In chapters 2-3 we read the account of God calling Ezekiel to be a prophet.  In 2:2 we see that the Spirit of God enters Ezekiel and God then says, I am sending you to the rebellious nation of Israel.  What I find so amazing in this passage is that Ezekiel is called to be the voice of God and he is to speak the words of God whether or not Israel listens.

Here are a few verses that show Ezekiel’s words are God’s words.

• 2:7, “And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.”
• 2:8, “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.”
• 3:1, “Son of man, eat what ever you find here.  Eat this scroll, and go, speak to house of Israel.”
• 3:4, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them.”
• 3:10, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and 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.”

In 3:7, God says, “The house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me…”  What a crazy ministry, go speak to these people, but they won’t listen to you (I’m sure many parents feel like they have an Ezekiel type ministry). Later in chapter 3, God tells Ezekiel, if you don’t speak My words then I will require from you the blood of the wicked.  God makes it very clear, Ezekiel is to be His mouth piece.  He is not to worry about how other people respond. His ministry success is not dependent upon how many people repent at his message.  Ezekiel is to simply trust in God and speak and do whatever God calls Him to do.

Today, as the church, we are called to be very much like Ezekiel.  While we are not the voice of God in the same sense that Ezekiel was.  For God spoke directly to Ezekiel, and he would reply by saying, “Thus says the Lord.”  Today we have God’s authoritative word in written form (all 66 books that comprise the Bible). But we have been given the Spirit God and dwell within us and in 2 Cor. 5:20 we see that while here on earth we are called to be ambassadors for Jesus.  And that God has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:19).

We are called to love others and share the gospel with all whom we can.  But our success is not in how many people are saved (although hopefully many will be), rather, success is defined as being fruitful and faithful to God.  God is the one who ultimately saves, not us.   This is good news, for it saves us from thinking everything hinges on us.  It saves us from thinking that we are the ones responsible for getting people into heaven.  The beauty of the gospel is that God is the one responsible for saving people.  He is the one who can take our silly idiosyncrasies, our mistakes, our weaknesses and He can work powerfully through them.  All God desires from us is for us to faithfully follow Him.