Introduction
It’s been
one of those weeks that left me wondering if Satan was bored and decided to
torment me because he didn’t have anything better to do. It started with a trip
to the lumber store for materials where I found that someone left their $800
airless spray painter in a shopping cart in the parking lot. I wheeled it
inside and left it at the customer service desk; I’m fairly certain someone was
going to be missing that. As is usually the case, I couldn’t find all the parts
I needed at the first lumber yard and moved on to the next. I parked my truck
and got out only to see that the owner of the car next to me left their complete
set of keys sticking in the door of a very nice car. I pulled the keys out and
left them at the customer service desk. Nothing says “free car” like car keys
hanging from the car door in a public parking lot! Now I don’t know most of you
out there but I’m guessing I didn’t do anything that any of you wouldn’t have
done. However, this past week Satan was whispering: “What you do doesn’t
matter; no one is paying attention; no one is listening to you; no one cares
what you have to say; unseen and unnoticed integrity is useless; your ministry
is a joke; you are deceiving yourself into believing your being faithful to
God; you will never succeed; your dad was right you are worthless!” I pulled
into a nearby parking lot to pray that God would get Satan’s voice out of my
head. I just saved someone $800 in a piece of painting equipment and maybe
saved someone else from losing their car. That had to be worth something to
someone didn’t it? I wanted God’s reassurance that my life and ministry weren’t
a mistake; that it was valued. However, Satan wasn’t done with me yet. I got
out of my truck to get some fresh air and when I looked down, I actually had to
laugh; there at my feet was 3 cents. It was perfect timing because Satan used
it to make his point: “That’s pretty much what your integrity, life and
ministry are worth!” The rest of the week was more or less a continuation of
the same until I remembered a story from the movie, Facing the Giants. In the movie, a high school football coach was
doing what he believed God was calling him to do but the team was still losing
and he was questioning whether or not he was being faithful because his team
wasn’t winning. He equated success on the football field with obedience to God.
What he failed to realize was that, in God’s eyes, the process of being obedient was far more important than the result of the obedience. Watch this clip
from the movie:
I was praying
for rain and expecting to see results when I came across our subject text and
realized that I’m going to have to get used to the idea that my life and
ministry might not include many opportunities to enjoy rain with far more time
spent Preparing For Rain.
Ezekiel 2:4-8
4“The 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. 6And you, son of man, do not be afraid
of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all
around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or
terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. 7You must speak my words to
them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I
say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat
what I give you.”
Context
Ezekiel was
a contemporary to the prophet Jeremiah. While Jeremiah prophesied to Israel
before they were taken into exile by Babylon, Ezekiel prophesied to Israel
during the Babylonian exile. The nation of Judah had been destroyed and
Jerusalem was a burned out, devastated pile of rubble. Ezekiel pointed out
Israel’s corporate sin but also reminded them that they were each personally
responsible for their sin. Furthermore, Ezekiel called Israel’s leadership to
account for leading the people to believe that their sin wasn’t that bad and
that nothing bad was really going to happen. Ezekiel also served to give the
people hope in their exile that God would restore those who turn from their
sin. “Ezekiel’s major concern is to establish beyond a shadow of a doubt to the
exiles the justice of God. What is about to happen, or already happened, to
Jerusalem is not due to the whim and caprice of an unpredictable God who one
day on the spot decided to withdraw his favor from his people. At the same
time, preaches Ezekiel, let not those in exile be infested with false
confidence. Their survival in Babylon is not evidence of superior moral
quality.”[1]
Text Analysis
Ezekiel has
been sent by God to deliver a message to the exiles of Israel. “From the words
of the canonical prophets it becomes increasingly clear that the fact of being
sent by God forms the basic authorization of the prophet. Neither the mastery
of a mantic technique nor the possession of a particular psychic disposition
distinguishes a man as a prophet, but only the fact of being sent by Yahweh.”[2]
Israel is described by God in v. 4 as obstinate and stubborn. Now, we know the
context of these verses and Israel’s disobedience so we read over these words
without considering that they don’t necessarily convey Israel’s spiritual
condition. However, their spiritual condition comes into focus when we understand
the word that is translated by the NIV and other texts as “stubborn” is
literally translated “hard of heart”. It is important to remember this when we move
along in our subject text.
