Ezekiel 2:1-5
I Am Sending You
1The Lord said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." 2As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
3He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.' 5And whether they listen or fail to listen – for they are a rebellious house – they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Many times, as we look back at people mentioned in the Old Testament, we may think to ourselves How different those people were! They are not at all like me, or any of the people I know today! And that is so very true, isn’t it? They lived in the Middle East. We live in middle America. They lived thousands of years before cell phones. We can’t live without them.
They spoke Hebrew, Aramaic, and maybe a little Greek. For the most part we speak English, although some Spanish may be heard among us. They lived in uncertainty about Christ and had only a lot of unanswered questions concerning his life and death. We have all the answers in the pages of the Gospel and can speak of his life with certainty.
Much the same thing happens when we look at events in their lives. We’ve never experienced the joy of greeting the Lord in the Garden of Eden or the dread of facing him after eating the forbidden fruit. We’ve never seen a mountain on fire as God gives mankind his Ten Commandments. We’ve never sacrificed countless animals in his presence at the Temple in Jerusalem.
We may come to the conclusion that we have absolutely nothing in common with the people of the Old Testament and the experiences they had with the Lord, our God. We may truly be inclined to think of ourselves as being utterly and completely different than they are. And yet, a careful consideration of their lives and times will show that we are more like them than is evident at first glance.
True, there are a lot of differences between us, but they’re mostly superficial. At the core there are so many ways in which we are alike. What really counts, what truly matters, are things that we share with believers of all ages. If we look, we can easily see ourselves reflected in them. Our sermon text for this morning is one example of that.
In the chapter before, the Lord had given Ezekiel a vision of heaven, particularly a vision of the heavenly beings who live there. Ezekiel’s response to this sight was fairly typical of someone who is either in God’s presence or in the presence of his angels. He fell to the ground, face down, not daring to look anyone in the eye. He was in a state of indescribable fear and total submission to the Lord.
And why wouldn’t a human being assume such an attitude in the presence of the Lord? Every time a sinner is with his holy God, he is reminded that the Lord demands that he be as holy as his God! His holiness, contrasted with man’s sinfulness, reinforces the truth that we are not holy in any way. Combined, that produces an unimaginable fear, for God threatens to damn to hell everyone who is not holy!
That knowledge is built into all of us. We all know that we are sinners. Our conscience accuses and God’s Word condemns us. Especially we, who have studied and more fully understand the Ten Commandments, know that we stand damned in the sight of God. We know we aren’t and can’t be holy people who deserve to live in his presence.
Like Ezekiel, we should be afraid of God’s punishment. We should submit to the Lord in every way. But that’s not what the Lord wants for us. We see that in his dealing with Ezekiel. We are told that the Lord spoke to Ezekiel and said Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you. This was something Ezekiel couldn’t possibly do on his own.
No one infested with the curse of sin would have the strength to respond. Furthermore, even if he could, no sane person would take the risk. Knowing Ezekiel’s impotence, we are told that the Spirit came into him and raised him to his feet. Then he could hear the Lord speaking to him. God didn’t want to talk to a man filled with fear and dread. Ezekiel’s sin had been forgiven! The death sentence was lifted!
The Lord had made Ezekiel a member of his family and a part of his kingdom on earth. Ezekiel could rise in his presence and look the Lord in the eye without any anxiety. He could now come to him in an attitude of loving gratitude! The Holy Spirit of God brought this comfort to Ezekiel and enabled him to come to the Lord. The Spirit brought him to trust in him. The Spirit did for Ezekiel what he could not do for himself.
The same is true for you and me. Although we are unworthy wretches, the Lord still loves us! Fully aware that we cannot atone for our sins, he sent his one and only Son to be our Savior. His living provides us with the holy life we need. His dying fulfills the death sentence that hangs over us. His resurrection is God’s sure sign that all is now right between us and the Lord.
He wants to be with us, to converse with us, to share life with us! All we have to do is not reject what he has already given us. Sadly, we can’t even do that. So, he sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts to work saving faith. Now, we are a part of God’s family. We may call him Father! Now, we have a role in his kingdom here on earth. We are anxious to hear what he wants us to do!
