Prophecy – Ezekiel 1-6

Today, we raise the curtains on a new book. This is something I find very exciting because to me, it is akin to watching a play opening and unfolding. This is especially so for today’s book because its protagonist is a prophet whose life can be said to be a play depicting the further tragedy that would befall the rebellious Israel.

Literary enthusiasts may recall Shakespeare’s well-known lines in his comedy ‘As You Like It’. They go like this:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,

Act II, Scene VII, 147-150

While non-believers may play the stage according to their own whims and fancies, we who believe in the sovereignty of God seek to play out our lives according to His directions in the Bible.

Let us now read the passage for today and consider what we can learn from Ezekiel in our lives as players (i.e. actors) playing out our lives under the direction of God.

Bible Passage:  Ezekiel 1-6

Whew! That was a really long passage wasn’t it? Don’t worry though; I’m not going to inflict a thesis on everyone today no matter how tempting it is. 🙂

God’s Player Because of Love

Let’s first start where the book starts, where ‘the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel’ (Ezk 1:3). Why ‘came expressly to Ezekiel’ and not just ‘came to Ezekiel’? The word ‘expressly’ connotes that it was done for a specific, distinct purpose which is to warn the people of the result of their transgressions and to be a watchman.

Doesn’t this resonate with the reason for us receiving the Word of God today?

When we read the Bible, attend theological courses and Bible seminars, listen to sermons and so on, do we do so for this purpose or merely to increase our knowledge?

To the Corinthian church that was ‘enriched in all knowledge’ (1 Cor 1:5), Paul says, ‘Knowledge puffs up but love edifies’ (1 Cor 8:1). Thus as we enrich ourselves in the Word of God, let us remind ourselves that we do so out of love, to save others as well as ourselves so that the knowledge we acquire does not puff up but edify instead.

The Preparation of God’s Player

Like any good player, Ezekiel first received and digested his script; stage directions and all. The Bible says that the supreme director, God, told him,

“Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” (Ezk 3:3)

He also said,

“Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.” (Ezk 3:10)

Being an obedient player, Ezekiel did so and God continued to instruct him in the role he was to play.

If we do not know about the life of Ezekiel, we may think, at this time, that he is about to play an admired and much appreciated role for his script was ‘like honey in sweetness’ (Ezk 3:3). God’s instruction was in the contrary however, because Ezekiel was told that the rebellious Israel would not listen to him.

Maybe he had felt like Snoopy in the comic below.

The people refusing to listen to him did not absolve him from having to play his role faithfully however.

Ezekiel’s difficulty can be reflected in our lives today. While it is a natural human instinct to want to have a popular and well-like role to play, sometimes we are like him, preaching to people who are impudent and hard-hearted, people who do not like us. Yet like Ezekiel, we have to obey God and persevere in the role He appoints for all of us which is that of being the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

The Sacrifices of God’s Players

Besides having an unappreciative audience, Ezekiel also suffered many inconveniences and even humiliation in his role as God’s player.

This started from having to lie on his left side then on his right and not being able to turn. For those restless sleepers, I’m sure you can imagine what a torture this would be!

Then, for those who enjoy your food, imagine having to eat the food that is normally given to animals and cooking this food using cow dung as fuel!

Finally, for those who take pride in looking good, imagine having to shave yourself!

Horrifying? Yet, these were all the things Ezekiel had to do in his role.

The question we should ask ourselves now is whether or not we are willing to make sacrifices as players of God. As we continue reading the book of Ezekiel, we will find that he stayed faithful to his role and did what God directed him to despite the sacrifices he had to make. It is our reminder that as we play our various roles today, we must be willing to make sacrifices to play them well so that the people around us…

‘shall know that [God] is the LORD’ (Ezk 6:14)