Context No. 3698 of 4322 · Ezekiel

Ezekiel 3:22-27: in context

22The LORD’s hand was there on me; and he said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and I will talk with you there.” 23Then I arose, and went out into the plain, and behold, the LORD’s glory stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar. Then I fell on my face. 24Then the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me, and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25But you, son of man, behold, they will put ropes on you, and will bind you with them, and you will not go out among them. 26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and will not be able to correct them, for they are a rebellious house. 27But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.”

God gives Ezekiel a strange commission: he will be bound, unable to move freely among the people, and made mute, unable to speak, except when God opens his mouth to give him a word. Then he is to declare, thus says the Lord GOD, and let whoever will hear, hear, and whoever will refuse, refuse.

There is a striking picture here of the prophet as one who speaks only what God gives him, and only when God gives it. Ezekiel's muteness meant he had no word of his own to offer, no opinion to add; he spoke solely the word God put in his mouth. This is a model, in an intense form, of faithful speaking for God: not our own words but his, not our own agenda but his message. And it is not the prophet's job to force a response; he faithfully delivers the word, and whether people hear or refuse is between them and God. Our task is to speak God's truth faithfully; the response belongs to the hearers and to God.

When I speak for God, do I offer his word rather than my own agenda, faithfully delivering his truth and leaving the response between the hearer and God?

Sources

Ezekiel 3:27: "When I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall tell them, This is what the Lord GOD says. He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse."
Ezekiel 3:17: "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Hear the word from my mouth, and give them warning."
Jeremiah 1:9: "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth."