Ez. 3-4
Curious, that a scroll filled with “lamentation and mourning and woe” (Ez 2:10), would be sweet as honey in Ezekiel’s mouth.
God told Ezekiel, “…go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them…..But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you” (Ez 3:4,7a). God gave Ezekiel a task that he was told would fail. The key thing here, though, is that God gave Ezekiel a task. He was expected to obey. God made it very clear that the success or failure of Ezekiel’s efforts was not his weight to bear. If he failed to do the task he was given to do, however, the consequences were on his head. Obedience, not results, is what God desires from us. It is nice to know, though, that God promised to help Ezekiel by making him as stubborn as the rebellious people to whom he was sent. May I, too, be as stubborn for God as others are against Him!
I have mentioned before God asked His prophets to do some really hard things, and Ezekiel is no exception! But wow – all that being tied up so he can’t roll over for well over a year, with rationed bread and water, and his only complaint is that he doesn’t want to defile himself by cooking over human dung! Now THAT strikes me as a man who fully understands what’s important in life!!
1 Tim. 3
Paul told Timothy many of the same things that he told Titus. This adds weight to his words, as it shows consistency in his message. And he does confirm here my thought from the other day that a Church leader will not be fit to care for God’s Church if he cannot manage his own family.
The qualifications for overseers and deacons that Paul lays out are high standards. Quite frankly, I don’t see too many who seem to qualify (not that my circles are overly large). That’s not a condemnation on my part, just an observation. Life is messy and rarely ideal. Based on these standards, I would find myself just as unfit for such service as the next guy. Still, it’s a little sad for me to think that finding someone – even in the Church – who fits these descriptions seems a fairly impossible task these days.