About this sermon
A Morning Instruction class on Ezekiel 3:4-15. Ezekiel is sent not to a foreign people of strange speech but to the house of Israel, who will not listen because they are hard-hearted, and the Lord makes his face as hard as theirs. Among the first wave of exiles, he is carried by the Spirit to the exiles at Tel-abib by the river Chebar, where he sits overwhelmed for seven days, bitter in spirit. On what may have been his thirtieth birthday, when he would have begun as a priest, he is called to a hard prophetic ministry instead.
Sermon transcript
Turn the recorder on. We must understand that Ezekiel is still overwhelmed by what he saw in chapter one. He has God speaking to him. He has a revelation of God sitting on a throne. He sees these four living creatures, which are a type of angel. He is overwhelmed by this. Remember that he actually just fell down on his face. earlier and God lifted him up by his spirit. He is one who is overwhelmed right now. What’s going on is he’s receiving his marching orders and he’s being told what he has to do. He is entering into prophethood. We also must remember he has just eaten a scroll. He ate a scroll that was full of lamentation and woe, written on both sides. God says to him, you must eat this. And so he eats the scroll, and it was sweet to him.
Now, we come to really the first section of the day, which is 4 through 11. as deafness, not literal deafness. These are people who are spiritually deaf and don’t want to hear what he’s going to tell them. Ah, another detail I should mention, one we ought to regularly remember.
He’s not in Israel. He is one of those who is taken over by the Babylonians. One of the first people who’s been taken over by the Babylonians, probably at the time between the massive taking over of all of the Judahite people, he’s one of the first exiles there. They come in waves. He’s probably part of the first wave. The next one, the big one, is going to come a little bit later. So he has to minister to people who are exiled and who are very angry.
And those are the deaf people that we’re going to read about. Being exiled because of their disobedience, it has not changed them, has not changed their hearts. They are spiritually deaf, and they are not going to respond. Now, it’s interesting that it is not that they are not able to respond, in a sense. It is that these people are not prepared to listen.
You may have noticed when we began to read that, you might have noticed something that you find a lot in your Bible is a comparison of the Israelite people or the Judahite people with the other nations. We see that often in the word. Is that ever flattering when the people of God are compared with the other nations? No, it’s never flattering. They are always on the bad end of the stick and deservedly.
I mean, understand this nation is to be a city on a hill. This nation is, and I’m talking about ancient Israel, not talking about America, I’m saying that the ancient Israelite nation was to be something that all the nations would look to and say, wow, what an amazing nation that is. And what a wonderful God they have. And look how holy and righteous they are. Instead, they end up worse than those other nations. It’s interesting when we look at Verse six, which starts in verse five. I ought then to look at verse five.
For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel. We’re gonna stop there just a moment. Okay, where’s he being sent? He’s going to be sent to his own people. But this verse six really is a dig at the Israelite people. nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language whose words you cannot understand. For I, but I have sent you to them who should listen to you.” I think the idea here is that these people will not listen. That’s what he’s being sent to.
If he were to go to another nation, there would be a language barrier, right? But at least those people would have the decency to listen. They would at least give him a hearing, even if they didn’t understand him. There seems to imply that they would be gracious enough to not be rude. His own people are not going to listen at all. Now, remember that there are times when God sends someone to another nation And they do hear. Think of your minor prophets. Most famous minor prophet. Think of Jonah, right? There’s a man who is sent to another people. Why did that happen?
To show that, again, the other nations will listen, but you will not. What we ought to understand here is that A language barrier can sometimes, well, a language barrier is always easier to overcome than the hardness of hearts. Nothing can overcome the hardness of a heart except for God’s grace. Now, we get the description of them in verse seven. of the Israelite people, yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you. See, at least those other nations would, since they are not willing to listen to me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate.
The literal reading of this, they are strong of forehead and hard of heart. might not read as strongly to us if it were just a literal translation, but that’s the most literal reading. Strong of forehead and hard of heart. Now we might think of those things and think, well, it makes sense, we can talk about someone being stiff-necked or hard forehead and have a hard heart, but what God is talking about here is how he expects the people to be. And he’s diagnosing them, comparing them with how they really are.
In Deuteronomy 6, 8, Moses writes, you shall bind them, that is the words of God, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. The forehead is a place that is to be a sign of someone’s submission. The forehead is a place that someone in ancient Israel would show that he loves God. Remember, they would take scripture verses and they would have them, they would wear them on their hands and on their forehead. That’s what they ought to have had, the word of God, on their forehead.
No, do not have the word of God. They have hardness, stubbornness, a strong forehead. Deuteronomy 11, 18, talking about this as well. You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul. And you shall bind them as a sign in your hand, on your hand rather, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. So, your forehead should show that you love God.
These people are showing their foreheads demonstrate that they hate God. They will not listen to him. They will not listen to his prophets. Isaiah 48, four says, because I know that you are obstinate and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead of bronze. These people are unblushingly brazen. Jeremiah 3, 3. Therefore, the showers have been withheld, and there has been no spring rain. Yet you had a harlot’s forehead. You refused to be ashamed. So, we’re going to put ourselves in Ezekiel’s mind at this time, and think, what’s going on in his mind?
Is he saying, I am so happy about my 30th birthday? Not really, this is probably his 30th birthday. He surely understands that these people are going to be against me. It probably feels like God is going to be against him. I mean, this is being called to something that’s not going to be fun.
Now, it’s interesting to think about missions at a time like this, and we can discuss It just in general, well, have you ever heard people say, well, why would anyone want to go to another nation to preach the gospel when there are people perishing here? You’ve heard someone say that. Say, well, there are people perishing all around us. Why are we spending all this money to send to another place.
Yes, Tim. Certainly. He did. There are some people who would be thinking economically, though, that it costs a lot less. We were called to everywhere. We ought to go here. We ought to go elsewhere. I think Some people are called to a ministry to stiff-necked people. And some are called to a ministry of fruitfulness. Now, obviously, ministry to a stiff-necked people. There’s fruit in his ministry. It just doesn’t look the same.
But each person is called to ministry each person who is called to preach God’s word, that is, and we need to seek to look at it, I think, with God’s eyes, that faithfulness is not necessarily found in numbers, and also, it’s not necessarily found in converts. I mean, imagine if, If God were to tell, God didn’t do this, but God were to tell a modern day preacher, I’m calling you to ministry, and you’re gonna have no converts. Imagine that, imagine, whatever you think of Billy Graham, but God were to come to him and say, I’m gonna make you, a preacher who’s gonna have no converts. You think, well, maybe I’d be better off fishing or at the plow.
No, you have to do this. Well, I’m not sure that he wants to do this. Now understand, Ezekiel, his personality, as we read Ezekiel, he is an obedient person and he’s not a complainer, right? He is not that emotional, Jeremiah. Very emotional, he’s weeping. He tells in chapter 20 about, he’s almost accusing God.
You’ve deceived me, God. I don’t want to preach, you make me preach. I don’t want to, you make it as if there’s a fire in my, a belly, a fire in my bones. So I go preach and what happens? Everybody’s against me, everybody’s mad at me. He complains to God.
There were times in Puritan history where people used to do Jeremiads. Anyone know what a Jeremiad is? It’s a type of prayer, just of lament. It’s named after Jeremiah, right? It’s not called an Ezekiel ayat or anything. I mean, it’s Jeremiah. He receives it. He takes it on the chin. He is affected by it, we’re gonna see in just a little bit, but no complaints.
We understand that sometimes someone is sent to a place and they see many people turn from their wicked ways, think of Jonah, but other times someone goes to their own house and they are not received there. Jesus says, a prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house. Let’s look at 12 then. 12 through 15. Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me.
Blessed be the glory of the Lord in his place. This is what he is hearing. He is lifted up. from this overwhelming, we could say, multimedia experience. He has experienced sights and sounds, smells, tastes, and touch that we will never, ever experience this side of eternity. The next side, when we are resurrected, yes, We will see these kinds of things, and I can’t wait. But aren’t you glad that you will see them without the frailty of this body and the sinfulness and unrighteousness of this body?
This is a man who sees them with all the frailties and is overwhelmed, the spirit lifts him up, just as the Spirit had set him on his feet before. Ezekiel 2, 2. Remember that this is the second time that God has done this. As he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. So God is one who is picking him up. Now, he lifts him up and he takes him to Tel Aviv.
Now we don’t wanna mix this up. We don’t wanna confuse this with another town that sounds very similar, which is Tel Aviv, right? Now in Hebrew, they exactly, Andrew, they sound the same. They sound the same. In Hebrew, they’re even closer. Right, David? Because there’s a letter that The B and the V sound. It’s got to have a dot in it and a dot out of it.
It changes the sound, but they’re in Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, not in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is modern day Israel. Tel Aviv is a place where they are exiled. And Tel Aviv is the place that he is going to minister. This is probably in modern day Iraq is where he is exiled. Now, what is the meaning of Tel Aviv?
How about this for a name? It’s a good thing that it’s short, the name, because its meaning is very long. Think of small town left over from the flood. How do you like that? That’s where he’s gonna go. Small town left over from the flood. Right? It’s kind of like, it sounds like it’s just the remnants of a town.
Because they’re in slavery. The Babylonians come, take them. We are the top empire in the world now. We are the Babylonians. Hear us roar. And they make these people work in the hot sun. They’re not gonna give them a luxurious, nice house. They’re giving them small town left over from the flood. What flood? I don’t know, it doesn’t say, it doesn’t need to. It’s just the meaning of the name of the city.
Not an exhilarating place to go and do ministry, right? You know, when you listen to people who have grand dreams of ministry, sometimes when they are not really being realistic. I was in the charismatic movement for a while. Everybody wants to have just the most amazing ministry, and I’m gonna reach the whole world myself, and I’m gonna have Brett Malin ministry. It’s gonna be international, No, it’s not Ezekiel.