I know this
will sound odd but the opening words of v. 5 are a great comfort to me—“And
whether they listen or fail to listen…”. This one simple phrase forms one of
the primary elements for this week’s lesson. God already knows the spiritual
condition of the recipients of his message. Furthermore, it is clear from this
text that God is little concerned with the receptivity and positive response
from the people in general, yet He is specifically interested that the message is communicated. “The
likelihood was that Ezekiel would not get much of a positive response from such
an audience, but his task was to be faithful to God’s command. True success is
not determined by the effectiveness of the response to God’s message but by the
messenger’s faithfulness to his task…‘Never too often can this principle be
repeated: with stewards of the truth of God, faithfulness is the primary
requisite of service, not apparent accomplishment’. The highest commendation we
will receive from the Lord will be for faithfulness in fulfilling his will
(Matt. 25:21, 23).”[3]
The latter part of v. 5 seems strange
in its pronouncement that they (Israel) would know that a prophet had been
among them. How? I mean we know that
because the Bible tells us that Ezekiel is a prophet. If we look closely, we
will, in fact, see that there was a basis for this definitive statement
especially in relation to the word translated as “rebellious.” “Theologically,
the word caricatures the rebellious who have ‘ceased hearing’ the word of the
Lord (2 Chron 25:15 Ezek 2:5, 7).”[4]
We often make the mistake of believing that God’s truth faithfully communicated
by his servants will always be immediately recognized as such by his people.
Unfortunately, too many accept God’s message to them only after it is too late
and they are groaning under the weight of their choices. Eventually, a
rebellious Israel would recognize two truths of Ezekiel’s message: “(1) That
God in His mercy had given them due warning. (2) That [they] themselves were
inexcusable for not taking it.”[5]
God tells
Ezekiel three times in v. 6 not to be afraid. We find similar instructions by
God; i.e. “fear not,” “don’t be afraid,” etc. more than 100 times in the Bible.
However, rarely do we find the imperative three times in one verse. One of the
first things I learned in seminary was to pay close attention to things that
are repeated. The closer in textual proximity the repetition the more we should
pay attention. Three times in the same verse, especially a relatively short one,
is the equivalent of God grabbing us by the face and saying: “Hey! Are you
paying attention to this? This is really, really important!” God is warning
Ezekiel that even though he will be miserably surrounded by troublemakers and
even some who might want to see him dead as represented in the text by briers,
thorns and scorpions, he is to carry out his task without fear. “Ezekiel is
fully briefed on the negative reactions of his audience, so that their
antagonism would be no shock that reduced him to panic and consequently to
abandonment of his prophetic task…At this point, to be forewarned is to by
psychologically forearmed…Their [Israel’s] opposition in demeanor and verbal
retort was grounded in their basic antagonism to Yahweh, as a ‘rebel community’
(cf. 3:7). It is no reason for Ezekiel to fail to discharge the mandate of vv
4b-5. He must present God’s message in a forthright, take-it-or-leave-it
fashion.”[6]
God’s
instruction to Ezekiel is gloriously clear in v. 7 where he instructs Ezekiel
to speak out whether or not the people will listen. God knew the people were
rebellious and hardhearted and Ezekiel knew the people were rebellious and
hardhearted yet God’s instructions are—“Go give them My message.” Notice
something important in this verse? God doesn’t say “you should tell the
people”; he doesn’t say “you might want to consider telling the people”; he
doesn’t say “would you please tell the people.” God tells Ezekiel “you must tell the people!” In these verses
people often see God primarily as the sovereign Lord of the universe giving
orders that must be followed. However, I see something very different. As
parents of two girls, my wife and I were very intentional about providing our
girls with information in varying degrees as they grew up so that they could
make sound and wise decision. We tried to prepare them, as much as possible,
for the things they would encounter in their daily lives. We tried not to put
ourselves in a situation where our girls might someday be able to say to us,
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Of course we couldn’t foresee all the
eventualities of their lives, but we nevertheless afforded them the learned
wisdom that accompanied the mistakes we made along the way in our own lives.
Whether or not they accepted the wisdom and warnings we communicated to them,
they could never say we didn’t communicate them. I see in God’s words to
Ezekiel the words of a loving Father wanting to warn his children about the
consequences of their rebellion whether they accepted or rejected his warnings.
Ultimately, the people could never say to God, “Why didn’t you tell us about
this?” (cf. 3:17-19). Furthermore, only God can see the events to come in
perfect clarity. It’s not up to Ezekiel to judge the wisdom of God’s command to
communicate His message to the people. Once the message is communicated, “All
that remains is the traditional sign of a true prophet—the fulfillment of his
predictions. But this requires a limited chronological range for at least some
of Ezekiel’s prophecies. Little does the prophet realize that by the time he
passes from the scene, his world and the world of his people will have been
turned upside down—all in fulfillment of his word. And when the prophet’s word
will be fulfilled, the character of God will be vindicated.”[7]
God’s
instruction in v. 8 to Ezekiel is fitting as God acknowledges the moral and
spiritual depravity of Israel. Even though Israel refuses to listen to God’s
warning, Ezekiel must listen and act on God’s instructions. Even though Israel
was openly rebellious, Ezekiel must not be rebellious like the people. Very
simply, God is commanding Ezekiel to be different in the face of indifference,
abuse and rebellion by the people to whom God is sending Ezekiel. Ezekiel’s
success will be judged strictly on the basis of his faithfulness and obedience
to God’s instruction—Ezekiel can’t waste time questioning the legitimacy of
God’s instruction. Ezekiel needs to be Preparing
For Rain not waiting for rain!
“Adoniram
Judson, the renowned missionary to Burma, endured many hardships trying to
reach the lost for Christ. For seven heartbreaking years he suffered hunger and
privation. During this time he was thrown into Ava Prison and for seventeen
months was subjected to incredible mistreatment. For the rest of his life he
carried the ugly marks made by the chains and iron shackles which had bound
him.
Upon
his release he asked permission to enter another province where he might resume
preaching the gospel. The godless ruler denied his request, saying, ‘My people
are not fools enough to listen to anything a missionary might say, but I fear
they might be impressed by your scars and turn to your religion!’”[8]
From the
world’s perspective, Judson’s life and ministry appeared to be a failure as he
endured hunger, abuse and prison. However, what might have looked like a failed
ministry was really a picture of a faithful servant of God Preparing For Rain!
Application
In an agrarian
culture like the one depicted in the Old Testament, rain was seen as a
blessing. Consequently, the people prayed for rain to water their crops.
However, much work had to be done to cultivate the fields before the blessing
of rain could achieve its maximum benefit. The soil had to be tilled, the weeds
had to be pulled, the seeds had to be planed, and the ground had to be
fertilized. Preparing For Rain was
hard work yet there was never really any guarantee of rain even if they
believed that being faithful and obedient somehow obligated God to send rain.
Sometimes it would rain and sometimes it wouldn’t but the people still did the
hard work of Preparing For Rain
because they had faith that God would care for them.
I might
have mentioned this before but I’m currently using Dr. Larry Crabb’s book, 66 Love Letters: A conversation with God
that invites you into His story, as my devotional. The book repeatedly
makes the point that people, throughout history, have sought after God
specifically for the purpose of figuring out how to be happier and how to make
their lives work better. They are like a farmer that prays for rain and then
just stands outside looking up at the sky waiting for it to rain. However, Dr.
