Mountain of Myrrh

Whether They Hear...

“You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse…” Ezekiel 2:7

I’m enrolled in a class right now that is studying the book of Ezekiel, and I was assigned to read chapters 1-5 and outline them. I was reading just to get an overview of what I was dealing with, and this phrase grabbed my heart: “…whether they hear or whether they refuse…”

God says this three times in chapters 2 and 3 of Ezekiel. He ends Ezekiel 3 with a statement that rings with unsettling finality, “…He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse…”

I was surprised at how much my heart recoiled at this phrase. I want to speak God’s words to people—and then they hear. As much as I want to rightly perceive and proclaim the word of the Lord, there’s something in me that still is squirming and fighting, something that wants to make it palatable. There’s something in me that still coddles to the fear of man, wanting to present something to the world that will be broadly accepted. He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses… well, shouldn’t we soften things up a bit to try and convince him? Shouldn’t we find a less confronting, gentler way to win him over? Don’t we need to meet him in the middle? Can’t we negotiate on this one a little bit, Lord?

But God didn’t leave Ezekiel that option. He says, in no uncertain terms, “You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse…” (Ez. 2:7) God wasn’t interested in gaining anyone’s approval. He was interested in turning their hearts. He wasn’t concerned about public relations; He wanted corporate repentance. He wasn’t seeking good polls so He could be elected as president; He was calling for a heart change so He would be loved and revered as God. Well-meaning prophets tried to deliver a message that would set forth only His kindness in Jeremiah 23:16-17, and ended up completely misrepresenting His heart. They spoke of peace and prosperity to those who were rebelling against God, when the cry of the Lord’s heart was to warn them of impending disaster to drive them to repentance. These prophets disobeyed the Lord, compromised their own message, and strengthened the wicked in their evildoing in one fell swoop. God doesn’t want publicists and spin-doctors; He wants messengers who will deliver His word rightly—whether the people hear, or whether they refuse.

Yet it’s important to recognize that God wasn’t calling Ezekiel to cause people to refuse any more than He was expecting him to make them hear. God wants to reach out to human beings. He doesn’t get sadistic pleasure out of offending and angering people. Jesus Himself rebuked the teachers of the law for “laying heavy burdens on men’s backs,” in regards to the commandment of God (see Luke 11:46). He indicts the priests of Malachi’s day for causing “many to stumble at the law [the word of God]” (Malachi 2:8). God’s zeal and love for His people thunders through Jeremiah 23:1, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” God’s goal is not to wound and offend, and He does not take it lightly when His messengers uphold that as their objective.

However, His goal is to do whatever it takes to get through to hardened hearts. He sees things from a perspective we’ll never fully know. He knows precisely what it will take to win hearts to Himself, and He knows who will believe and who will refuse.

The point is that God means what He says and says what He means. I have no need whatever to apologize for Him or assist Him with His tact. My part in the process is to agree with His heart, to long for His desires, and to love like He does, no matter what the message. My part is to speak faithfully what He has given me to say. It is my job to speak the words that He gives me. It is His job to turn the hearts.

So whether they hear, or whether they refuse, I must speak His words…

posted by Amanda @ 10:36 PM