| THE SAD TRUTH |
| Ezekiel became popular overnight - but the praise was empty. |
| "My people come to you . . . and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice." 33:31 |
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| God warned Ezekiel it would be a terrible job. Nobody would listen to his message. He would find his own people "hardened and obstinate" (3:7). And how would God help him? "I will makeyou as unyielding and hardened as they are" (3:8). As a result Ezekiel lived a lonely life. Those few who believed his prophecies expected nothing to happen in their lifetime (12:27). People thought of Ezekiel as someone just telling stories (20:49). They couldn't believe that God would let Jerusalem fall, as Ezekiel was stubbornly predicting. Then, after years of prophecy, news came that Babylon had conquered Jerusalem (33:21). Suddenly Ezekiel was popular. People talked about him, flocked to hear his words, expressed devotion. But they listened to Ezekiel without changing their hearts. He was just someone "who sings love songs with a beautiful voice" (33:32). The people heard his words but did not put them into practice. A Dreadful Message In some ways, Ezekiel could sympathize with the people's negative attitude. He did not like his message either; sometimes it horrified him. Twice, seeing God's judgment, he fell facedown in horror, crying out (9:8; 11:13). When God told him to cook food on human excrement, a symbol of defilement, he was too shocked to agree (4:14). When his wife, "the delight of his eyes," died, he was not even allowed to weep (24:15-24). Ezekiel had to subordinate ordinary human emotions to the unpleasant task God had given him: to tell the truth, |