Monday, May 30, 2016

Year 6, Day 150: Ezekiel 24

Theological Commentary: Click Here


Discipleship Focus: Prophet

  • Prophet: A prophet is one of the fivefold ministry categories that is used throughout the Bible and especially lifted up in Ephesians 4:11. The prophet is primarily concerned with whether or not the people are hearing the voice of God.  The prophet is also concerned about whether or not the people are responding to God’s voice.

In this chapter, Ezekiel’s wife dies.  Ezekiel goes into mourning.  In fact, Ezekiel also becomes mute for a while.  Ezekiel is unable to put his grief into words.  This is truly a sad moment in scripture.

This is also a very neat moment in scripture.  Israel is often said to be God’s bride.  Yet in this moment in history, God’s bride is going into exile.  The Hebrew nation is ceasing to exist – temporarily, of course.  God’s bride is dying. Can you imagine His grief?  Can you imagine how God felt watching His people reject Him so much that they embraced exile rather than turn to Him?

This is what it means to be a prophet.  God’s prophets get a sense of feeling what God feels.  God’s prophets get a taste of what God sees and hears and does and thinks.  Sometimes this is an incredible experience.  Sometimes it is an experience of mourning and sorrow.  In all times, though, the prophet of God gets a taste of what God experiences as they try and bring God’s ways to the people.

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