A Prophet Among Them

“And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.” (Eze 2:5 AV)

And that is the whole point.  We can be guilty of preaching or teaching for results.  Not that results shouldn’t be a reason to preach and teach.  But it should not be the sole reason.  If we do, we become man-pleasers and not God’s servants.  The LORD instructed Ezekiel to go to a rebellious nation that would not listen to him no matter the message.  The truth could be there and it wouldn’t matter.  The passion could be unchallenged and they would not move in the right direction.  Consequences could be argued, but it wouldn’t matter.  Ezekiel was sent to a congregation that would have nothing to do with God.  His job was to teach and preach the word to the end that if they rejected, they would at least understand that a prophet was among them.

When Jesus sent out the twelve and the 70, he gave them instruction to make available the kingdom of God.  He did not tell them to argue, debate, or confront.  At least not to the degree that those who would reject would be adversarial.  However, when they did part ways, those witnessing were to part with the knowledge they had made available the answers to eternal life.  When we witness, it is for the hope that souls will come to Christ.  We persist in our statements and quotations of Bible verses so they will acknowledge their need for a Savior.  If they do not repent and come to Christ, does that mean we failed?  If we do not see the church pews fill or our churches undergoing a building program, does that somehow mean we are not effective?  It all depends on our priorities.  Part of what we do is to see salvation decisions.  But there is an even more important objective to preaching and teaching.  The Bible tells us the entire world will be silent and found to be liars if they dare accuse God of anything.  In order for God to be a just judge, there must be full disclosure.  In our court of law, we call this discovery.  This is when both sides present evidence to the other side so they can prepare an argument.  This is the fair way in which to hold a trial.  If the defense is not given evidence and time to develop a theory to refute it, false evidence would be the thing to do.  If the law was not able to be known, even if the law was broken, the defendant is not culpable.  There must be an adequate attempt at informing the defendant of the law and consequences before any criminal act or the perpetrator walks free.

Ezekiel was not a failure.  He preached and the people went into captivity anyway.  Ezekiel preached and no one listened.  He poured out his heart.   He had to say goodbye to his wife and was not allowed to mourn.  Ezekiel had visions regarding the end times that could change the world.  But no one cared.  What Ezekiel did do was declare the word of God faithfully regardless of who came to the altar or who did not.  The prophet never gave up.  He walked away from his meetings knowing they knew a preacher was among them.   That is all that is required of us.  If people come to Christ, hallelujah!  If not, praise be to God anyway!  I had a pastor in my former years who would shake my hand after we dismissed the service and say, “Well, amen anyway.”  I always chuckled at that.  It sounds a bit offensive if the hearer doesn’t understand what he meant by that.  Another way of putting it, which would not be appropriate for church settings would be, “Let the chips fall where they may.”  The meaning behind my pastor was that he preached his heart out and stayed true to the word of God, being led of the Spirit to say what he did and whatever the outcome, he was content with it.  A prophet was among them.  That is the right attitude to have!  Let them know there was a prophet among them and leave the results up to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.