What does it mean to truly consume God's Word? In Ezekiel's remarkable commissioning narrative, we witness a prophet who literally eats a divine scroll as preparation for ministry.
After experiencing the overwhelming majesty of God's presence in chapter 1, Ezekiel finds himself face-down in worship. But before he can speak for God, something extraordinary must happen. The Spirit enters him, setting him on his feet and empowering him for the challenging task ahead. This powerful sequence reveals a timeless principle: no one can stand before God or perform His work without divine empowerment.
God doesn't sugarcoat Ezekiel's assignment. Repeatedly referring to Israel as "rebellious," "stubborn," and "obstinate," God prepares the prophet for significant resistance. Yet whether they listen or not, Ezekiel must faithfully deliver the divine message.
The most striking element comes when God extends a hand holding a scroll covered with "lamentations, mourning and woe." Ezekiel is commanded to eat it – a vivid metaphor for internalizing God's message before proclaiming it. This symbolic action connects directly to Revelation 10, where John experiences a similar prophetic meal, highlighting the continuity between these apocalyptic books.
For believers today, this passage offers profound insights about spiritual nourishment. Just as physical sustenance requires daily intake, our souls need regular feeding on Scripture. Through devotional reading, systematic study, memorization, or verse-by-verse exploration, we must internalize God's Word for it to transform us from within.
Join us as we explore how God prepares His messengers through the power of His Spirit and the nourishment of His Word. Whether you're facing your own "rebellious house" or simply seeking deeper spiritual sustenance, Ezekiel's commissioning offers timeless wisdom for every believer's journey.
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May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Today on Reasoning Through the Bible, we're going
to see one of God's prophetsthat God puts him on a diet but
it is a diet of the Word of Godto prepare him for ministry.
Hi, my name's Glenn.
I'm here with Steve.
Today we're going to see theprophet Ezekiel and God's going
to give him a very special thingto eat.
So we're going to have a greatlesson today.
(00:44):
If you have your copy of theWord of God, open it to Ezekiel,
chapter 2.
If you remember from last time,all of chapter 1 was God
arriving.
We saw the majestic andglorious things of heaven that
(01:09):
arrive with God's throne.
We saw some strange beings andwe were filled with our senses
with God.
So that's really the message ofchapter 1, is that God is more
and greater than anything we canimagine.
In chapter 1 of Ezekiel, godshows up and in chapter 2, god's
going to give Ezekiel anassignment.
We'll go ahead and dive in,steve, if you could read the
first two verses of Ezekiel,chapter 2.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Then he said to me Son of man, stand on your feet
that I may speak with you.
As he spoke to me, the Spiritentered me and set me on my feet
and I heard him speaking to me.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And we see here in the very first verse that God
calls Ezekiel son of man.
That phrase is used 85 or 90times here in Ezekiel to refer
to this prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel is the only one in theBible who's used this phrase son
of man, other than Jesus usingit on himself.
(02:02):
The phrase is used a few othertimes.
It's used in Daniel and a fewother places.
So here the term son of man isused in a different sense than
in Daniel.
Over in Daniel the term son ofman is used to show that the
Messiah is going to be God andit is used of that term.
(02:23):
And that's where Jesus uses theterm is connecting himself with
the Messiah.
Here in Ezekiel it's a commonterm, again used many times, of
God referring to the prophetEzekiel, showing that he is very
human, and I think we canreally take no more than that
out of it.
(02:43):
He is a son of man.
Here it says in verse 1, standon your feet that I may speak
with you.
It says then in verse 2, theSpirit entered me and set me on
my feet.
Steve, what position wasEzekiel in before and then after
(03:04):
the Spirit entered?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
him when we finish chapter 1, he was prostate face
down worshiping God Because, asyou noted in the last session,
in chapter 1, it was the Godshowing up and he's in a state
of worship.
Now, as we pick up in chapter 2, God is commanding him to stand
up so that he could talk to him.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
We have here God standing him up and then, in
verse 2, giving the Spirit toEzekiel.
So the first question thatcomes to my mind did Ezekiel
have the power within him to doGod's Word before he had the
Spirit entered into him?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
to do God's Word before he had the Spirit entered
into him.
Well, we're going to see thatthis Spirit is also put into him
many times throughout this book.
Here, I think it's a sense thatthe awe that he had to worship
God, what was just coming, theglory of God showing up as it
did overwhelmed him.
Now I think he does need thissustenance of the Holy Spirit in
(04:08):
order to stand up and be at aplace where he can listen to God
at this particular time.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
God is calling Ezekiel into his ministry, into
his service, and before he doesthis, he has to stand him up and
empower him.
Empower him to stand before Godand empower him to go out and
have the strength to proclaim avery difficult message.
The first thing we have to havebefore we do ministry is to
(04:36):
have the Spirit of God within us.
Just like Ezekiel had to be puton his feet and empowered with
the Holy Spirit, so do we.
Without the Holy Spirit, we arebut falling at the feet of the
Lord in worship.
But he can empower us and sendus out to do ministry.
(04:56):
Verse 2,.
The Spirit raised him up andset him on his feet.
Therefore, he is able to startwork when he is standing before
the Lord.
The only way we can standbefore God, the only way we can
have the power to stand beforean all-powerful, all-majestic,
all-glorious God, is to have theHoly Spirit within us.
(05:16):
Everywhere else we see in theScripture, whenever a holy being
appears, the prophets or theapostles will fall at their feet
.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
And let me just add a little bit to what you're
saying, glenn, because I agreewith it.
We're going to see Ezekielbeing commanded to do a lot of
different strenuous things andodd things, and he's going to
need the Holy Spirit in order todo that.
So it adds to what you'retalking about being filled with
the Holy Spirit in order to dothat.
