He Who Hears

8/28/2009

Ezekiel 3:27 27 “But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.” New American Standard Bible

Wheels, wings, hands, heat, and hooves – I have no idea what Ezekiel was talking about other than this: he prefaces all of this by saying, “I saw visions of God.” My response is, “Oh!” God is indescribable and when someone tries, it sounds like nonsense.

I don’t think we’re supposed to understand what Ezekiel saw but we are to understand what Ezekiel said, and he said, “Thus says the Lord God…” And he also said, “He who hears, let him hear.” In other words, he who sets the course of his life and the heart of his purpose to hear, will hear! There is intentionality to Ezekiel’s words from God and only those with intentionality will listen.

Two of the more difficult books in the Bible are Ezekiel and Revelation because they speak of things that we don’t readily understand but that is no excuse not to listen and perhaps glean something of value from them. So I will set my heart to at least listen to what was written by Ezekiel and John and trust what they saw and tried to describe as the result of their own inability to state it plainly. But I will also ‘hear’ the words God spoke to them and look for the things I can understand and apply to my life – words like: ‘To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’ Sounds good to me!

Father in Heaven,

What a marvel it is that You have chosen to dwell with us lunkheads! What grace You’ve shown that You’ve given us Your word – and yes, some of it is hard to understand; but then who really understands You? Ah, but You’ve chosen to dwell in the heart of the one who believes You and obeys You and that is enough for me. I’ll think about the difficult stuff and try to understand but I’ll cling to the simple stuff and trust that I am to love You, serve You, and share Your love with my fellow man. Help today to do just that – I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.