In this chapter Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy against the false prophets who are misleading God’s people.
” ‘…prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying… from their own hearts… Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! …You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle… They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, “Declares the Lord,” when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, “Declares the Lord,” although I have not spoken?’ ” (v1-3, 5-7, abr)
I am hearing a two-fold warning in this passage for us today: do not falsely represent the Lord God Almighty and His word, and be discerning when people use God’s authority / words.
The first part is fairly straight-forward as we seek to only proclaim truth about God and His works / words. We can strive to give God all of the glory, and not use any of His words / works for our own self-promotion or private agenda.
The second part is significantly harder, especially if we haven’t gone deep with God. The less we know about scripture, and the weaker our relationship with Jesus is, the more easily we will be fooled by false teachers.
If we’re struggling in either of these areas the simple solution is this: spend time with God, Jesus and the Spirit in prayer and scripture. Dive in as deep as we can, hiding God’s word in our hearts, and relying on the Spirit for discernment. When we do this false teachings are far easier to spot and avoid. We’re also far less likely to misrepresent God or His word. It’s a win-win.
Father God, our Wise and Powerful Lord, thank you for Your many gifts upon us, including Your Spirit of interpretation and discernment. May we lean in closely, and spend time with You, so we may not misrepresent You to others. May we also learn Your heart so we don’t learn falsehoods from others. May we earnestly seek Your wisdom and guidance in all things at all times from this moment on. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training