“I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou hast given Me….,” “…I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me.” John 17:6,8
Dear Ones:
When Ezekiel received His commission from God, as a prophet, God gave him a vision of heaven. In that vision Ezekiel perceived holy beings, celestial beings, along with the vast expanse and magnitude of heaven itself. That which he saw, both concerning the throne of God, and the One on that throne, was characterized by what he described as, “…the appearance of fire.” The heavenly glory of God, in the measure that Ezekiel was given a small glimpse of it, brought him to falling on his face. The fact that he fell to the ground in this manner, was certainly because the sight of heaven, and the perception of God, was so very overwhelming. All that Ezekiel saw was preparatory to making him the prophet God called him to be, and to arrest his attention concerning issues that were absolute and essential to his calling and mission.
Ezekiel was a priest, among the exiles during the captivity. Though his ministry was specifically directed to Israel, there is a broader application of what he saw, and what God commanded him to speak to the people. Ezekiel was a messenger of God for one basic reason, to communicate the word of God to the people, so that its effect would be realized. What was essential for God to do in Ezekiel’s heart, so that he would become an effective messenger, and fulfill his mission?
The first thing is that Ezekiel was given this vision of heaven, and the glory of God. This reality was ever foremost in his mind and heart. Faith had its bedrock in the truth of what he had seen. So clear and convicting was the vision that he was never the same, it being the prelude to power, a strength and enablement, given to him in answer to faith. He was a man, like the Lord Jesus, of whom the Father would declare: “Behold My servant…I have put My Spirit upon him.” (Is. 42:1) The key to Ezekiel’s ministry as a messenger of God was the ministry of the Spirit of God in his heart, and through his life.
The second thing we notice about this “messenger,” Ezekiel, is that he was wholly receptive to what God had to say to him. The Lord spoke to him of his mission, and there was no evidence of him seeking to escape his responsibility. He was being sent to Israel, a rebellious nation against God. He would face angry words, looks, and opposition. The key issue of his mission was the proclamation of the word of God. “Thou shalt speak MY words unto them.” (1:7) Ezekiel’s work was not to convert the unsaved, or rescue the righteous person from a wrong path. His purpose was to walk with God, abide in Him, and accomplish His will, in the proclamation of the powerful word God. God would do His work, according to that word.
The third thing we see in Ezekiel, as God’s spokesperson, is that he did NOT lean on his own understanding, or offer some of his own ideas as to how God should do His work. On the contrary, as Paul told Timothy to give himself to the study of the word of God, and to be mastered by it, so Ezekiel is told to EAT the scroll he saw in the vision, a picture to taking the word of God, and literally make it his own by faith. He thus has within him the resource from which the Spirit of God can draw forth truth to be spoke to Israel.
Lastly, Ezekiel was a man very conscious, that the “hand of the Lord” was upon him, and that the Spirit of God was at work IN Him. He thus sets himself to go forth in faith, believing the promise of God: “But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord.'” (3:27)
Dear Father, Give us to be filled with the knowledge of Thy will, speaking through us by the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad