“At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.” Ezekiel 3:16-19 NLT
“The hand of the Lord was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. 24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people. 27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.” Ezekiel 3:22-27 NLT
Lord of Life,
I am spending a little more time in Ezekiel as I read through the Bible this year (Chronologically), because it is full of contradictions, colorful visions and drama and truth. Here in one chapter You call Ezekiel to speak out and within a few verses You silence him. He sees Your glory again and it is so overwhelming he falls facedown again. That is so amazing, so shocking? he falls down as if dead. Not a faint or a staggering fall but a shock face down fall! It takes Your Spirit to revive and strengthen him. Reminding us how great You are and how weak we are. Even the strongest of us.
To be told to shut himself in his house, tie himself up and then be struck dumb by You, Extreme. But then I think Ezekiel was someone interesting who people watched to see what he was doing and saying. A character we would call him.
Perhaps they came to see if he was still silent and then they would hear the message clearly when he spoke. Sometimes it is not volume that has effect. Sometimes silence is valuable and necessary. Lord You had such a close relationship with Ezekiel and he was so obedient. And he was not afraid to be thought a fool for You. And he saw Your glory.
Small as I am, send Your Spirit, the same Spirit You sent to lift Ezekiel, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11) to lift me up and help me hear and follow You.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen
Worship Saturday 30th August 2025
I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it’s okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say
Word of God speak
Would you pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see Your majesty
To be still and know that you’re in this place
Please let me stay and rest in your holiness
Word of God speak
I’m finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice
Word of God speak
Would you pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see Your majesty
To be still and know that you’re in this place
Please let me stay and rest in your holiness
Word of God speak
I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it’s okay
Lyrics: Bart Millard, Pete Kipley, Peter C. Kipley