So it adds to what you'retalking about being filled with
the Holy Spirit in order to dothe things of God and it helps
(05:50):
us.
But Ezekiel's going to need itbecause we're going to see a lot
of different strange thingsthat God is going to command him
to do to get a message acrossto his chosen people of Israel.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
We also have something going on here that our
translation doesn't reallycommunicate because of the
language.
In Hebrew the word for wind andthe word for spirit are the
same word.
Here it says the spirit enteredme and set me on my feet.
Well, we also have back inchapter 1, god arrived in a
(06:24):
whirlwind, and again same word agreat wind, a great whirling
spirit, a great powerful spiritis what God arrives in in
chapter 1, a whirlwind.
Here in chapter 2, the sameword entered me and set me on my
feet.
So we have here a directconnection between the power
(06:44):
that showed up when God showedup in chapter 1 and the power of
the Spirit that enters Ezekielhere.
Great lesson in us needing tobe empowered before we do
ministry.
Just like Ezekiel was empoweredbefore God sent him out, we
must be empowered and sit on ourfeet before God can use us.
(07:06):
God's Word will cause theSpirit to fill us, just like it
did Ezekiel.
We need the Spirit before wecan go do ministry work.
In the New Testament the HolySpirit enters all believers.
Here.
In the Old Testament the HolySpirit only entered in a
specific time or a specificperson.
(07:26):
It would kind of come and go Inthe New Testament.
All believers get the HolySpirit.
But what we have in our examplein the New Testament, the
Spirit will empower us at times.
It is in us, in all believers,but it acts when the Holy Spirit
wills.
It empowers us.
(07:47):
In the book of Acts, peter andthe rest of the apostles got the
Holy Spirit in chapter 2 in theday of Pentecost, and at that
point they were filled with theSpirit.
But then it says several timesthroughout the book that the
Spirit would empower them, wouldfill them and give them the
ability to stand up and do agreat work, such as speak before
(08:07):
the Sanhedrin.
Peter was said to have beenfull of the Holy Spirit just
before he gave a talk.
That's what we have here adirect connection between the
empowering of Ezekiel forministry and the empowering of
us also.
So let's start at verse 3 andread down to verse 7 says this I
(08:40):
am sending you to them, who arestubborn and obstinate children
, and you shall say to them Thussays the Lord God.
As for them, whether they listenor not, for they are a
rebellious house, they will knowthat a prophet has been among
them and you, son of man,neither fear them nor fear their
(09:01):
words, though thistles andthorns are with you and you sit
on scorpions.
Neither fear their words nor bedismayed at their presence, for
they are a rebellious house.
But you shall speak my words tothem, whether they listen or
not, for they are rebellious.
Steve, what do you first thinkof when you hear that passage?
(09:23):
What?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
I think of is that the people of Israel are
rebellious against God, and thatword rebellious is going to be
used many more times throughoutthe book about the people of
Israel, the nation of Israel.
Here it is is that God is usingEzekiel as a prophet to
communicate to them.
So he is commissioning Ezekielhere and he's basically telling
(09:46):
them don't worry about thepushback that you're going to
get from the people.
Let me also add to this, glenn,is that Ezekiel is a
contemporary of Daniel, andDaniel is in the king's court.
He's working with his threefellow friends.
He's working with his threefellow friends and they're
witnessing to Nebuchadnezzarthrough the dreams and vision
(10:08):
that Nebuchadnezzar is havingand that Daniel's having.
We have that whole story there.
Now, here is Ezekiel.
He's going to be prophesyingdirectly to the Israelites that
are in exile and we're going tosee a lot of strange things that
Ezekiel is going to do, butDaniel is not having to go
through any of these strangethings no-transcript but he's
(10:36):
not having to go through this.
So we're seeing God just workin two different ways of
communicating to his peoplethrough Ezekiel, even though
they're in exile, and Danielcommunicating who God is to
Nebuchadnezzar and to the king'scourt.
I just find that a little bitinteresting that these are both
going on at basically the sametime.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Verse 3, he describes the Jewish people as being
rebellious.
A rebellious people are peoplethat refuse to obey the rules,
that rebel against an authority,that violate the authority of
the leader.
That's a rebellious people.
The people that rebel arerebelling against authority.
(11:18):
That's what he's saying here.
Then he uses another word inthe next verse, verse 4.
What word does God use todescribe the?
Speaker 2 (11:27):
people.
He calls them stubborn andobstinate.
The word stubborn there you getthe feeling of just a person
that just puts their heels inand won't be dragged around.
They're just going to bestubborn and not want to do what
God is wanting them to do.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So a rebellious, stubborn, obstinate people.
These are people that know whatis being asked of them to do
but don't want to do it.
They are rebelling against it.
They're stubbornly refusing todo it.
That's the picture here is thatthese people knew what God
wanted them to do, they justdidn't want to do it.
(12:07):
They are refusing to obey God.
Steve, in our day are peopleany better.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
No, we're still people, just like they are.
They're being punished.
That's why they're in captivitybecause of this stubbornness
and being obstinate, not wantingto do God's law.
That's why they're here now.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
God knows it, but he's going to remind them, even
though they're in captivitytoday inside some churches that
measure the Word of God by theirown feelings, that measure the
Word of God by their own senseof what they think ought to
happen.
I submit they are just asrebellious and just as stubborn
(12:51):
and obstinate as these people inancient Israel.
These people in ancient Israelknew what God wanted of them.
They knew God's Word.
They just didn't agree with it.
They didn't want to do it.
And there's people like thattoday.
They measure God by their ownfeelings and what they think
ought to happen.
Sometimes, even in ourselvesand in our own lives, we find
(13:12):
rebellious and stubbornness, andwe should all learn that we
have to submit to the Word ofGod and if not, then the same
thing will happen to us ashappened to the people in
ancient Israel.