And the Lord’s commission for us in the same commission he gave to Ezekiel. Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites. Say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says.” In short, the Lord was calling Ezekiel to be his prophet, his evangelist to his own people. He was to condemn their sins, of course, but more importantly he was to tell them of God’s love and his forgiveness of sins.
This may seem to have been a very easy task. After all, the Lord had been the God of Israel for a thousand years. They knew all about the Lord and his love. The promise of the Savior was part of their culture and consciousness. They had been hand-picked by the Lord to be his own. Going to them with the message of the Lord should have been a delight for Ezekiel, the most pleasurable thing he’d ever done.
But then the Lord explained the reality of the situation: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Ezekiel’s task would not be an easy one.
Despite all the blessings the Israelites enjoyed, the people had not responded as they should, as the Lord had reason to expect. They had a history of not listening to the Lord; not loving him; not living as he commanded. Seemingly, no matter how Ezekiel proclaimed the Word of God, there was no great expectation that the people of Israel would change.
Then, why bother, Ezekiel might have asked. Before he can even ask, however, the Lord explains himself: whether they listen or fail to listen – for they are a rebellious house – they will know that a prophet has been among them. In his love, the Lord would not simply turn his back on them. He would give them every chance to remain his children. They could never complain that God hadn’t come to them.
As they ponder their existence in hell, it will be obvious that it is their own fault, not God’s failure to love them. This same commission comes to you and me. When the Lord says to Ezekiel I am sending you to the Israelites., he is talking to us, as well. Jesus repeats that commission many times! Go and make disciples of all nations. You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. The command is unmistakable.
You and I remain in this world as long as we do because we have a mission to fulfill. There is no other reason for you to be alive. There is nothing more to be done to secure your salvation. Heaven’s door is already open to you and the Lord longs to have you with him there. Its glory makes this life look like a vale of tears. We are alive to carry out this task of bringing God’s message to our people!
We might not think this to be an especially difficult task. After all, we have the reputation of being a Christian nation! God’s name is on our money! We’ve enjoyed more than 200 years of the Lord’s special blessing. It should be easy! Easy, that is, except for the fact that the people of the United States are obstinate and stubborn, a nation that has constantly rebelled and revolted against their Lord!
Any objective evaluation of our country today leaves little doubt that this is true. We have cheapened God’s gift of life, making it into an option that may be chosen on a mother’s whim. We flaunt God’s gift of sexuality with promiscuous sexual expression that is an abomination to nature and the Lord. We gut the essence of God’s gift of family by refusing to marry the mother or father of our children.
We have among us, a subculture that will not work for their daily bread, who feel entitled to a living provided by those who do work. And these things aren’t even the worst in our society. Far more terrible is our systematic makeover of the Lord in our image. So many have altered his true nature by their own imagining, that one wonders if God can even recognize himself!
These changes in our image of God have brought about a callous disregard for God’s Law and the punishment that comes from disobedience, and a corresponding notion that the Gospel has no value, no place in our lives.
Our task to spread God’s Word, to proclaim the Gospel may, therefore seem pointless, a wasted effort, an exercise in futility. Then why does the Lord continue to say I am sending you!? The answer is found in God’s love. His people may have wandered away from him, but he will not abandon them. He still wants them as his own and uses us to regain them.
Then, does God’s desire that all be saved guarantee that we will be successful? No, not even Jesus – the Son of God – was able to change every human heart he encountered. But that kind of success is not what the Lord expects from us. He simply expects us to faithfully and persistently give people the opportunity to hear the Gospel from our lips. From that point on, man’s stubborn will and the power of the Holy Spirit will do battle. Some will hear and be brought to faith. Some will steadfastly refuse it and be damned.
But that is not our doing, one way or the other. Our only responsibility is to proclaim the Gospel as sweetly and as positively as we can! That’s what we are sent to do! If we do that then, as the Lord told Ezekiel, they will know that a prophet has been among them. Be that prophet! Go where you are sent!
Amen.