TEXT: Ezekiel 2:1-10
1. And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious.
But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house; open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without; and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
KEY VERSE:
“And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.” – (Ezekiel 2:6)
DCLM Daily Manna 8th August 2021 MESSAGE:
In her bid to restore England to Roman Catholic religion, Queen Mary of England burnt not less than 288 Protestants at the stake for their faith. One of such was the top reformer, Bishop Hugh Latimer of Worcester. Here is what he told the officer that was sent to fetch him to London for trial: “My friend, you are welcome; I go as willingly to London to give an account of my faith… And I doubt not but as the Lord made me worthy formerly to preach the Word before two excellent princes, he will now enable me to bear witness to the truth before the third, either to her eternal comfort or discomfort.”
Prophet Ezekiel was forewarned that he was going to encounter briers, thorns and scorpions for his unpopular prophecy to Israel. The people had become so rebellious that they would not regard his warning of impending divine judgment in the hands of the Chaldeans. But the prophet was encouraged to ignore their hostile attitude and preach God’s undiluted truth to them, at least, to leave them without excuse.
Our world is increasingly becoming rebellious and God-rejecting. Although many have become more intolerant of the gospel truth today, the Lord has commissioned us to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2). We should not be deterred by persecutions or the unreceptive posture of the people we preach to.
Saved and consecrated to God, the Lord expects us to courageously take the gospel message to the unsaved and rebellious. You may encounter briers, thorns and scorpions but do not be discouraged. We have the promise of God’s presence and power to deal with them. Only preach the Word to turn men from their dead gods to the living God.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Courageous preaching will prick the sinner to penitence.
