Lesson 8 July 23 Page 54 A Present-Day Illustration Ezekiel s Call Where is my niece? Isn t she going out with us to eat? Rodney asked Cynthia, his sister. I come over to see my favorite college student, and she s up in her room? _ Trecie is studying her Bible right now, Cynthia said. I believe she s fasting, too. I haven t seen her eat in a little over a day. _Just as her mother was exiting the living room, Trecie came bounding down the steps and ran into the arms of her favorite uncle. Uncle Rodney! _ How s my favorite niece? Rodney asked, swinging the five-foot Trecie around. How is school? _Rodney and Trecie sat at the kitchen table and talked until Cynthia came in and announced she was ready to go eat. _Back in her room, Trecie continued to study the Bible. She had plans to break her fast at 6:00 p.m. How she had enjoyed feeding off the Word and being in close communion with the Holy Spirit. _The Lord had given her such insight on being courageous. Last semester, she had tried everything to get along with her peers. She hadn t wanted to offend anyone with her faith, but she could no longer swallow her testimony. _Trecie had repented and asked God to use her. She wouldn t be obnoxious. But she wasn t going to keep Jesus to herself any longer. Trecie would say what the Lord told her to and leave all the consequences to Him. 1. In what ways have you studied God s Word? 2. How have these studies guided you in sharing the Gospel with others? 3. How does Scripture spiritually nourish you so you can remain faithful in your walk with the Lord?
Week of July 23 Page 55 God s Command to Eat a Scroll Ezekiel 3:1-3, KJV 1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. Ezekiel 3:1-3, NIV 1 And he said to me, Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. 3 Then he said to me, Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it. So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. Ezekiel was exiled to Babylon in 597 b.c., and in a dramatic vision he saw the Lord come down to speak to him as he stood by the Kebar River in Babylonia (Ezek. 1). He became God s spokesperson to the second wave of Jewish exiles deported by King Nebuchadnezzar. Being the son of a priest (1:3), Ezekiel was certainly familiar with God s desire for His people to be faithful to Him and holy in their daily lives. Therefore, it would not be surprising to Ezekiel that the Lord would be upset with the rebellion and immorality of His people. What undoubtedly did astound Ezekiel was that the almighty Creator came to him and commissioned him to such a momentous task! God referred to His spokesperson as Son of man (3:1). This underscores Ezekiel being a mere mortal, especially against the backdrop of the Creator s eternal existence and omnipotence. The scroll (vs. 1, NIV) that God commanded the prophet to consume is first mentioned in 2:9. In ancient times, this would have been a roll (KJV) made out of either papyrus or leather parchment. On each side of the document were recorded cries of anguish and announcements of disaster related to Jerusalem s impending demise. The reason for this dire outcome was the insurrectionist demeanor and conduct of God s people. This was not a one-time episode, but a recurring pattern of
Week of July 23 Page 56 obstinacy reaching back many generations. Regardless of how unresponsive the Israelites remained when they heard Ezekiel s declarations of judgment, he was to remain courageous and resolute in fulfilling his prophetic ministry (2:3-7). God repeated His command two more times for Ezekiel to eat the scroll (3:1, 3). Despite whatever misgivings he possibly felt, Ezekiel was warned against defying the Lord s will (2:8). The proper response was for him to ingest the messages recorded on the scroll. And then, having internalized its contents, he was to proclaim God s oracle to the people of Israel. Thankfully, Ezekiel obeyed the Creator. The prophet took the document and consumed what it recorded. As a result, Ezekiel s stomach (vs. 3) was filled. He recalled the scroll having the sweetness (KJV) of honey in his mouth. 4. What did Ezekiel experience when he ate the scroll? 5. What did Ezekiel demonstrate by eating the scroll? God s Command to Herald His Message Ezekiel 3:4-11, KJV 4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. 5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; 6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. 7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and Ezekiel 3:4-11, NIV 4 He then said to me: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel 6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole
KJV Week of July 23 Page 57 hardhearted. 8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. 11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. NIV house of Israel is hardened and obstinate. 8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. 10 And he said to me, Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. 11 Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, This is what the Sovereign Lord says, whether they listen or fail to listen. Even if Ezekiel would have preferred to delay in carrying out his prophetic ministry, God removed that option. He commanded His spokesperson to proceed to the people of Israel and deliver the Creator s message (Ezek. 3:4). It was a grim oracle to the exiles residing in Babylon. These were not individuals who spoke an unintelligible language (vs. 5). Instead, Ezekiel would be the Lord s representative to His chosen people. Verses 5 and 6 make reference to a strange speech (KJV) and hard language. The emphasis is on whether the dialect being spoken was clear and coherent. On the one hand, the Israelites could grasp what Ezekiel proclaimed. Even so, they would reject his oracles. On the other hand, if God s spokesperson heralded His message to foreigners, and if they could comprehend what Ezekiel said, they would readily heed his warnings (for example, see Jonah 3:4-5). The Creator explained that the Israelites would spurn Ezekiel s declarations because they refused to pay attention to the Lord (Ezek. 3:7). He literally described His people as being hard of forehead and hard of heart. Together, these
Week of July 23 Page 58 idiomatic expressions point to an impenetrable obduracy in the Israelites thinking, feeling, and will. Ezekiel was powerless to change the inwardly cold and antagonistic attitude of his peers. He had to rely on God to dislodge the Israelites from their defiant ways. In this regard, the Lord promised to make His messenger s face as adamant and his forehead as strong-willed as his peers (vs. 8). Indeed, Ezekiel s forehead (vs. 9) would be comparable to the hardest stone (NIV) and even denser than flint. Flint refers to a massive, hard quartz. Perhaps verse 9 also has in mind diamonds, which of all the common minerals known to people is harder than flint. In any case, the idea being conveyed is that Ezekiel s brow would seem as impenetrable as the hardest rock found in nature. This unbending disposition would enable God s spokesperson to remain resolute in the face of Israel s stiff opposition. Ezekiel learned that the exiles were embittered toward God and entrenched in their iniquity. This fact explains why they refused to heed the Lord s warnings of judgment. Their intransigence did not deter Him from sending His prophet to them. Ezekiel was to remain attentive to what the Creator disclosed and remember what He revealed (vs. 10). It did not matter whether the exiles in Babylon obeyed or rejected the oracles God s spokesperson declared. Ultimately, they were disdaining the message from the all-powerful Monarch of the universe (vs. 11). As long as Ezekiel internalized and assimilated God s Word, the prophet would be able to boldly proclaim His message to the Israelites. 6. What was the nature of Ezekiel s prophetic ministry to the house of Israel (Ezek. 3:4, KJV)? 7. What attitude did God s people display toward Him and Ezekiel? 8. How could Ezekiel deal with the disappointment of his oracles being spurned by God s people? 9. Why was it imperative for God s spokesperson to listen carefully (Ezek. 3:10, NIV) to Him?
Week of July 23 Page 59 The Stott Legacy One of the Christian giants of the twentieth century was John R.W. Stott (1921 2011). He wrote many best-selling books, among which is Basic Christianity (1958), an enduring classic of Christian literature. He was one of the principle authors of the Lausanne Covenant (1974), an evangelical manifesto that affirmed evangelism of the Gospel throughout the world. Moreover, evangelicals recognize Stott as one of the foremost advocates of Holy Scripture both in his writings and sermons. We must allow the Word of God, said Stott, to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior. In 1938, Stott was confronted with Revelation 3:20, in which Jesus calls us to open our door to Him in order to eat with Him. Stott opened his door to Jesus and fed on His words throughout the rest of his life. In 1945, he was ordained and later became the rector at All Souls Church, an Anglican evangelical church in London, where he served for about 25 years. During this time as well as during his retirement, he founded ministries in order to spread God s Word internationally. When he passed away, his closest friends read the Bible, and in his obituary he is portrayed as an architect of 20th-century evangelicalism [who] shaped the faith of a generation. Stott s faith was anchored on God s Word. It nourished and guided him so that he could proclaim it boldly to all the world. And he insisted that when people surrender their lives to Christ, that they do likewise. We need to encourage new believers to feed on God s Word, said the evangelist Billy Graham. It is nourishment for the soul. 10. How does the character of people who have a deep faith in Jesus inspire us to study God s Word? 11. How do you find direction in God s Word for what He wants you to do and say? 12. What would you like the people closest to you to say about your Christian faith when you have passed away? Explain your answer.
Week of July 23 Page 60 I Will Feed on God s Word When the Lord called Ezekiel, He wanted the prophet to digest the message in order for it to nourish him for the hardships he would soon endure. It is no less important for us today to study and digest God s Word not only to be guided in our own calling but to share its message with others who need to hear it. On an index card, write the days of the week and then create a schedule for daily feeding on God s Word either by yourself or with others. On the back of the card, pledge to study God s Word and share it with others. Throughout the week note how God s Word has nourished and guided you and helped you to boldly tell people God s message of salvation in Christ. KEY VERSE Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. Ezekiel 3:10-11, KJV And he said to me, Son of Man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, This is what the Sovereign Lord says, whether they listen or fail to listen. Ezekiel 3:10-11, NIV DAILY BIBLE READINGS FOR NEXT WEEK S LESSON (See The Quiet Hour and Cross devotionals on these passages.) July 24 through July 30 Mon. Deuteronomy 7:7-11 The Elect Keep the Commandments. Tues. Jeremiah 28:10-17 Hananiah Opposes the Prophetic Message. Wed. Amos 1:1-2; 3:12-15 An Oracle against Israel. Thurs. Amos 5:10-15 Seek God and Live. Fri. Amos 5:18-24 Let Justice Roll Down like Waters. Sat. Amos 7:10-17 Called to Prophesy to My People. Sun. Amos 9:11-15 David s Kingdom Restored.