“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)
As the Lord God sends us forth to preach the gospel, He sets up divine appointments for us. He sends us out to people He desires to speak to but uses us to do it. We are His ambassadors, His representatives. We may preach the gospel to them, or maybe not. We may mention the name of Jesus or not. One thing is for sure, when they have met with us they have met with Jesus Himself in and through us. Hopefully we would leave them with the awareness that God is loving and compassionate, slow to anger.
When the Lord commissioned Ezekiel to be a prophet to the rebellious house of Judah he knew he was going to a stubborn and obstinate people. 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, repent 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.
The words the Lord used to describe Judah, “a nation of rebels” is an apt epithet for our own society and culture. Our society, so steeped in sin and rebellion against God, is as stubborn as Judah. We, like Ezekiel, are called to preach the gospel and warn all people of the dangerous consequences of sinful lifestyles and actions. If people will not hear what we have to say, if they abuse us or persecute us, they will be held accountable for their actions.
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. We pray that the love of God will cause them to accept His gift of grace and mercy through Jesus our Savior.