I have never written anything about the prophet Ezekiel, nor have I ever preached a message about him. His book has not been a focus of study or attention for me over the years. In fact, I realized as I wrote this entry that I have purposely avoided Ezekiel. He always seemed so eccentric, the epitome of the Old Testament prophet, and I was afraid I would not understand what I read if I dug into him and his story too deeply. All that will change this week as I continue the "Go and . . ." series, with two more after this before the series is done -- I promise.
In Ezekiel 8, Ezekiel saw the Lord, "his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal" (8:2), who "stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head" (8:3), and instructed Ezekiel to “go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here" (8:9). Then in the verse 12, Ezekiel witnessed the elders and leaders of Israel doing abominable things offensive to God. It was so bad that the Lord later said, "Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them" (Ezekiel 8:18). Why would the Lord tell Ezekiel to go and see the wicked things even though the Lord was angry with His people? I'm glad you asked, but to find out, you will have to read on.
FACING REALITY
God would not allow Ezekiel to be His prophet in isolation. Ezekiel could not be a hermit or go into hiding to protect himself from the messy situation his nation was experiencing. He had to face the reality of his peoples' depravity and evil, and see them like God saw them as the abomination they were. Even the leaders had abandoned their oaths of obedience and were carrying out secret, sinful practices they believed no one saw, even the Lord. This reminds me of what Jesus prayed for His disciples:
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified" (John 17:13-19).
The world is a nasty place but we must balance on the tightrope of living in the world but not becoming like the world. God would not allow Ezekiel to look away or ignore the reality of God's fallen creation. He will not allow you to ignore the condition of the world either.
THE LESSONS
We in the church tend to desire a nice, safe, predictable place where we can withdraw from the world. We have done so under the guise of staying holy and pure, but when we withdraw from the world, we deprive the world of any hope of escape from their depraved dilemma. We must follow in the footsteps of Joseph, Daniel, David, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Paul, and even Jesus Himself, who were all clean but got involved in the unclean business of human existence.
God wants you to express your purpose in churches that have abandoned their role as salt and leaven, in businesses that serve not much more than profit, in government that is looking to use God and His people for their own purposes, and in causes saturated with selfishness and greed. As you immerse yourself in these entities, you cannot become more loyal to them than you are to Him. In other words, you will have to face their abominable practices while you serve them at God's behest. They will want your obedience and fealty, but you cannot give it to them while you serve them, as Daniel did with Nebuchadnezzar.
You must fulfill your purpose as Timothy did, among imperfect people who argued and practiced evil as a hobby. Paul's instructions to him are the same instructions the Lord gives us today: "And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Have a blessed week as you serve a holy God in an unholy society.
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