In verse 6, he gives someinstructions to Ezekiel about
what he should act towardspeople that didn't want to
(13:35):
listen to Ezekiel's message.
What does he tell us there?
Are we to worry about those whooppose God's word?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
No, and that's what he is telling.
Ezekiel here is I amcommissioning you to be a
prophet to a rebellious people.
By being a prophet, god isgoing to speak things to him
that he wants to communicate tothe people.
God is actually encouraging himand preparing him.
They're going to push backagainst you Whether or not they
(14:05):
listen to you.
You don't worry about it.
You are going to be doing whatI want you to do.
You need to stay the courserelated to telling these people.
While he's giving him thisinstruction here, he's really
also encouraging him and he'salso, I think, telling them.
They're not going to befavorable to things that you're
going to tell them, because it'sactually going to be me telling
(14:29):
them, and they're alreadyrebellious, stubborn and
obstinate.
They're not necessarily goingto accept the words that I have
to give to you to give to them.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
In verse 4, god says that he is sending out Ezekiel
and the first message is to tellthem.
Thus, says the Lord God.
People say today well, where inthe Bible does it say this is
God's word?
Well, right here in verse 4,god is directly saying to
(15:00):
Ezekiel go out and tell them.
Thus says the Lord God, this isGod's Word.
Ezekiel was giving us God'sWord.
Paul said he was giving usGod's Word.
Peter said he was giving usGod's Word.
We have repeatedly in the BibleGod's Word.
And Ezekiel was to go out andsay thus says the Lord God, when
(15:22):
he did he's supposed to give itto a stubborn and obstinate
people that weren't wanting tolisten.
He says don't worry.
God tells them, don't worryabout whether or not they're
going to listen.
You do what I say and give outthe Word.
In verse 7, it gives usdirectly what is Ezekiel's job,
(15:42):
what is Ezekiel's?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
job, steve.
He is to go and tell them God'sword.
What God is telling him, gotell them, regardless of whether
they listen or not.
He's telling Ezekiel directly.
You're going to tell them andkeep telling them.
You don't worry about whetherthey're going to listen or not.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Do we have the same task?
Speaker 2 (16:05):
today we do have that task.
We are to go out and makedisciples, teaching people the
things that Jesus Christ taught,telling them the gospel.
We shouldn't worry aboutwhether or not they listen to it
or not, or push back or not.
When they push back, they'repushing back against Jesus.
They're not pushing backagainst us.
(16:26):
Same thing here.
God is actually telling Ezekiel, even though you're going to be
with thistles and thorns,meaning that the words that
you're going to be telling themare going to be like thistles
and thorns to them.
It's going to be prickly tothem, things that they don't
want to hear.
Don't worry about it.
You just continue to tell them,whether or not they listen to
(16:46):
you or not, because when theypush back, they're actually
pushing back against God.
They're not pushing backagainst you, ezekiel.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
It's the same thing with us.
Our job today is to give outthe Word of God.
That's why we, in our ministry,do just that give out the Word
of God, and we're here doing itwhether or not anybody's
listening.
Some people push back and somepeople receive it.
Our job, and all Christians'job, is to give out the Word of
God, or support them that do,and then support worship to a
(17:17):
very worthy God.
That's Ezekiel's job way backthousands of years ago and it's
our job today.
Now, next, starting in verse 8,we have a very special food
that God is going to give toEzekiel.
Steve, can you read verses 8, 9, and 10?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to
you.
Do not be rebellious like thatrebellious house.
Open your mouth and eat what Iam speaking to you.
Do not be rebellious like thatrebellious house.
Open your mouth and eat what Iam giving you.
Then I looked and behold, ahand was extended to me and, lo,
a scroll was in it.
When he spread it out before me, it was written on the front
(17:54):
and back, and written on it werelamentations, mourning and woe
In this in verse 8,.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
God tells Ezekiel the first thing he says do not be
rebellious like that.
People that you're going totalk to, steve, is it possible
for even God's servants to berebellious?
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Unfortunately it is.
You know, he's encouragingEzekiel in a very strong way and
telling him you've got to go,do this and you will do this,
and not to be discouraged.
He doesn't use those words, buthe's telling him that the
people are rebellious, they'restubborn, they're obstinate.
(18:34):
They might listen to you, theymight not listen to you, but you
are to stay the course and justtell them what it is that I'm
going to tell you.
I think when he says don't berebellious, don't push back
against some of the things thatI'm fixing to have you do Now,
ezekiel doesn't know what God isgoing to have him do yet.
(18:54):
We do, because we've read alittle bit further in the book,
but Ezekiel doesn't know thatyet.
But what brings to my mind isJonah.
Jonah was rebellious.
God wanted Jonah to go toNineveh and preach repentance to
the people of Nineveh.
Jonah was rebellious, he didn'twant to go.
We have the whole story ofJonah which ultimately he ended
(19:16):
up going to the people ofNineveh because God wanted him
to go to the people of Nineveh,because God wanted him to go to
the people of Nineveh.
God is going to accomplishwhatever goal he has and he
doesn't want Ezekiel to have arebellious spirit, much like we
see with Jonah.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Even the great apostle Paul tells us in the
book of Romans, chapter 7, andhe had this fight going on
inside him between the Spirit ofGod and the old man that wanted
to rebel.
And I think that represents alot of us.
We, as Christians, want tofollow God, but there's some of
the old self still in us thatwants to rebel, and I think, if
(19:50):
we're honest with ourselves,that old self sneaks up more
than we'd like.
It's always a challenge to notbe rebellious against God.
When we wake up one day andfind out that we have rebelled
and we have sinned all sin is arebellion against God's ways and
God's person that we need tofall at his feet and beg
forgiveness.
(20:11):
The great news is he is lovingand he will forgive us.
Then, at the end of verse 8, hesays Open your mouth and eat
what I am giving you.
Steve, have you ever reallytasted the Word of God and I
would ask that to all ourlisteners too have you ever
really tasted the Word of God?
What does it taste like?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
We're going to see how he describes it here in a
little bit, but it is refreshing.
It is sweet from the standpointthat it calms your soul and
that it's very peaceful to me tostudy God's word because it
puts me in contact with God.
It brings me closer to arelationship.
It's like reading lettersbetween friends.
(20:52):
You get to know people eventhough you're not next to each
other.
You're writing letters to eachother and you're getting to know
them Through God's Word.
I feel like I am getting closerand closer to God by reading
His Word because I'munderstanding Him better.
So that gives a good taste inmy mouth.
(21:14):
Symbolically, the Word of Godis something that is very good
and very sweet.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
The Word of God is indeed sweet.
If we really taste the Word ofGod, we're going to learn how
nourishing it is to our soul andhow beneficial it is in our
lives.
We need the Word of God and weneed to get it in us, and this
picture here of Ezekiel eatingthe scroll is a picture of
(21:42):
getting the Word of God insideus.
That's the goal.
Now I hope we're not actuallychewing the paper or chewing
whatever medium your copy of theBible is on.
That's not the point.
The point is to get it into ourminds and get it into our heart
.
If we do that, then it willchange all of us.
It'll change the way we walk,It'll change the way we walk,
(22:07):
it'll change the way we talk andit'll change the way we live
our lives, because God's Word isnourishment.
Steve, how today can we reallyget the Word of God in us,
really truly get it inside of us?
What are some practical ways todo that?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
A practical way is to have a daily devotional, and
that's what most people do.
They'll have something whichwill give a scripture verse and
maybe a little saying after itor devotion to start their day
out or even just look at itduring the day.
That's a very practical way.
I don't think it should stopthere.
I think that there should bedeeper study of God's Word.
(22:41):
Other people just read throughGod's Word.
They make a commitment I'mgoing to read two or three
chapters a day, or I'm going toread a book or something like
that.
I'm going to read through theBible in a year.
And others do deep Bible study.
They go verse by verse, like wedo through each of the books of
the Bible.
All of those, I think, are waysto get God's Word into us.
(23:07):
Memorization is another way totake it with you so that you're
not dependent on having to readit.
There's several ways that wecan do to get God's Word in us.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Learning things and getting the Word of God in us
takes time.
It's not something you can doonce and have one big meal and
it's good for the rest of yourlife.
It's not possible to take asmall baby and give them one big
, giant, healthy meal and thennot feed them for the rest of
their lives.
No, you have to eat today, andtomorrow you're going to be
(23:39):
hungry again and you have to eatevery day to get nourishment
inside you.
It's the same way with the Wordof God.
If you're going to learnanything, if you're really going
to learn to walk biblically,then you have to do it daily.
It has to be an everyday thing.
If an athlete wants to performat their highest level, they
(24:00):
have to eat the right kind offood and they have to do it
every day for a long time andthey have to use their muscles
to train.
Same thing with us.
We have to take the Word of God.
It's not going to happen to eatone big meal on Sunday and then
have that last the whole restof the week.
You won't live very well likethat.
You have to have the Word ofGod in you daily and that will
(24:23):
nourish you and build up yourspiritual muscles.
The good news is, with the Wordof God in us, we don't have to
wait until we're some kind of ascholar and we don't have to
wait for something to come alongto explain us.
If we just take a little bitevery day, it'll grow inside us
and we'll have an increasingtaste for the Word of God.
(24:45):
We don't have to wait till webecome expert.
We don't have to wait till webecome a scholar.
We can learn with any amount ofdaily study and meditation.
Now, this eating of the scrollhe's going to tell us here that
it's going to taste good.
We see this in other places inthe Scripture, specifically
Revelation, chapter 10, verses 9and 10 to John, he also eating
(25:09):
a scroll.
So that tells us that over inthe book of Revelation.
These aren't just random imagesin Revelation, they are tied
(25:33):
back to all these things.
Back here in the Old Testamentthere's an apocalyptic book
called Ezekiel that ties.
There's an apocalyptic bookcalled Ezekiel that ties
directly in with an apocalypticbook called Revelation.
The same way with Zechariah andmany of the other books, so
that when we get to the book ofRevelation we're going to find
that it follows along verycarefully with these Old
(25:56):
Testament prophets.
That's one of the reasons whywe're studying him here today.
The lesson here, though, isthat if we get the Word of God
in us, it's going to taste sweet.
In this one, steve, at the endof verse 10, what was written on
this scroll that was given?
Speaker 2 (26:12):
to Ezekiel.
First thing is it's written onboth the front and the back, and
on it are lamentations,mourning and woe.
He is not supposed to addanything to it.
He already has a full scroll ofinformation that he's going to
send to the people, but it'ssorrowful things.
(26:32):
God is not happy with thepeople because they're
rebellious and stubborn.
He's not happy with them, sothis is going to be something
that's going to be communicatedto them.
Is these lamentations?
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Is it possible to have a section of God's Word
that's admittedly not verypleasant, that is, lamentations,
mourning and woe, but thatstill be a good word to us.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Mourning and woe, but that still be a good word to us
, it is because it's a wake-upcall.
When you find out that God islamenting over our actions, it
should shake us up and it shouldjar us to get back into a
closer relationship with him.
(27:19):
That, I think, is what God istrying to do with the people.
He's going to use the actionsthat he tells Ezekiel to do as
object lessons to shake thepeople up, to get them to talk
about what's going on, so thatthey can wake up, so that they
can repent, change their mindand to return back to a loving
relationship with God.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
We've seen here in Ezekiel, chapter 1, that God is
powerful and majestic and hespends the entire chapter 1 just
arriving.
