“I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.' And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Ezekiel 2:4-5
With these rather ominous-sounding words God called Ezekiel to be a Prophet.
Ezekiel was a priest among the exiles whom God had mercifully spared and brought to Babylon so that He could get their attention. He was determined to form them into a holy nation and Ezekiel was called to speak to them on His behalf.
It wasn’t going to be easy. The Jews had proven to be a rebellious people, hard-headed and hard-hearted, not amenable to correction. But God had chosen them to bring the Savior to the world.
We don’t know the future, and we can’t see into the hearts of the people whom God has given to us to serve in His name. All we know is that He has given us His Word and sent each of us to lovingly speak on His behalf to certain people.
They be to our own family, our neighbors, friends at work or in the clubhouse or in the church parking lot on Saturday morning. You know who they are.
Will they listen? How will they respond? We don’t know.
But we do know that God’s Word will not return void; it will have its effect. We just have to be faithful as we speak and live among them. And then, “whether they hear or refuse to hear they will know that a prophet has been among them.” So we leave the results in God’s loving hands.
Father in Heaven, You love these people to whom You have sent me even more than I do. Help me to be faithful to speak and live as Your representative among them so that many come to know You. I want to see them in heaven. I lift them up to You this day, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles