God gives some more visuals for Israel to understand exactly what will happen to them as a result of their sin.
” ‘…take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city… And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind… A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds…’ ” (v1-2, 12)
If any of us think that following God’s words and commands is easy, please let me know – I need all of the tips I can get. Ezekiel has some interesting adventures obeying God – building a diorama and laying beside it for 14 months, balding himself and destroying the hair, and eating a scroll, just to name a few things.
God’s requests don’t always make logical sense or come with an explanation as to why He’s asking it of us (eg. march around a city while blowing trumpets). Yet, we’re not called into understanding, we’re called into obedience.
Like Abraham’s calling to sacrifice Isaac, we are tested in our obedience and faith – not because God is sadistic (which He’s not), but because He wants us to be living testimonies of Jesus’ faith and obedience. Jesus was obedient to the point of death on a cross, which He wasn’t thrilled about, but did it out of love for the Father and us. We can obey out of this same love, and God may work some unbelievable miracles through us. A wise man told me “We won’t know what’s on the other side of obedience until after we obey”.
Father God, our Wise and Discerning King, thank you for providing us many opportunities for obedience. May we partner with Your Spirit to hear Your leading in our lives, and then choose obedience, even though we won’t likely understand why we’re being called as we are. May our obedience be consistent and timely, so You and Jesus would be glorified through our words and actions. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training