Ezekiel 2:1-7 Pentecost 7B
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
July 7, 2024
Stand Up and Speak for God! The 34-year-old pharmacist had become a successful military general, racking up important victories in the Revolutionary war. It was not without difficulties, however. He had two horses shot out from under him in one battle. He suffered two significant leg injuries. To make things worse, others took credit for his for his success, so he was not getting the recognition he deserved. At home, his wife Margaret was spending money like crazy, putting them deep in debt. Bitter and broke, he brokered a deal with the British to become a spy for them with the intent to capture George Washington. Eventually, some of his traitorous documents were discovered, and Thomas Jefferson put out a bounty of 5,000 gold coins for his capture. He escaped and fled to London where he lived until his death in 1801. This is how the traitor Benedict Arnold became the poster boy for disloyalty in America. You can imagine the hatred and disgust the leaders and the people had for him. Now think of the disgust God has when people are disloyal to him in spite of his many blessings—most importantly, the gift of his love and forgiveness in his Son! This disloyalty goes on today among people who had loved him. It has always gone on. God’s people in the northern kingdom of Israel felt the wrath of God when they abandoned him. The Lord had the nation of Assyria blow through the land in 722 BC, taking the Israelites captive and moving them to other countries never to return. The southern kingdom of God’s people—the land of Judah, where Jerusalem was—didn’t learn a thing from that. They continued to pursue false gods, leaving the LORD behind. So, the Lord sent the big, bully nation of Babylon to defeat them and take them captive. Having previously been warned that this would happen if they didn’t get their spiritual act together, and now living in captivity, you would think that God’s chosen people would have learned, but they continued to reject God. Ezekiel was the prophet God sent to them in the middle of all this—still trying to get them to repent and come back to him. What we see today is how the LORD called Ezekiel to speak for him. And we can’t help but see how the LORD hasn’t changed when it comes to having his people speak for him today. Like with his prophet, 1. He Prepares You to Speak (1-2) 2. He Calls You to Speak (3-7) 3. He Will Work Through What You Say (5,7)