And then in chapter 2, heprepares Ezekiel for ministry by
filling him with the HolySpirit, setting him on his feet
and giving him the Word of Godto be in him.
(27:59):
And that's the same with us.
We have to realize the majestyof God, we have to have the Holy
Spirit within us and then getthe Word of God in us and at
that point we can be likeEzekiel to go out and do
ministry.
Well, God's still got somecommissioning to do and we're
going to see that in chapter 3next time.
Thank you so much for watchingand listening, May.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
God bless you.
Still got some commissioning todo and we're going to see that
in chapter three next time.
Thank you so much for watchingand listening.
May God bless you.
Today on Reasoning Through the Bible, we're going
to see one of God's prophetsthat God puts him on a diet but
it is a diet of the Word of Godto prepare him for ministry.
Hi, my name's Glenn.
I'm here with Steve.
Today we're going to see theprophet Ezekiel and God's going
to give him a very special thingto eat.
So we're going to have a greatlesson today.
(00:44):
If you have your copy of theWord of God, open it to Ezekiel,
chapter 2.
If you remember from last time,all of chapter 1 was God
arriving.
We saw the majestic andglorious things of heaven that
(01:09):
arrive with God's throne.
We saw some strange beings andwe were filled with our senses
with God.
So that's really the message ofchapter 1, is that God is more
and greater than anything we canimagine.
In chapter 1 of Ezekiel, godshows up and in chapter 2, god's
going to give Ezekiel anassignment.
We'll go ahead and dive in,steve, if you could read the
first two verses of Ezekiel,chapter 2.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Then he said to me Son of man, stand on your feet
that I may speak with you.
As he spoke to me, the Spiritentered me and set me on my feet
and I heard him speaking to me.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And we see here in the very first verse that God
calls Ezekiel son of man.
That phrase is used 85 or 90times here in Ezekiel to refer
to this prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel is the only one in theBible who's used this phrase son
of man, other than Jesus usingit on himself.
(02:02):
The phrase is used a few othertimes.
It's used in Daniel and a fewother places.
So here the term son of man isused in a different sense than
in Daniel.
Over in Daniel the term son ofman is used to show that the
Messiah is going to be God andit is used of that term.
(02:23):
And that's where Jesus uses theterm is connecting himself with
the Messiah.
Here in Ezekiel it's a commonterm, again used many times, of
God referring to the prophetEzekiel, showing that he is very
human, and I think we canreally take no more than that
out of it.
(02:43):
He is a son of man.
Here it says in verse 1, standon your feet that I may speak
with you.
It says then in verse 2, theSpirit entered me and set me on
my feet.
Steve, what position wasEzekiel in before and then after
(03:04):
the Spirit entered?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
him when we finish chapter 1, he was prostate face
down worshiping God Because, asyou noted in the last session,
in chapter 1, it was the Godshowing up and he's in a state
of worship.
Now, as we pick up in chapter 2, God is commanding him to stand
up so that he could talk to him.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
We have here God standing him up and then, in
verse 2, giving the Spirit toEzekiel.
So the first question thatcomes to my mind did Ezekiel
have the power within him to doGod's Word before he had the
Spirit entered into him?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
to do God's Word before he had the Spirit entered
into him.
Well, we're going to see thatthis Spirit is also put into him
many times throughout this book.
Here, I think it's a sense thatthe awe that he had to worship
God, what was just coming, theglory of God showing up as it
did overwhelmed him.
Now I think he does need thissustenance of the Holy Spirit in
(04:08):
order to stand up and be at aplace where he can listen to God
at this particular time.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
God is calling Ezekiel into his ministry, into
his service, and before he doesthis, he has to stand him up and
empower him.
Empower him to stand before Godand empower him to go out and
have the strength to proclaim avery difficult message.
The first thing we have to havebefore we do ministry is to
(04:36):
have the Spirit of God within us.
Just like Ezekiel had to be puton his feet and empowered with
the Holy Spirit, so do we.
Without the Holy Spirit, we arebut falling at the feet of the
Lord in worship.
But he can empower us and sendus out to do ministry.
(04:56):
Verse 2,.
The Spirit raised him up andset him on his feet.
Therefore, he is able to startwork when he is standing before
the Lord.
The only way we can standbefore God, the only way we can
have the power to stand beforean all-powerful, all-majestic,
all-glorious God, is to have theHoly Spirit within us.
(05:16):
Everywhere else we see in theScripture, whenever a holy being
appears, the prophets or theapostles will fall at their feet
.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
And let me just add a little bit to what you're
saying, glenn, because I agreewith it.
We're going to see Ezekielbeing commanded to do a lot of
different strenuous things andodd things, and he's going to
need the Holy Spirit in order todo that.
So it adds to what you'retalking about being filled with
the Holy Spirit in order to dothat.
So it adds to what you'retalking about being filled with
the Holy Spirit in order to dothe things of God and it helps
(05:50):
us.
But Ezekiel's going to need itbecause we're going to see a lot
of different strange thingsthat God is going to command him
to do to get a message acrossto his chosen people of Israel.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
We also have something going on here that our
translation doesn't reallycommunicate because of the
language.
In Hebrew the word for wind andthe word for spirit are the
same word.
Here it says the spirit enteredme and set me on my feet.
Well, we also have back inchapter 1, god arrived in a
(06:24):
whirlwind, and again same word agreat wind, a great whirling
spirit, a great powerful spiritis what God arrives in in
chapter 1, a whirlwind.
Here in chapter 2, the sameword entered me and set me on my
feet.
So we have here a directconnection between the power
(06:44):
that showed up when God showedup in chapter 1 and the power of
the Spirit that enters Ezekielhere.
Great lesson in us needing tobe empowered before we do
ministry.
Just like Ezekiel was empoweredbefore God sent him out, we
must be empowered and sit on ourfeet before God can use us.
(07:06):
God's Word will cause theSpirit to fill us, just like it
did Ezekiel.
We need the Spirit before wecan go do ministry work.
In the New Testament the HolySpirit enters all believers.
Here.
In the Old Testament the HolySpirit only entered in a
specific time or a specificperson.
(07:26):
It would kind of come and go Inthe New Testament.
All believers get the HolySpirit.
But what we have in our examplein the New Testament, the
Spirit will empower us at times.
It is in us, in all believers,but it acts when the Holy Spirit
wills.
It empowers us.
(07:47):
In the book of Acts, peter andthe rest of the apostles got the
Holy Spirit in chapter 2 in theday of Pentecost, and at that
point they were filled with theSpirit.
But then it says several timesthroughout the book that the
Spirit would empower them, wouldfill them and give them the
ability to stand up and do agreat work, such as speak before
(08:07):
the Sanhedrin.
Peter was said to have beenfull of the Holy Spirit just
before he gave a talk.
That's what we have here adirect connection between the
empowering of Ezekiel forministry and the empowering of
us also.
So let's start at verse 3 andread down to verse 7 says this I
(08:40):
am sending you to them, who arestubborn and obstinate children
, and you shall say to them Thussays the Lord God.
As for them, whether they listenor not, for they are a
rebellious house, they will knowthat a prophet has been among
them and you, son of man,neither fear them nor fear their
(09:01):
words, though thistles andthorns are with you and you sit
on scorpions.
Neither fear their words nor bedismayed at their presence, for
they are a rebellious house.
But you shall speak my words tothem, whether they listen or
not, for they are rebellious.
Steve, what do you first thinkof when you hear that passage?
(09:23):
What?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
I think of is that the people of Israel are
rebellious against God, and thatword rebellious is going to be
used many more times throughoutthe book about the people of
Israel, the nation of Israel.
Here it is is that God is usingEzekiel as a prophet to
communicate to them.
So he is commissioning Ezekielhere and he's basically telling
(09:46):
them don't worry about thepushback that you're going to
get from the people.
Let me also add to this, glenn,is that Ezekiel is a
contemporary of Daniel, andDaniel is in the king's court.
He's working with his threefellow friends.
He's working with his threefellow friends and they're
witnessing to Nebuchadnezzarthrough the dreams and vision
(10:08):
that Nebuchadnezzar is havingand that Daniel's having.
We have that whole story there.
Now, here is Ezekiel.
He's going to be prophesyingdirectly to the Israelites that
are in exile and we're going tosee a lot of strange things that
Ezekiel is going to do, butDaniel is not having to go
through any of these strangethings no-transcript but he's
(10:36):
not having to go through this.
So we're seeing God just workin two different ways of
communicating to his peoplethrough Ezekiel, even though
they're in exile, and Danielcommunicating who God is to
Nebuchadnezzar and to the king'scourt.
I just find that a little bitinteresting that these are both
going on at basically the sametime.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Verse 3, he describes the Jewish people as being
rebellious.
A rebellious people are peoplethat refuse to obey the rules,
that rebel against an authority,that violate the authority of
the leader.
That's a rebellious people.
The people that rebel arerebelling against authority.
(11:18):
That's what he's saying here.
Then he uses another word inthe next verse, verse 4.
What word does God use todescribe the?
Speaker 2 (11:27):
people.
He calls them stubborn andobstinate.
The word stubborn there you getthe feeling of just a person
that just puts their heels inand won't be dragged around.
They're just going to bestubborn and not want to do what
God is wanting them to do.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So a rebellious, stubborn, obstinate people.
These are people that know whatis being asked of them to do
but don't want to do it.
They are rebelling against it.
They're stubbornly refusing todo it.
That's the picture here is thatthese people knew what God
wanted them to do, they justdidn't want to do it.
(12:07):
They are refusing to obey God.
Steve, in our day are peopleany better.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
No, we're still people, just like they are.
They're being punished.
That's why they're in captivitybecause of this stubbornness
and being obstinate, not wantingto do God's law.
That's why they're here now.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
God knows it, but he's going to remind them, even
though they're in captivitytoday inside some churches that
measure the Word of God by theirown feelings, that measure the
Word of God by their own senseof what they think ought to
happen.
I submit they are just asrebellious and just as stubborn
(12:51):
and obstinate as these people inancient Israel.
These people in ancient Israelknew what God wanted of them.
They knew God's Word.
They just didn't agree with it.
They didn't want to do it.
And there's people like thattoday.
They measure God by their ownfeelings and what they think
ought to happen.
Sometimes, even in ourselvesand in our own lives, we find
(13:12):
rebellious and stubbornness, andwe should all learn that we
have to submit to the Word ofGod and if not, then the same
thing will happen to us ashappened to the people in
ancient Israel.
In verse 6, he gives someinstructions to Ezekiel about
what he should act towardspeople that didn't want to
(13:35):
listen to Ezekiel's message.
What does he tell us there?
Are we to worry about those whooppose God's word?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
No, and that's what he is telling.
Ezekiel here is I amcommissioning you to be a
prophet to a rebellious people.
By being a prophet, god isgoing to speak things to him
that he wants to communicate tothe people.
God is actually encouraging himand preparing him.
They're going to push backagainst you Whether or not they
(14:05):
listen to you.
You don't worry about it.
You are going to be doing whatI want you to do.
You need to stay the courserelated to telling these people.
While he's giving him thisinstruction here, he's really
also encouraging him and he'salso, I think, telling them.
They're not going to befavorable to things that you're
going to tell them, because it'sactually going to be me telling
(14:29):
them, and they're alreadyrebellious, stubborn and
obstinate.
They're not necessarily goingto accept the words that I have
to give to you to give to them.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
In verse 4, god says that he is sending out Ezekiel
and the first message is to tellthem.
Thus, says the Lord God.
People say today well, where inthe Bible does it say this is
God's word?
Well, right here in verse 4,god is directly saying to
(15:00):
Ezekiel go out and tell them.
Thus says the Lord God, this isGod's Word.
Ezekiel was giving us God'sWord.
Paul said he was giving usGod's Word.
Peter said he was giving usGod's Word.
We have repeatedly in the BibleGod's Word.
And Ezekiel was to go out andsay thus says the Lord God, when
(15:22):
he did he's supposed to give itto a stubborn and obstinate
people that weren't wanting tolisten.
He says don't worry.
God tells them, don't worryabout whether or not they're
going to listen.
You do what I say and give outthe Word.
In verse 7, it gives usdirectly what is Ezekiel's job,
(15:42):
what is Ezekiel's?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
job, steve.
He is to go and tell them God'sword.
What God is telling him, gotell them, regardless of whether
they listen or not.
He's telling Ezekiel directly.
You're going to tell them andkeep telling them.
You don't worry about whetherthey're going to listen or not.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Do we have the same task?
Speaker 2 (16:05):
today we do have that task.
We are to go out and makedisciples, teaching people the
things that Jesus Christ taught,telling them the gospel.
We shouldn't worry aboutwhether or not they listen to it
or not, or push back or not.
When they push back, they'repushing back against Jesus.
They're not pushing backagainst us.
(16:26):
Same thing here.
God is actually telling Ezekiel, even though you're going to be
with thistles and thorns,meaning that the words that
you're going to be telling themare going to be like thistles
and thorns to them.
It's going to be prickly tothem, things that they don't
want to hear.
Don't worry about it.
You just continue to tell them,whether or not they listen to
(16:46):
you or not, because when theypush back, they're actually
pushing back against God.
They're not pushing backagainst you, ezekiel.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
It's the same thing with us.
Our job today is to give outthe Word of God.
That's why we, in our ministry,do just that give out the Word
of God, and we're here doing itwhether or not anybody's
listening.
Some people push back and somepeople receive it.
Our job, and all Christians'job, is to give out the Word of
God, or support them that do,and then support worship to a
(17:17):
very worthy God.
That's Ezekiel's job way backthousands of years ago and it's
our job today.
Now, next, starting in verse 8,we have a very special food
that God is going to give toEzekiel.
Steve, can you read verses 8, 9, and 10?
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to
you.
Do not be rebellious like thatrebellious house.
Open your mouth and eat what Iam speaking to you.
Do not be rebellious like thatrebellious house.
Open your mouth and eat what Iam giving you.
Then I looked and behold, ahand was extended to me and, lo,
a scroll was in it.
When he spread it out before me, it was written on the front
(17:54):
and back, and written on it werelamentations, mourning and woe
In this in verse 8,.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
God tells Ezekiel the first thing he says do not be
rebellious like that.
People that you're going totalk to, steve, is it possible
for even God's servants to berebellious?
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Unfortunately it is.
You know, he's encouragingEzekiel in a very strong way and
telling him you've got to go,do this and you will do this,
and not to be discouraged.
He doesn't use those words, buthe's telling him that the
people are rebellious, they'restubborn, they're obstinate.
(18:34):
They might listen to you, theymight not listen to you, but you
are to stay the course and justtell them what it is that I'm
going to tell you.
I think when he says don't berebellious, don't push back
against some of the things thatI'm fixing to have you do Now,
ezekiel doesn't know what God isgoing to have him do yet.
(18:54):
We do, because we've read alittle bit further in the book,
but Ezekiel doesn't know thatyet.
But what brings to my mind isJonah.
Jonah was rebellious.
God wanted Jonah to go toNineveh and preach repentance to
the people of Nineveh.
Jonah was rebellious, he didn'twant to go.
We have the whole story ofJonah which ultimately he ended
(19:16):
up going to the people ofNineveh because God wanted him
to go to the people of Nineveh,because God wanted him to go to
the people of Nineveh.
God is going to accomplishwhatever goal he has and he
doesn't want Ezekiel to have arebellious spirit, much like we
see with Jonah.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Even the great apostle Paul tells us in the
book of Romans, chapter 7, andhe had this fight going on
inside him between the Spirit ofGod and the old man that wanted
to rebel.
And I think that represents alot of us.
We, as Christians, want tofollow God, but there's some of
the old self still in us thatwants to rebel, and I think, if
(19:50):
we're honest with ourselves,that old self sneaks up more
than we'd like.
It's always a challenge to notbe rebellious against God.
When we wake up one day andfind out that we have rebelled
and we have sinned all sin is arebellion against God's ways and
God's person that we need tofall at his feet and beg
forgiveness.
(20:11):
The great news is he is lovingand he will forgive us.
Then, at the end of verse 8, hesays Open your mouth and eat
what I am giving you.
Steve, have you ever reallytasted the Word of God and I
would ask that to all ourlisteners too have you ever
really tasted the Word of God?
What does it taste like?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
We're going to see how he describes it here in a
little bit, but it is refreshing.
It is sweet from the standpointthat it calms your soul and
that it's very peaceful to me tostudy God's word because it
puts me in contact with God.
It brings me closer to arelationship.
It's like reading lettersbetween friends.
(20:52):
You get to know people eventhough you're not next to each
other.
You're writing letters to eachother and you're getting to know
them Through God's Word.
I feel like I am getting closerand closer to God by reading
His Word because I'munderstanding Him better.
