Call of Ezekiel – Ezekiel 2:1-9
1He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you.2 And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. 3 He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” 5 Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.6 And you, O mortal, do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words, and do not be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear; for they are a rebellious house.
8 But you, mortal, hear what I say to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you. 9 I looked, and a hand was stretched out to me, and a written scroll was in it.
3:1-7
He said to me, O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. 3 He said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.
4 He said to me: Mortal, go to the house of Israel and speak my very words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me; because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.
What does the passage say?
Call story of Ezekiel.
God calls Ezekiel in chapter 1, which describe the atmosphere of God’s glory, through a vision.
V. 2: 1-9 God calls Ezekiel and tells him God’s purpose. As God is sending Ezekiel, God warns him that the people’s heart is ‘obstinate and stubborn. God continues to tell Ezekiel ‘not to be afraid.’ When everyone says to rebel against God, it is hard to tell people to follow God. However, God tells him not to be afraid, because God is with him.
V. 3:1-7 God then asks Ezekiel to do something odd. God hands down the scroll, which contains the word of God, and asks him to eat it. Ezekiel does what God ask him to do. This reminds us how God called Jeremiah. God gave Jeremiah God’s words by touching his lips. Now, this time, God have him eat it. For Ezekiel, the scroll tastes as sweet as honey.
God encourages Ezekiel to keep on sharing God’s words, even though the people will not listen.
What does the passage say?
The context might be different, but we still live in a world where the people refuse to listen to the word of God. That is a scary thought. Even though you might be sharing, nobody is hearing.
However, is that the reason we do not share?
One of the reasons we have a hard time sharing is because they just do have God’s words in us. The heart of the people is already hardened. No matter of what we say they will not listen.
However, we know and believe that God’s words are powerful and penetrate the harden hearts. But a lot of us notice that we don’t have the word of God in our mouth.
Do we desire to fill ourselves with the Word of God? In Psalm 119, the Psalmist says, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103). How many of us craved for the word, because it was like honey to our lips?
We need to have the word in us so that we can share the message of Christ. Lord give us the hunger for your words, so we will have able to share your world with your people.
What are your thoughts?
Click to subscribe to our Daily Devotion.
You will receive a devotion in your inbox every morning.