Knock Knock. Who’s There? – Part 2
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel.” [Ezekiel 1:28b-2:3a]
Ezekiel first caught a vision of the Lord, and then he responded by worshiping Him. The next step in his call to ministry, the third one, was to hear the Lord speaking to him. So it was with Ezekiel. The Lord directed Ezekiel to stand up and receive the Word of the Lord.
By way of an aside let it be noted that “God” didn’t call Ezekiel to the ministry. Look at the text again and see for yourself. “The Lord” gave the call. The word “God” refers to the high and mighty Creator, He Who is far above man and unapproachable by us. The word conveys deity in an impersonal aspect.
The phrase “the Lord” is quite different. In the original Hebrew “the Lord” is not a generic term or an expression of deity. It is the actual name of Deity, aka YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah. When the phrase “the Lord” is used it conveys Deity as personally involved with man in a covenantal relationship.
Ezekiel’s call to ministry was personal involvement with the Lord. He was called to serve the Lord, and it doesn’t get any more personal than that! Hence the identifier “God” would have been out of place in this case. Ezekiel was called to the Lord’s personal service as His prophet.
The Lord told Ezekiel to stand up before hearing the Word of God. It would be easy to see no significance in this…except for the fact there was crucial significance! The Word of God which Ezekiel was about to receive was his call to ministry from the Lord.
Here’s the thing, dear friends. Too many Christians believe they receive the Lord’s call to the pastorate, for example, only to take their ease and bask in the accolades heaped upon such a holy man of God. The ministry has no place for lazy folks, or for seekers of fame and fortune. The ministry is a position of work, hard work, grueling work. The fainthearted need not apply!
There is a time and a place for everything. The time to worship the Lord must perforce precede the time to serve our fellow man. Still, the time to worship must draw to a close and we must rise from our knees, if we will ever get around to serving our fellow man. We cannot float on a silver cloud while playing a golden harp forever. What use would we be?
Answer: we would be of no use at all! Perhaps we should pause at this point, in order to cogitate on this very point. Tomorrow we will bring this study to a close.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Ezekiel first caught a vision of the Lord, and then he responded by worshiping Him. The next step in his call to ministry, the third one, was to hear the Lord speaking to him. So it was with Ezekiel. The Lord directed Ezekiel to stand up and receive the Word of the Lord.
By way of an aside let it be noted that “God” didn’t call Ezekiel to the ministry. Look at the text again and see for yourself. “The Lord” gave the call. The word “God” refers to the high and mighty Creator, He Who is far above man and unapproachable by us. The word conveys deity in an impersonal aspect.
The phrase “the Lord” is quite different. In the original Hebrew “the Lord” is not a generic term or an expression of deity. It is the actual name of Deity, aka YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah. When the phrase “the Lord” is used it conveys Deity as personally involved with man in a covenantal relationship.
Ezekiel’s call to ministry was personal involvement with the Lord. He was called to serve the Lord, and it doesn’t get any more personal than that! Hence the identifier “God” would have been out of place in this case. Ezekiel was called to the Lord’s personal service as His prophet.
The Lord told Ezekiel to stand up before hearing the Word of God. It would be easy to see no significance in this…except for the fact there was crucial significance! The Word of God which Ezekiel was about to receive was his call to ministry from the Lord.
Here’s the thing, dear friends. Too many Christians believe they receive the Lord’s call to the pastorate, for example, only to take their ease and bask in the accolades heaped upon such a holy man of God. The ministry has no place for lazy folks, or for seekers of fame and fortune. The ministry is a position of work, hard work, grueling work. The fainthearted need not apply!
There is a time and a place for everything. The time to worship the Lord must perforce precede the time to serve our fellow man. Still, the time to worship must draw to a close and we must rise from our knees, if we will ever get around to serving our fellow man. We cannot float on a silver cloud while playing a golden harp forever. What use would we be?
Answer: we would be of no use at all! Perhaps we should pause at this point, in order to cogitate on this very point. Tomorrow we will bring this study to a close.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
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