Ezekiel 20:45-49: a reflection

45The LORD’s word came to me, saying, 46“Son of man, set your face toward the south, and preach toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the south. 47Tell the forest of the south, ‘Hear the LORD’s word: The Lord GOD says, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree. The burning flame will not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned by it. 48All flesh will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it. It will not be quenched.”’” 49Then I said, “Ah Lord GOD! They say of me, ‘Isn’t he a speaker of parables?’”

God gives Ezekiel a message of judgment in the form of a parable about a forest fire, and Ezekiel's response reveals a frustration prophets often felt. Ah, Lord GOD! he says; they are saying of me, Is he not just a maker of parables? The people were not heeding his message; they were dismissing it, writing it off as mere riddles, obscure sayings not to be taken seriously. Rather than hearing the warning, they explained it away as the strange talk of a teller of parables.

Notice how the people evaded God's word: not by openly rejecting it, but by dismissing it as obscure, irrelevant, not worth taking seriously. He just speaks in riddles, they said, and so excused themselves from heeding what he said. It is a subtle way of refusing God's word, not arguing against it, but finding a reason to dismiss it, to file it away as unclear or unimportant, and so avoid its claim on us.

That is a temptation we know. When God's word confronts or challenges us, one way to avoid it is to dismiss it, to decide it is unclear, outdated, hard to understand, not really meant for us, and so excuse ourselves from heeding it. Like Ezekiel's hearers, we can write off what we do not want to hear as mere obscurity. But dismissing God's word does not make its claim go away. Do not explain away God's word to avoid its challenge. When it confronts you, resist the urge to file it under obscure or irrelevant, and instead take it seriously, hear it, and heed it. God's word is not mere parable; it is meant to be obeyed.

Lord, the people dismissed Ezekiel's message as mere riddles, evading your word by writing it off rather than heeding it. Guard me from that subtle refusal. When your word confronts or challenges me, keep me from explaining it away as unclear, outdated, or irrelevant, filing it under things not worth taking seriously. Help me not to dismiss what I do not want to hear, but to take your word seriously, to receive it, and to obey it. Your word is not mere parable; help me heed it.