“And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ezekiel 2:5 ESV)
Once Ezekiel saw the great vision of the Lord, recounted in the preceding chapter, he was ready to receive his commission. The vision gave him strength as well as the certainty that he was doing the Lord’s work. The people to whom God was sending him, the rebellious people of Judah, were stubborn and obstinate. Nevertheless, he was to proclaim to them what God told him. Although the people would not like the message, Ezekiel was not to compromise it to suit his audience. The righteous would listen and heed the Lord’s warning and turn to Him. The wicked would not turn from their sins and idolatry and would be destroyed. The time for negotiation was over. Judgment was coming and there was no stopping it.
We,like Ezekiel, are called to preach the gospel to our own people and warn them all of the dangerous consequences of sin. If people will not hear what we have to say, if they abuse us or persecute us, they will be held accountable for their own actions. But if we refuse, then their blood is on us. To inspire us to carry out this task we have the vision of our awesome God as seen through Ezekiel’s eyes. Considering that the omnipotent and omniscient God is ever present with us, there should be no reason for us to fear what man will do to us or that we will not have the right words to say. Those who reject the Lord’s Word we present ought to be the ones who are filled with fear because through us they have met Almighty God and rejected His love. Hopefully that fear will cause them to accept God’s offer of grace and mercy through Jesus our Savior.