God gives Ezekiel a task

EZEKIEL   CHAPTER 3

The voice of God said to Ezekiel to eat the scroll he had given him. Then Ezekiel was to go give its' message to the people of Israel. So he opened his mouth and ate it and it tasted sweet as honey. Then the Lord told him that he was not sending him to foreign people whose language he could not understand, or people with difficult speech. But to the people of Israel, who would not listen to Ezekiel any better than they would not listen to the Lord. But God made Ezekiel as hard and stubborn as these people were. So he would not be afraid of them or fear their angry looks.

Then God added that he wanted his words to sink deep into Ezekiel's own heart first and he asked Ezekiel to listen carefully to the words. Then he ordered him to go to the people in exile and tell them what the Lord said, whether or not they would listen to him.

Ezekiel felt the Spirit lift him up and he heard a loud rumbling sound behind him and it was the sound of the wings of the living beings as they brushed against each other and the rumbling was the wheels beneath them. Then the Spirit lifted Ezekiel up and took him away until he came to the colony of Judean exiles in Tel-abib, beside the Kebar River where he sat for seven days overwhelmed.

At the end of the seven days, the Lord gave him a message that he had been appointed a "watchman" for Israel. Whenever he received a message from God, Ezekiel was to pass it to the people immediately. And if God warned the wicked, saying they were under penalty of death, but if you (Ezekiel) failed to deliver the warning, they would die with sin in their hearts and God would hold him responsible, demanding Ezekiel's blood for theirs. And if he warned them and they kept on sinning and refused to repent, they would die in their sins. But Ezekiel would have saved his own life because he did what he was told to do. Previous good deeds would not help the people, and God would demand Ezekiel's blood for theirs. But if he warned them and they repented, they would live and Ezekiel would have saved his own life too.

Then the Lord took hold of Ezekiel again and told him to go out into the valley where he would again talk to him.  Ezekiel did as told and saw the glory of the Lord again, just as he had seen it by the Kabar River. And he fell face down in the dust. So the Spirit came into him and set him on his feet and talked to him and told him to go shut himself up in his house. And be bound with ropes so he cannot go out among the people and his tongue would be stuck to the roof of his own mouth so he couldn't pray for the people. But when the Lord was ready to give Ezekiel a message, he would loose his tongue and let him speak.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: Sitting quietyly for seven days was the customary period of time of mourning the dead. Ezekiel was mourning for those who were spiritually dead.
A "watchman's" job was to stand on the city wall and warn the people of approaching danger. Ezekiel's job was to warn of the judgment to come.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY?  In a sense we are watchmen of our own people in this age. We would suffer the same consequences as the warning given to Ezekiel if we failed in our duty to warn people of the results of their sins.  As "believers" we have a special responsibility to warn nonbelievers of the consequences of rejecting God. If we fail, God will hold us responsible for what happens to them. Can you imagine Ezekiel not being able to speak until God had a message for him. I'll bet the people sat up and took notice when he began to speak.
Talk about motivation!  We should all be motivated to share our faith with others, in word and deed!
The first step to being a "person in God", is to admit that we all need his help. When we break down this barrier, then we can begin to see what God can really do in our lives. Praise the Lord!

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:


HEALTH:

Pray for my grandson, new baby Gunar who was born with kidney problems.

Pray for Gabe.

Pray for Gary and Steve my insurance men who have prostate cancer.

Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.

Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer and who recently underwent major surgery.

Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with a form of MS.

Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.

Pray for Gary Summers, my friend from church, who has cancer.

Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who has been undergoing chemo. Pray also for Charly who longs to be 100 percent again and walk without an aid.

Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.

SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary

RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John

LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Brian, Ashley
Pray for my grandson Hunter who is alone so far from home.

SUPPORT: Pray for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom. Pray for our farmers and those who raise livestock during this terrible drought. Pray for us consumers who will face higher grocery prices and the poor who won’t be able to adjust what little budget they have.