Just called to such humility and to such, so little, to a small town left over from the flood. Now, what’s his response to all of this? He’s been called, he has bitterness, and he is angry in spirit. He’s bitter and angry. He has God’s word in him. Well, let me just say this. Let me just back up. What does he mean by that? This is 14, pardon me, lost my place.
So the spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me. What do you think he must mean? Well, I might point out, first of all, that this is one of the few times where we get how he’s feeling, very much unlike Jeremiah, right? He is embittered, he’s raged, he is mad, the Holy Spirit is taking him. What does it mean for him, or why is he angry and bitter? Well, could be. Some people would say that he’s bitter and angry because he has eaten God’s word.
Has he not remembered he eats the scroll and it’s full of lamentation and woe. When he eats it, it’s sweet to him. unlike John in Revelation who it’s bitter and then sweet. John gets both. We’re not told by Ezekiel that it’s bitter when he eats it. But it may be the case that Ezekiel is beginning to feel the bitterness of what he has eaten. That is to say, he is bitter and angry because the word of God has gotten into him. And it was sweet, but now he is beginning to feel God’s anger, right?
Because it’s an anger against these people. Some would propose that that is what it is. I think, but the majority of people that I see don’t believe that it’s bitterness from having the word of God in him, that lamentation and woe, taking those on, but instead that he is bitter at God for the unenviable task, that unenviable task before him where he may feel like God is against him and he will feel like man is against him, his people whom he loves. Now this word bitter, just to give you an idea of how he feels.
How do you feel, Ezekiel? It’s the same word that is used when Esau is robbed by his brother. That’s the kind of bitterness. Right? This is the same kind of bitterness, same word that is used to talk about the Israelites being enslaved, Exodus chapter one. They are in bitterness.
Or, remember what Naomi says in Ruth chapter one? She says, don’t call me bitter, or excuse me, don’t call me Naomi anymore. I want to have a new name. Anyone remember what her new name was? Mara. Yes. Well, guess what the word is? Mar. Mar is bitterness. That’s the agony of Job, is Mar. That’s Esau robbed. That’s the Israelites enslaved. With the feminine ending, ah, she’s saying, don’t call me Naomi. Call me bitter with a feminine ending. That’s my new name, all right?
His word about being angry, that’s about a word that can mean or is elsewhere used of boiling heat, boiling water. This is a bitter and angry man. We might put ourselves in his shoes once again. His 30th birthday, he had hopes of being a priest working in the temple. That dream is gone from him, it’s not going to happen. But here it is, it’s his 30th birthday, he’s an exiled man. Well, could he have still been in some sense a priest out in Tel Abib and by the River Kibar? He could have, in a sense, continued to work as a priest, he certainly would have had an easier life.
The people might have brought him thank offerings anyways. Imagine these people are displaced. They’re going to keep some of their customs. And they’re going to keep some of their habits. I would think that if he were to work as a priest outside of the land, they’re gonna bring things to him. Well, that’s Ezekiel, he’s a priest. We need to bring him something because we have X, Y, and Z to be thankful for, and we’re going to bring a thank offering to him.
Instead of having a little bit more casual life, working as a priest in a displaced land, he has to preach to these people. and they are going to hate him for it. It is bad enough to be exiled, but now he will be alienated from his people by preaching to them.
Understand, his alienation seems to come in steps. First, he’s alienated from the land, which is where God is, right? Well, God comes to him and says, I’m here. I am here with you in this exiled place. But he’s going to be alienated by the people to do strange things, to lie in the street and be just a, what a lot of people would think of almost a sideshow. This is what he’s being called to. This is a man who bears the cross before anyone ever said bearing the cross. He’s enduring that. Well, yes. Question, please.
I don’t think so. I think that different time period and a different culture, but I think we’re all people and we all have the image of God and we all think strange things are strange. I don’t think there was, I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that that wouldn’t, that that would have been normal behavior.
I mean, he’s trying to make a point. In a lot of ways, he’s a sign. of what God’s going to do. And so no, I don’t think so. I think that he’s called to be a weirdo. He really is. And I don’t say that, I guess that has a bad connotation to it. From God’s point of view, it ought not to. You do what God says, no matter how strange it is. Lie in the street, on your side for X number of days, and then after a number of days you turn over. Marry a prostitute. Hosea, same kinds of things. God asks us to do, or asks prophets to do strange things. and they have to obey, and it’s strange for them, strange for us, strange for their contemporaries. Tim. Yes.
Was Job on his side though? I don’t think Job was… I think Job was just sitting and looking down and his friends come to him after that. I mean this is… Yes. Yes. But he sits in bitterness. And here’s one who sits in bitterness as well. We ought not to end on a negative note. We ought to understand that the good days are coming. Ezekiel 40 through 48 are coming when God dwells with his people again and when the new temple comes. And the people are that temple. Okay, well, it’s 1040. We ought to…
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