“But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.” (Eze 2:8 AV)
The prophet receives the same word that the people do. The word of God that comes to Ezekiel is the same word he shares with the rebellious. The same words of judgment are the same for both. Because there is potential for rebellion, God warns the prophet not to react to the word of God like the people to whom he was sent. The phrase “take your medicine” comes to mind. Ezekiel was not guilty of the things for which he was sent to warn. The people had rebelled against God. They were in captivity because of it. Ezekiel was by the river Chebar in Babylon. He, along with Jeremiah and others, were prophets to the people of Israel in captivity. It would be easy to understand an adverse reaction on the prophet’s part. Since he was not guilty of that which the people suffered, was not there because of his personal sin, loved the LORD, and served the LORD, any word of correction might not sit well with him. After all, why should he be warned and corrected when he was not nearly as wicked as the people to whom he was sent? The reasons could be numerous.
My Mom had eleven children. When one was sick, she assumed to some degree, we all were sick. If one came down with a cold, we were all in the process of coming down with a cold. When one had the pox, we were all going to come down with it. In fact, she got to the point that when one was ill, she would gather us all together so we could go through it together and get it all over with all at once. This meant we took our medication regardless of how sick or health we were. If one was coming down with it, she couldn’t let it drag out for eleven weeks. Nope! We were all going to have a puke bucket by our beds. We lined up. We all took our cough medication. We all had vitamins at breakfast time. We all drank extra orange juice. Everyone had a vaporizer in his or her room. It mattered not that we would never come down with the crud. In my mom’s mind, if we were not sick enough to show, we were still sick. So, no matter how well we were, we had to take our medicine.
The prophet could resent the implication that he was indeed guilty to the same degree as the people. The prophet could become defensive that God would deal with his people in such a severe manner. The prophet could resent the implication that he would have the potential of being as rebellious as the people to whom he was sent. It is a difficult thing to sit in the congregation to which you minister and hear words from God meant for you as well. It is hard to be a preacher and have to acknowledge you are no different from the people to whom you are sent. Pride has a way of working into the heart of the messenger. I haven’t known a messenger who was free from this struggle. Every pastor under whom I served struggled with this. I struggle with this. So, if we all struggle with this, we can understand the LORD’s words to the prophet. Take your medicine. You may not need it right now, but think of it as preventative maintenance. Ezekiel was required to internalize the message sent to captive Israel and not react in a spirit of rebellion. Ezra and Nehemiah did the same. They internalized the words of correction sent to remnant Israel even though they had never partaken of the sins of the people. If the messenger is going to stay well, he has to take his medicine even though he may not feel sick. So, open wide!
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