Get up
This week's study is on Ezekiel 2:1-8:
These verses are the beginning part of God's calling of the prophet Ezekiel. It is one of the most intense books of the Bible, one where God is forceful, like a stern parent, and where his message is creative, almost surreal. Ezekiel was a devout Jew who was a refugee in what is now Western Iraq. It was common in those days for the ruling authorities to move people groups around for the purposes of keeping other power bases off balance and for something like what we would call diversity. Think one part trail of tears, one part integration busing. As a result, a lot of Jews found themselves stuck in Iraq or other parts of the empire, living a rough life as an unappreciated minority cut off from their homeland.
God's overwhelming interaction with Ezekiel is pretty much the opposite of the "still, small voice" he used with Elijah. Before these verses, he shows up with a noisy entourage that might as well have been designed by Salvador Dali. After these verses, Ezekiel is so overwhelmed that he is incapacitated for a week. But these verses in between are both forceful and tender at the same time.
God commands Ezekiel to stand up, and whether he wants to or not, Ezekiel is made to stand up. You see this sort of thing with parents in a hurry who pull their kids to their feet as they say "Come on, let's go." It's an expression of authority and urgency. A clear hierarchy is established. Nobody is going to let their kid stay on the bus if they're getting off the bus.
God then tells Ezekiel how difficult the next steps are going to be. He tells him that he is surrounded by briers and thorns, and that he lives among scorpions. In other words, everyone and everything is going to be working against him. It's times like these that it's good that someone stronger is in charge. God's display of power in lifting him to his feet is a form of comfort and safety. So when God says not to fear, it's clear that he can deliver more protection than Ezekiel could on his own.
When God describes the house of Israel, it's funny how often he uses the word "rebellious." It's a very forceful description, and it underscores how he is in the right and the people he is sending Ezekiel to are not. He's saying "Look, nothing these people say or do should matter to you. You're mine. Be on my side and you will be fine. Be on theirs and you will be in trouble too."
He describes himself as the sovereign Lord. In other words, he doesn't need anyone's consent to be right, or to do what he is going to do. His decisions are final. If Israel is not doing what he asked them to do, it's not because he got outvoted or overpowered; it's because they're misbehaving. In the same sense, if he promises protection to Ezekiel, nothing is going to overrule him. He has the last word.
Finally, God goes back to addressing Ezekiel like a parent addressing a child. "Eat what I am giving you." "Eat what is on your plate" is one of the first things we learn. A baby isn't going to decide what to eat and when. He has to consent to the authority of his parents in order to thrive. It's the same thing with Ezekiel. It was God's decision that he would stand up and and listen, and now it is God's decision that he will go where he is sent and deliver the message he was given. He can either come along or go join his countrymen in rebellion.
We sometimes encounter situations in our lives that are beyond our control. We live such pampered lives, that we often forget that sometimes not being in control is a good thing. Next to God we're like useless babies who need his help to do the most basic things. Is a baby going to thrive if his parents decide to honor his decision to stay in the park when they are heading home? Is he going to thrive if he is just allowed to eat whatever he finds? There are certain times where it is better that we don't get a vote in what is going to happen. We have a lot of freedom, but sometimes God is going to make the call on how something will go, and we just have to go along with it.
Ezekiel's humble consent to God's plan gave him an experience most of us could only dream of. He saw the throne of God and was able to play a critical role in world events. There are times in my life where I've fought what God seemed to be doing with everything I had, and I wonder what wondrous experiences I may have missed out on by being so uncooperative. You've probably done the same at one point or another. How many of us, in a horrible season of our lives, when asked like Elijah was asked to enter a much harder season, would have been as cooperative and trusting and cooperative as Elijah was?
Ezekiel is a humbling book to read. As God brings him through humiliating experiences and various hardships, ask yourself if you would do what he did, if you were in that situation and hadn't read to the end of the book to know how it would turn out. But how would things have turned out if he had refused to cooperate? If you have a call on your life that seems difficult, read through Ezekiel to get some perspective. The only good response to an invitation to hardship is to be like an obedient and trusting child. (Jesus talks a bit about that in the New Testament, so it's not just an Old Testament thing.)
When God calls you, it's the call of someone who loves you, who wants to bless you eternally and help you to grow. It's the call of a father looking out for his child. We can trust him to look out for us, even when what he asks is shocking. If he says to get up, it's to go some place better.
He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet and I will speak with you.” As he spoke to me, a wind came into me and stood me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me.
He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house of Israel, to rebellious nations who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ And as for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words—even though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions—do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, for they are a rebellious house! You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. As for you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you: Do not rebel like that rebellious house! Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”
These verses are the beginning part of God's calling of the prophet Ezekiel. It is one of the most intense books of the Bible, one where God is forceful, like a stern parent, and where his message is creative, almost surreal. Ezekiel was a devout Jew who was a refugee in what is now Western Iraq. It was common in those days for the ruling authorities to move people groups around for the purposes of keeping other power bases off balance and for something like what we would call diversity. Think one part trail of tears, one part integration busing. As a result, a lot of Jews found themselves stuck in Iraq or other parts of the empire, living a rough life as an unappreciated minority cut off from their homeland.
God's overwhelming interaction with Ezekiel is pretty much the opposite of the "still, small voice" he used with Elijah. Before these verses, he shows up with a noisy entourage that might as well have been designed by Salvador Dali. After these verses, Ezekiel is so overwhelmed that he is incapacitated for a week. But these verses in between are both forceful and tender at the same time.
God commands Ezekiel to stand up, and whether he wants to or not, Ezekiel is made to stand up. You see this sort of thing with parents in a hurry who pull their kids to their feet as they say "Come on, let's go." It's an expression of authority and urgency. A clear hierarchy is established. Nobody is going to let their kid stay on the bus if they're getting off the bus.
God then tells Ezekiel how difficult the next steps are going to be. He tells him that he is surrounded by briers and thorns, and that he lives among scorpions. In other words, everyone and everything is going to be working against him. It's times like these that it's good that someone stronger is in charge. God's display of power in lifting him to his feet is a form of comfort and safety. So when God says not to fear, it's clear that he can deliver more protection than Ezekiel could on his own.
When God describes the house of Israel, it's funny how often he uses the word "rebellious." It's a very forceful description, and it underscores how he is in the right and the people he is sending Ezekiel to are not. He's saying "Look, nothing these people say or do should matter to you. You're mine. Be on my side and you will be fine. Be on theirs and you will be in trouble too."
He describes himself as the sovereign Lord. In other words, he doesn't need anyone's consent to be right, or to do what he is going to do. His decisions are final. If Israel is not doing what he asked them to do, it's not because he got outvoted or overpowered; it's because they're misbehaving. In the same sense, if he promises protection to Ezekiel, nothing is going to overrule him. He has the last word.
Finally, God goes back to addressing Ezekiel like a parent addressing a child. "Eat what I am giving you." "Eat what is on your plate" is one of the first things we learn. A baby isn't going to decide what to eat and when. He has to consent to the authority of his parents in order to thrive. It's the same thing with Ezekiel. It was God's decision that he would stand up and and listen, and now it is God's decision that he will go where he is sent and deliver the message he was given. He can either come along or go join his countrymen in rebellion.
We sometimes encounter situations in our lives that are beyond our control. We live such pampered lives, that we often forget that sometimes not being in control is a good thing. Next to God we're like useless babies who need his help to do the most basic things. Is a baby going to thrive if his parents decide to honor his decision to stay in the park when they are heading home? Is he going to thrive if he is just allowed to eat whatever he finds? There are certain times where it is better that we don't get a vote in what is going to happen. We have a lot of freedom, but sometimes God is going to make the call on how something will go, and we just have to go along with it.
Ezekiel's humble consent to God's plan gave him an experience most of us could only dream of. He saw the throne of God and was able to play a critical role in world events. There are times in my life where I've fought what God seemed to be doing with everything I had, and I wonder what wondrous experiences I may have missed out on by being so uncooperative. You've probably done the same at one point or another. How many of us, in a horrible season of our lives, when asked like Elijah was asked to enter a much harder season, would have been as cooperative and trusting and cooperative as Elijah was?
Ezekiel is a humbling book to read. As God brings him through humiliating experiences and various hardships, ask yourself if you would do what he did, if you were in that situation and hadn't read to the end of the book to know how it would turn out. But how would things have turned out if he had refused to cooperate? If you have a call on your life that seems difficult, read through Ezekiel to get some perspective. The only good response to an invitation to hardship is to be like an obedient and trusting child. (Jesus talks a bit about that in the New Testament, so it's not just an Old Testament thing.)
When God calls you, it's the call of someone who loves you, who wants to bless you eternally and help you to grow. It's the call of a father looking out for his child. We can trust him to look out for us, even when what he asks is shocking. If he says to get up, it's to go some place better.
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