George Orwell appropriately stated that “declaring truth in an age of universal delusion is a dangerous act.” Perhaps this is what makes us so hesitant to proclaim the whole counsel of God. The sovereignty of God should impact or prayers, our everyday actions, and our witness. Why are we prone to such ignorance and levity when we talk about the judgment of God? The life of Ezekiel is permeated by a long obedience, a bracing clarity, and a profound experience of the reality of God’s presence and purpose. This is confirmed by certain phrases and statements that continue to reverberate through his inspired writings.
Ezekiel was both a prophet and a priest. He is even given the title and the responsibility of a watchman. But throughout the book that bears his name he is called the “son of man” (69x). This surely speaks of his humanity, but obviously points to the Messiah, the member of the Godhead who would come in the flesh to be the perfect representative of both God and man in the story of redemption.
He experienced “visions of God” (4x) concerning the “glory of God” (12x). Ezekiel experienced a heightened focus of the overwhelming majesty, magnificence, and might of God while he was in the midst of the condition of exile marked by catastrophe and confusion. This resulted in extreme humility, repulsion of idolatrous practices, a persevering hope, and a specific commission.
Ezekiel sensed the “strong hand of the sovereign Lord upon him” (21x) as a result of the “Word of the Lord that came to him” (50x) and the “spirit of the Lord that came upon him and lifted him up” (10x).
The entirety of the message of Ezekiel was that every soul belongs to God and is accountable to God. God has revealed Himself in ways for anyone to understand and respond. The fact that He has communicated is found in the phrase, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says” (198x). Regardless of how any human responds to this, they will know in the end that it was “the Lord who was speaking to them” (84x) and they will be held to account for it.