear. Once Ezekiel had spoken what God wanted him to speak, his job would be done. The same is true for us, girls. My job, or your job is to speak the truth of the word of God. You are not to stop speaking just because you think the people are not going to hear. It is easy to become discouraged when you don't feel people are listening...BUT... Our job is to speak the truth and the results are up to God and the ones being spoken to. There is much rest in that. Obey...do your job and leave the results to God.
Love
Mom
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