Speak My Words to Them
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Intro:
Scripture Intro:
Series on the prophet Ezekiel.
Todd started us off with chapter 1 and the vision of the glory of God.
Wheels, eyes, wind, and fire...
What is all of this?
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
What was the only appropriate response to the glory of God?
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Scripture Reading (“Please stand…”)
And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn:
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.
And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.
And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.
“But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.
And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.
And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them.
For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you.
But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.
Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”
Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.
And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”
Pray...
Intro:
Intro:
God Gives His Word through People
God Gives His Word through People
In the vision of chapters one,
it was God who opened heaven for Ezekiel.
God revealed himself to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel did not go looking for this vision...
It was God who made himself known.
Here again in chapters 2-3...
(2:1) “And he said to me”
(2:3) “And he said to me”
(3:1) “And he said to me”
(3:3) “And he said to me”
(3:4) “And he said to me”
(3:10) “Moreover he said to me”
(3:16) “the word of the Lord came to me”
(3:22) “And he said to me”
The entire structure of these two chapters
is God speaking to Ezekiel.
This is God giving his word to Ezekiel...
and then to his people.
Derek Thomas
“Of the 359 occurrences of the phrase, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says’ in the Old Testament, one third of them (122) are in Ezekiel.” (Derek Thomas, “God Strengthens”)
“Thus says the Lord God” (ESV)
What does he tell Ezekiel?
First, he calls him “Son of Man”
This is the way God addresses Ezekiel in this book.
So feel the contrast of chapter 1 to 2:1.
Glory of God - magnificence, brilliance, power, fire, high above him
“And he said to me… Son of man”
“Wait… What?”
“You’re talking to me.”
ILL. I think this is feel that the writers of “The Wizard of Oz”
were trying to capture.
Dorothy, Lion, Scarecrow, and the Tin Man walk in
to see the wizard for the first time.
This huge green pipe organ surrounded by columns which shot fire out.
Smoke rose
A huge face was above the pedestal and it spoke to them.
“I am Oz. The great and powerful”
“Who are you?”
And all 4 of them cower in fear.
That is a weak comparison.
Trying to compare the Wizard to the glory of God in chapter 1...
But it is the same feeling.
We go from vast and glorious...
to that coming to one man.
“Son of Man”
Found 93 times in Ezekiel.
The easiest and immediate understanding is the humanity of Ezekiel.
He’s not God. (contrast)
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
It’s not a demeaning term,
b/c it is the way Jesus refers to himself,
picking up the theme from Daniel 7...
that one like a son of man will come a be given
dominion, glory, and a kingdom.
ESV Study Bible
The Hebrew idiom “son of x” indicates membership in a class.
“Son of man” identifies Ezekiel as a creature before the supreme creator.
What did God say to Ezekiel?
And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.
The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’
That is the definition of a prophet...
Go to them and tell them what the Lord said.
God reiterates this a few times in the passage:
(2:7) “you shall speak my words to them”
(3:4) “go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them”
(3:11) “speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God”
(3:17) “Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.”
(3:27) “when I speak to you… you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord God”
We can draw from this...
It is God who gives us his word...
but he typically gives us his word through another person.
That doesn’t make it any less authoritative.
It actually makes it in the flesh...
someone speaking to you.
Ex. Even though I am just a guy (flaws & shortcomings)...
I speak the word of God to you.
It has value b/c it’s God’s word, not mine.
But I also wonder if can hear it better
Remember, Jesus came in the flesh...
one of the reasons he said he did was to...
To Preach & Proclaim Good News
To Bear Witness to the Truth
God’s Word Forces a Response
God’s Word Forces a Response
I was going to use a different word that “force”
But they didn’t carry the correct weight.
“Invites” a response - makes it sound optional.
“Compels” a response - moves it along but it doesn’t necessarily happen
“Forces” - makes God’s word a fork in the road.
You either receive it OR reject it.
Listen to it OR Don’t listen to it.
Obey it OR do what you think is right.
What types of people is Ezekiel going to speak to?
And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.
“rebellious house”
7 times in chapters 2-3.
“stubborn”. “impudent” (obstinate, dug in)
“hard” (calloused and unmoveable)
So obedience to God’s word is first about your posture before it.
Are you unmoveable this morning?
Are you already dug in?
“whether they hear or refuse to hear”
There is a A or B option when it comes to God’s word.
Hear or Refuse to hear
Listen or Refuse to listen
Receive Or Reject
But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.
Ezekiel Responded to the Word
He went to the people
He spoke
He ate the scroll.
And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.
And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.
How do you receive the word as intended?
Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.
Message of judgment
And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
“front and back”
“lamentation, mourning, woe”
A Message of Repentance
But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”
Confess your way to the Lord
Seek his healing mercy
Turn from your sin to God.
The Gospel:
That Jesus endured the punishment for our sin...
in order to save us.
God Empowers the Those Who Speak
God Empowers the Those Who Speak
Ezekiel has been given an impossible task.
Go talk to a group of people who will not listen to you.
Not only that,
but it will feel like briers and thorns and sitting of scorpions.
This is why God speaks to Ezekiel… (“do not be afraid”)
And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.
Again in Ezekiel 3...
Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”
God has built him up for this task.
Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.
“The Spirit”
(2:2) “The Spirit entered me and set me on my feet”
Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!”
The Spirit empowers and strengthens him.
Strengthened in the glory of God.
Just remember...
It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake.
Though, even when God empowers and the Spirit leads,
we can feel “in over our heads”
The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me.
And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.
Yet,
And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
These chapters end in a very strange way.
God had told Ezekiel to go to Israel and speak.
But that is “not just yet”
But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house.
And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people.
And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house.
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.
Close in Prayer
Close in Prayer
Closing Song:
Closing Song:
“All Hail the Power of Jesus Name”
Let every kindred, every tribe… (on earth)
To Him all majesty ascribe.
And crown him Lord of all.
What a great way to respond to hearing the word this morning.
Benediction:
Benediction:
