“To them you are nothing more than an entertainer singing love songs or playing a harp. They listen to all your words and don’t obey a single one of them.” Ezekiel 33:32, GNT

 

The Bible is an unparalleled collection of books. Prose is alternated with poetry, wisdom with history, lists of commands with beautiful stories. Even people who do not believe in the Bible can enjoy reading it purely for its literary value. One of the most beautiful books is that of the prophet Ezekiel. It is full of metaphorical writing and poetry, but of even greater importance is the special way that the prophet brings God’s word to his people. He was in close contact with God as can be seen from the many times that we read, “The Lord spoke to me.” Many times when the Lord spoke to him it was part of a vision.

 

Ezekiel was with the first group of exiles taken from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC. He was a priest and, therefore, a person of high standing. In the country of his exile, he was called by God to become a prophet. He did this for more than 20 years and relayed every word that he received from God to the people.

 

It is obvious from the preceding verses, that he must have been a very good orator. In Ezekiel 33:31, we see that people flocked to him in great numbers to hear what he had to say. The problem was that although they enjoyed listening to him, they very seldom heeded his words. They probably discussed it amongst themselves for some time and then forgot it. They enjoyed it so much that it could be compared to listening to beautiful music, but alas, it meant nothing more to them than just that. As our verse tells us, they listened to all his words but did not obey it.

 

How do you and I listen to the Word of God? If we listen and enjoy it but do not put what we have heard into practice, it is nothing more than a beautiful melody that is soon forgotten.

 

Prayer: Our prayer today is that you will show us where and how we can make your word visible in what we do for other people. Amen