To them you are nothing more than one who sings love
songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your
words but do not put them into practice (Ezekiel 33:32).
Ezekiel was a rock star. The prophet was enjoying a season
of popularity. He was benefiting from positive word of mouth advertizing, and well
on his way to going viral. His audience was telling others about him: Come
and hear the message that has come from the Lord (v. 30).
In spite of his growing celebrity and the exuberance with
which he was received, there was no evidence of changed lives among his
listeners: [They] sit before you to hear you words, but they do not put
them into practice (v. 31). The people received him with surface
enthusiasm, but his message never made the journey from their heads to their
hearts.
But God had a somber assignment for the prophet. He told
Ezekiel to give the people the bad news about Jerusalem’s defeat, and to let
them know that Judah would become a wasteland and, furthermore, to make sure
they know this is all the consequences of their own behavior.
God didn’t call Ezekiel to be popular. He called him to
prophesy. When all this comes true – and it surely will – then they will
know that a prophet [and not a rock star] has been among them (v. 33).
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Speaking the truth can be
difficult. Have you ever pulled a punch to preserve your own popularity? How’d
that work out for you? What are you going to do next time?
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