Crabb reminds us that God is not specifically interested in our happiness or
how well our lives are working. Instead, God is interested in our holiness. I
got to thinking about that and I realized that the holiness God seeks for us is
something that is cultivated much like a farmer might cultivate his field. Let
me see if I can illustrate this for you:
Till The Ground
The process
of turning over hardened soil is much like the process of turning over our
hardened hearts. Turning over the soil turns a hard surface into something that
is ready for the text step in the cultivation process. What is it that causes
the hardness of our hearts? It’s probably different for each of us but let me
just mention a few: Unforgiveness, pride, hatred, greed, bitterness,
selfishness, indifference, or arrogance. Maybe it’s one of these or if you’re
like me, it’s a combination of these or maybe it’s something completely
different. Whatever it is, you must deal with it because until you do, you
cannot successfully go on to the next step. How do you deal with it? Well it’s
just as hard as you can imagine tilling the hard ground would be without modern
farming machinery. This is something that must be ongoing in your life. Pray constantly
that God would soften your heart and give you the strength to forgive, to light
a fire in your soul to love and care for others more than yourself, to become
comfortable with the idea of not being important in the eyes of the world and
to cherish God above anything else. I promise you that if you do this you will
find that the hard work of tilling the hardness of your heart will prepare you
for the next step in the cultivation process.
Pull The Weeds
I hate
weeds! Every year I have to deal with the weeds in my gardens and in my lawn (1st
world problems!). I sometimes think that if my plants and grass were really
healthy then they would choke out the weeds. If any of you are thinking of
using that as a gardening strategy, I’ll save you the time, it doesn’t work! No
matter how healthy you think your plants and grass might be, the weeds will
overtake them and choke them out. To make matters worse, the weeds absorb the
nutrients in the soil and exacerbate the process of killing what you want to
preserve. Would you agree that sin is the “weeds” in our lives? Sin behaves the
same way as weeds; no matter how spiritually healthy we think we are or how
hard we work to be spiritually healthy, sin, left untreated, will encroach on
and eventually choke out the healthy things in our lives that we wish to
preserve. Sin absorbs the nutrients of our lives; the will and strength to
resist evil and pursue holiness. Sin must be eradicated in our lives! How?
Confession and repentance and confession and repentance and confession and
repentance! Just like the weeds in my yard return year after year that have to
be removed, so repeated confession and repentance removes sin from our lives.
Now this is by no means “cheap grace.” Cheap grace is something that comes
along with a hard heart. Cheap grace is like trying to pull a weed out of the
hard ground; usually it just breaks off at the surface and the root remains
intact and ready to sprout up again. Confession and repentance when combined
with a soft heart is like pulling weeds from soil that has been tilled. Often
the weeds have been uprooted and can simply be pulled up and discarded before
the roots have the opportunity to take hold once again. However, removing sin
from our lives through confession and repentance is much like removing weeds;
the job is never done! Nevertheless, removing sin from our lives leads to the
next step in the cultivation process.
Plant Seeds
There’s
something about planting a seed that brings an air of excitement with it. Maybe
it’s the miracle of seeing how one seed can multiply into a crop that exceeds
the original seed count by thousands and in the process produces more seed. Maybe
it is the excitement of being and perpetuating part of God’s created order. Maybe.
But do you want to know what I think it is? I think it’s the excitement of
anticipating what could be! For the believer, the Holy Scriptures is like the
seed being planted. When we immerse ourselves in the biblical text, we are
planting the seeds of holiness. We’ve tilled the soil of our hearts, we’ve
pulled the weeds of sin from our lives and now we plant the seeds of holiness
using the Holy Scriptures as we excitedly anticipate what could be. Let me just
say this, if you’re not particularly interested in cultivating a holy life then
please go back to the first step in the process because there’s some hard
ground that still needs to be tilled. If you are passionate about cultivating a
holy life then let me offer you a vision of what could be—if you were to till
the ground and pull the weeds and plant a tiny grape seed, what will grow as a
result? A grape vine! It’s a dumb question I know but I want to prove a point.
If you’re passionate about cultivating a holy life and you till the ground of
your heart and pull the seeds of sin and plant the seeds found in the Holy
Scriptures, what will grow as a result? Point made! Yet there is a very
important element missing which we will encounter in the next step of the
process.
Fertilize
I will
admit that there have been some years when we just didn’t have enough money to
make ends meet let alone buy fertilizer to spread on the ground in our yard to
feed the grass and other plants and replenish the nutrients in the soil. We
prepared the ground, pulled the weeds and planted the necessary seeds but
without fertilizer we only got a poor representation of what could have been. In
the years when we could afford it, we bought and applied fertilizer and the
result was beauty and growth that would not have been possible without it. It
is this way in our spiritual lives and the quest for holiness. In our own
strength, we are only able to produce a rather poor representation of what could
be and if we persist year after year, eventually we won’t produce anything. We
cannot successfully pursue a life of holiness using our own strength
exclusively; we’re not strong enough. What, then, is necessary? Jesus once told
his disciples that it was a good thing that he was going away because it was
the only way he could send us the Helper. At Pentecost Jesus’ followers
received what we all receive as believers, the Holy Spirit! It is the Holy
Spirit who Jesus said would lead us into all truth and remind us of the things
that Jesus said. It is the Holy Spirit who is our Comforter, our Counselor, and
our Friend. Without the Holy Spirit, we won’t go far in our quest for a life of
holiness. When we begin the process of cultivating our lives for holiness, we
will quickly find that the Holy Spirit has been at work right alongside us;
breaking down the hardness of our hearts, pulling up the sins in our lives and
planting the seeds of Truth in the fresh, clean soil of our hearts. Yet it is
only when the Holy Spirit fertilizes our efforts with His divine power that we
will begin to see the magnitude of what really could be.
We have a
choice in our daily lives, we can be like the farmer that prays for rain and
then stand outside with our hands in our pockets looking up at the sky waiting
for rain or we can be like the farmer that cultivated his field by tilling the
ground, pulling weeds, planting seeds and fertilizing. The certainty or
uncertainty of rain is the same in either case. Regardless of whether or not it
rains, which of the two would you say was serious about farming? It is the same
way in the case of our lives as Christians. We have a choice in this as well;
we can be like that Christian that prays for holiness yet pursues a life of
self-satisfaction, happiness, comfort and ease looking up at the sky waiting
for holiness to cover them like rain or we can be like the Christian who tills
the hardness of their heart, pulls out the weeds of sin from their lives,
plants the seeds of Truth found in the Holy Scriptures all the while being
nurtured by the power of the Holy Spirit. Holiness is not something we wait for
and hope grows. Holiness is something that happens as a process; holiness is in
the hard and painful work that no one notices or even cares about; holiness is
found when we stop looking for success according to the world; holiness happens
when no one is watching; holiness happens when we stop striving to make our
lives work better and start striving to make God the highest priority of our
lives; holiness happens when we value others above ourselves. I have learned
that holiness happens to me whether or not people listen to what I have to say
as long as I am faithful and obedient to what God is calling me to do. You must
learn this as well regardless of what God is calling you to do. Holiness will
not come to you just because you ask for it. Holiness will only come to you
during the process of Preparing For Rain!
[1]
Walter A. Elwell, ed., Baker Commentary
on the Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1989), p. 561.
[2]
Walter Zimmerli, Hermenia—A Critical and
Historical Commentary on the Bible, Ezekiel, Vol., 1, (Minneapolis, MN:
Fortress Press, 1979), p. 132,
[3]
Mark F. Rooker, Holman Old Testament
Commentary, Ezekiel, (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2005), p.
39.
[4]
Willem A. VanGemeren, Gen. Ed., Dictionary
of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, Vol. 2, (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), p. 26.
[5]
Ralph Earle, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on
the Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1967), p. 662
[6]
Leslie C. Allen, Word Biblical
Commentary, Ezekiel 1-19, (Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1994), pp. 39-40.
[7]
Daniel I. Block, The New International
Commentary on the Old Testament, Ezekiel 1-24, (Grand Rapids, MI: William
B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), p. 122.
[8]
Rooker, Ezekiel, p. 40.
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