Ezekiel 7:23-27 (ESV)
“Forge a chain! For the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong, and their holy places shall be profaned. When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. Disaster comes upon disaster; rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders. The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
Some preachers, pastors, priests and teachers of Sunday messages have a pretty easy task as compared to Ezekiel. He was chosen by God to deliver a turn or burn message to the leadership of Judah. Judah was about to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. Israel, the northern tribes, had already fallen. Ezekiel was sent to tell Judah why they would soon be taken captive, as well. His ministry would last for 20+ years. In the above passage we read the main message he had to deliver. He does, later in the book, deliver a more positive message to encourage those who fall into captivity. But in the above text we see the raw, unfiltered message he was asked to deliver. The man of God, the person who is called by God to deliver God’s Word doe not get to choose the message God gives them. They are to simply be faithful to the end to demonstrate their love and honor of God. Ezekiel is just a plan man. He was asked to deliver a tough message of truth to those who had turned their back upon God. That message was not easy to deliver. But Ezekiel was faithful to deliver it. That is our call, as well. We are to faithfully complete the message gave us to deliver.
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