So that gives a good taste inmy mouth.
(21:14):
Symbolically, the Word of Godis something that is very good
and very sweet.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
The Word of God is indeed sweet.
If we really taste the Word ofGod, we're going to learn how
nourishing it is to our soul andhow beneficial it is in our
lives.
We need the Word of God and weneed to get it in us, and this
picture here of Ezekiel eatingthe scroll is a picture of
(21:42):
getting the Word of God insideus.
That's the goal.
Now I hope we're not actuallychewing the paper or chewing
whatever medium your copy of theBible is on.
That's not the point.
The point is to get it into ourminds and get it into our heart
.
If we do that, then it willchange all of us.
It'll change the way we walk,It'll change the way we walk,
(22:07):
it'll change the way we talk andit'll change the way we live
our lives, because God's Word isnourishment.
Steve, how today can we reallyget the Word of God in us,
really truly get it inside of us?
What are some practical ways todo that?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
A practical way is to have a daily devotional, and
that's what most people do.
They'll have something whichwill give a scripture verse and
maybe a little saying after itor devotion to start their day
out or even just look at itduring the day.
That's a very practical way.
I don't think it should stopthere.
I think that there should bedeeper study of God's Word.
(22:41):
Other people just read throughGod's Word.
They make a commitment I'mgoing to read two or three
chapters a day, or I'm going toread a book or something like
that.
I'm going to read through theBible in a year.
And others do deep Bible study.
They go verse by verse, like wedo through each of the books of
the Bible.
All of those, I think, are waysto get God's Word into us.
(23:07):
Memorization is another way totake it with you so that you're
not dependent on having to readit.
There's several ways that wecan do to get God's Word in us.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Learning things and getting the Word of God in us
takes time.
It's not something you can doonce and have one big meal and
it's good for the rest of yourlife.
It's not possible to take asmall baby and give them one big
, giant, healthy meal and thennot feed them for the rest of
their lives.
No, you have to eat today, andtomorrow you're going to be
(23:39):
hungry again and you have to eatevery day to get nourishment
inside you.
It's the same way with the Wordof God.
If you're going to learnanything, if you're really going
to learn to walk biblically,then you have to do it daily.
It has to be an everyday thing.
If an athlete wants to performat their highest level, they
(24:00):
have to eat the right kind offood and they have to do it
every day for a long time andthey have to use their muscles
to train.
Same thing with us.
We have to take the Word of God.
It's not going to happen to eatone big meal on Sunday and then
have that last the whole restof the week.
You won't live very well likethat.
You have to have the Word ofGod in you daily and that will
(24:23):
nourish you and build up yourspiritual muscles.
The good news is, with the Wordof God in us, we don't have to
wait until we're some kind of ascholar and we don't have to
wait for something to come alongto explain us.
If we just take a little bitevery day, it'll grow inside us
and we'll have an increasingtaste for the Word of God.
(24:45):
We don't have to wait till webecome expert.
We don't have to wait till webecome a scholar.
We can learn with any amount ofdaily study and meditation.
Now, this eating of the scrollhe's going to tell us here that
it's going to taste good.
We see this in other places inthe Scripture, specifically
Revelation, chapter 10, verses 9and 10 to John, he also eating
(25:09):
a scroll.
So that tells us that over inthe book of Revelation.
These aren't just random imagesin Revelation, they are tied
(25:33):
back to all these things.
Back here in the Old Testamentthere's an apocalyptic book
called Ezekiel that ties.
There's an apocalyptic bookcalled Ezekiel that ties
directly in with an apocalypticbook called Revelation.
The same way with Zechariah andmany of the other books, so
that when we get to the book ofRevelation we're going to find
that it follows along verycarefully with these Old
(25:56):
Testament prophets.
That's one of the reasons whywe're studying him here today.
The lesson here, though, isthat if we get the Word of God
in us, it's going to taste sweet.
In this one, steve, at the endof verse 10, what was written on
this scroll that was given?
Speaker 2 (26:12):
to Ezekiel.
First thing is it's written onboth the front and the back, and
on it are lamentations,mourning and woe.
He is not supposed to addanything to it.
He already has a full scroll ofinformation that he's going to
send to the people, but it'ssorrowful things.
(26:32):
God is not happy with thepeople because they're
rebellious and stubborn.
He's not happy with them, sothis is going to be something
that's going to be communicatedto them.
Is these lamentations?
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Is it possible to have a section of God's Word
that's admittedly not verypleasant, that is, lamentations,
mourning and woe, but thatstill be a good word to us.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Mourning and woe, but that still be a good word to us
, it is because it's a wake-upcall.
When you find out that God islamenting over our actions, it
should shake us up and it shouldjar us to get back into a
closer relationship with him.
(27:19):
That, I think, is what God istrying to do with the people.
He's going to use the actionsthat he tells Ezekiel to do as
object lessons to shake thepeople up, to get them to talk
about what's going on, so thatthey can wake up, so that they
can repent, change their mindand to return back to a loving
relationship with God.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
We've seen here in Ezekiel, chapter 1, that God is
powerful and majestic and hespends the entire chapter 1 just
arriving.
And then in chapter 2, heprepares Ezekiel for ministry by
filling him with the HolySpirit, setting him on his feet
and giving him the Word of Godto be in him.
(27:59):
And that's the same with us.
We have to realize the majestyof God, we have to have the Holy
Spirit within us and then getthe Word of God in us and at
that point we can be likeEzekiel to go out and do
ministry.
Well, God's still got somecommissioning to do and we're
going to see that in chapter 3next time.
Thank you so much for watchingand listening, May.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
God bless you.
Still got some commissioning todo and we're going to see that
in chapter three next time.
Thank you so much for watchingand listening.
May God bless you.
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