The Strangest Prophet

He said to me: Mortal, go to the house of Israel and speak my very words to them. For you are not sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel-- not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you. But the house of Israel will not listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me; because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. See, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. Like the hardest stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not fear them or be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. He said to me: Mortal, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and hear with your ears; then go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them. Say to them, "Thus says the Lord God" whether they hear or refuse to hear. - Ezekiel 3:4-11

Of all the prophets, perhaps Ezekiel was the strangest.

God gave him a nearly impossible assignment for a human being.

We all want to be heard. We like to believe that people are listening to us when we speak, but that was not promised to Ezekiel.

You would think that they would listen if I sent you to speak to them, but that's not necessarily so.

They won't listen to you. They wouldn't listen to me. They are hardheaded and hard hearted. But as Ezekiel says in Ezekiel 4, your job is to tell them anyway. Speak the word that I give to you.

Here's the message Ezekiel say to them.

And here it is, it's in quotes. “Thus says the Lord whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

That is the prophetic preface.

“Thus says the Lord God.”

You have a message from God.

Now if you have something to say and you believe in your heart that God has given you that message to say your only responsibility is to say it, you don't have to manipulate people. You don't have to force them, coerce them, or do anything to force them to receive the message.

You just deliver it.

That can be discouraging. And that's why God needed a man like Ezekiel who was cut from a different cloth. Say it and say it consistently, persistently, compassionately, patiently, faithfully, and don't stop.

If you'd like to talk with me personally about this or some other subjects go to my site on Link tree https://linktr.ee/tomsims and sign up for a free 30-minute consultation. Put yourself on my calendar. I'll send you a zoom link. We'll have a great talk.

I'm saying this on January 18th, 2024.

I do not know where I will be a year from now, but I'll still be, if I have breath, saying I have a message from God for you. Listen to it. Sort it out. Check it out. Talk to him about it. See if I'm right. And if so, I do with it what you will.