Ezekiel 2:3,7,8

Ezekiel 2:3,7,8 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth … Well, this is a tough way to begin the book of Ezekiel. But the whole book of Ezekiel is a hard book. Ezekiel was a prophet in Israel just as the Babylonian army was sweeping over the country. Israel had been a rebellious nation, and God had to punish them. God allowed Israel to be taken into captivity and their king murdered. The capital of Jerusalem was defeated and the beautiful temple destroyed. And God sent Ezekiel to remind the people why these terrible things were happening: God was punishing them because of their rebellion against Him. Wow! That was a hard lesson for them to learn! And that is a hard lesson for us to learn. We should listen to God and obey Him. Let’s not be like Israel and disobey God; let’s obey God.