Ezek 1:1-3:15 | PS 104:1-23 | Prov 26:24-26 | Heb 3:1-19
Why do we try so hard to soften God's Word to make it more accepting to a world that is hardened to Him? His Word is clear. It is black and white, never gray. He never softened it for us, His children. He doesn't avoid topics, but all too often we avoid them so as not to cause conflict. God knows that conflict is often necessary for one to accept His message, but somehow we often feel that we can say it just the right way, alter it ever so slightly so that another person might become interested. But when we alter how we represent God, what is it that we are hoping for that person to believe in? People need to be brought into relationship with the One True God, not some morphed version which has been changed to be seen as more relevant to the hard-hearted generation that surrounds us. Yes, truth hurts. God knows this, but sadly all too often we feel that we can make it not hurt. In our softness, often the message, the real message is completely lost.
Don't miss the real vision given to Ezekiel, similar to Isaiah, given at the outset of Ezekiel's journey in Ezekiel 1. We read in Ezekiel 2:8, "Son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not join them in their rebellion. Open your mouth, and eat what I give you.” Ezekiel was told to take it in completely and not alter it's contents. We get a vision of his audience in 3:7, "But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn." Then he is given his marching orders as we read in 3:10-11, "Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.” Notice the directness of his mission. Don't soften. Don't alter. Don't be affected by whether or not the message is received.
We read in Hebrews 3:13, "You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God." Like Ezekiel, we too have been given a mission as His ambassadors, and we are sent into a mission field that is often very cold to His Word. What will we do with this. The prophets spoke forth God's truth to hostile audiences, often not even understanding how their words would come to fruition (1 Peter 1:10-12). We are not told to fully understand, or alter what is said. We are simply told to transmit God's Word to an audience that does not know Him with the hope of bringing even one person into a relationship with Jesus Christ, who can then experience salvation. May we all take our task as seriously as the true prophets of old.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: