785_When Heaven Opens (Ezekiel 1:1-3:15)
Ezekiel 2:8 -3:3 “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.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.
There are moments in life when everything seems to have gone wrong. A career changed, a door closed, a relationship altered, a dream disappeared, or a responsibility you never expected suddenly became yours. It makes us wonder whether God still has a purpose for us. In such moments, it is hard not to ask, “Why did this happen?” and instead, to trustfully ask the Lord, “What do You want me to do now?”
Ezekiel came through such times. As a young priest, he must have expected that his whole life would be intertwined with service to God and his temple at Jerusalem. But instead, Nebuchadnezzar’s army invaded Judah and subdued Jerusalem. Ezekiel was one of those carried away in the first wave of exile.
He found himself in a foreign land, far from Jerusalem and far from the temple where he had expected to serve God. His future seemed to have been taken away from him.
Yet there in Babylon, the unthinkable happened. In Ezekiel’s words, “the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” What looked like the end of his plans became the background to the revelation of God’s plans. Ezekiel could not control his own life, but he could respond to God’s call.
This call did not begin with an assignment, but with the revelation of God. Before Ezekiel is told what he must do, God reveals his glory to him. He sees a breathtaking vision of living creatures, wheels, fire, brightness and movement. Above all of it he sees “the likeness of a throne,” and upon the throne “a likeness with a human appearance.” Then Ezekiel says, “Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face.”
Faithful service comes from the reverent fear that arises from the true vision of God. Our willingness to obey grows out of our understanding of His greatness, holiness and authority.
Ezekiel was living among people who had lost their land, their security and their familiar place of worship. Yet the strange but powerful vision showed him that God’s glory had not departed from his people, even in Babylon. There too, God was still on the throne. Things had changed dramatically for God’s people, but he had not changed.
When our own circumstances seem confusing, we need to understand this. We may not understand what God is doing, but know he is on the throne. The interruption of our plans does not mean his purposes were interrupted. A closed door does not mean that our lives cannot move forward in God’s purposes.
Ezekiel saw the likeness of God’s glory. How much greater our revelation through Jesus the Messiah, the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of God who became visible flesh and blood for our redemption. How much stronger must our faith be after seeing in the cross the proof of his unbelievable loyalty and love towards us, in our sin-exile!
Then, as Ezekiel lies before the glory of God, the Lord speaks to him: “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And Ezekiel tells us, “And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet.”
Ezekiel is not told to convince himself that he is strong. He just needs to get up. And as he does so, God’s Spirit strengthens him. His name, Ezekiel, means “God strengthens,” and his experience illustrates the meaning of that name. God’s plan for him involved a hard task, but God would give him the strength to do it as he obeyed.
And this is encouraging for us. God does not necessarily call people because they are naturally strong, confident or capable. He strengthens those whom He calls, rather than abandoning us to do it all in our own strength.
God tells Ezekiel that he is sent to “the nation of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me.” The message will not be easy. These are people who have repeatedly resisted God. They are described as “impudent and stubborn.” And yet Ezekiel must go.
More remarkably, God tells him that they may not listen. “And whether they hear or refuse to hear—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
This is what it means to be faithful. Ezekiel’s success would not be measured by the response of his listeners. His responsibility was to deliver God’s message faithfully. Whether they heard or refused to hear, Ezekiel was to speak.
We often measure our obedience by results. We speak to someone about Christ and wonder whether they responded. We pray and wonder why we cannot see an answer. We serve and wonder whether anyone noticed. We try to live faithfully and become discouraged when others do not seem to change.
But Ezekiel reminds us that our responsibility is faithfulness. We cannot control another person’s response to God’s Word. We can only decide whether we receive it, obey it and faithfully pass it on.
And that is why God gives Ezekiel an unusual command. He tells him to eat the scroll. Ezekiel says, “So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat that you find here: eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’”
The scroll contains “words of lamentation and mourning and woe.” Yet when Ezekiel eats it, he says, “in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.”
Ezekiel does not merely carry God’s message in his hand. Before he can speak God’s Word to others, he must receive it himself. Before the message comes from his lips, it must reach his heart.
We can become very familiar with Scripture without allowing Scripture to shape us. We can speak about God’s Word without allowing it to speak to us. But faithfulness begins with eating the word. We have to let it go down deep into the innermost parts of our lives, even when that Word confronts us, corrects us or exposes things we would rather leave untouched.
God therefore says to Ezekiel, “All my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.” Only then does He say, “And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them.”
That phrase, “your people,” emphasizes the fact that Ezekiel himself is an exile. God is sending a prophet to his scattered people from among those who had experienced the same confusion and displacement. God’s providence turned exile into part of Ezekiel’s preparation.
Ezekiel’s response models the right response to God’s call. He sees God’s glory and falls in helpless humility before Him. He is strengthened to stand before the Lord, eats the word, and then goes wherever God sends him. He is warned that his hearers will be rebellious. He does not have control over the circumstances. But he is willing.
And this is what God wants from us—not a perfect understanding of the future, but a willing heart today.
You may not be where you expected to be. Your circumstances may have disrupted your all-but-certain plans. But your circumstances are not outside God’s sovereignty. The God who met Ezekiel beside the river Chebar is not limited by place or circumstances.
When life turns upside down for us, let us still gaze on Christ our Lord, and see the glory of God in his face. Let us respond like Ezekiel in heartfelt awe and obedience. Let us receive strength from his Spirit to stand before him. Let us receive his word into our hearts, however bitter the aftertaste. And when He says, “Go,” let us be willing to go, despite an unknown future, because we know the greatness of the One who sends us.
Sometimes God changes our circumstances. Sometimes He changes our assignment. But always, He calls us to trust Him. Let us live with open hearts before an open heaven, ready to hear God’s Word and willing to obey whatever He asks of us. God bless.
Take a few moments to reflect on these questions
What does Ezekiel’s experience teach you about how a vision of God’s glory should shape the way you respond to His call?
Why is it important to receive God’s Word into our own hearts before attempting to share it with others?
How can you respond faithfully to God when your circumstances are different from what you had originally planned or hoped for?
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, we confess that our circumstances do not limit Your purposes and You remain sovereign at all times. We see your glory and your love in Your Son whom you sent to us for our salvation. We hear your call to receive Your Word, following your Son and walking in Your Spirit’s strength. We are willing to obey you faithfully even when others respond with opposition or indifference. We trust you, for You are the One who strengthens and sends us. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen