Blood On Hands
Daily Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 1-3
Daily Focus Passage: Ezekiel 3
The prophet Ezekiel received the call of the Lord to declare God's message to the people of Israel and the pagan nations. The Lord provided Ezekiel with the message to declare to the people and would hold Ezekiel responsible for his obedience in sharing the message of the Lord. We have received the Great Commission from the Lord in a similar fashion. We are to declare the message of the Lord to the people so that they may have the opportunity to respond.
THE AUDIENCE
The prophet received the target audience of the people of the Lord. The people lived in rebellion against the Lord. They needed to hear from the Lord, repent of their waywardness, and return to the Lord. Likewise, the prophet received the target audience of the pagans. Thus, the prophet received the commission to target all people with the truth of the Lord. In the Great Commission given to us, we receive the target audience of all people.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Ezekiel received a scroll from the Lord, and the Lord commanded him to take the scroll and eat it. Ezekiel obeyed and found the scrolls sweet as honey. The message of repentance is a sweet message for the people in need of repentance. The prophet spoke from the internalized Word of God and shared the sweet message of repentance with the targeted audience. Likewise, we must feast upon the Word of God to share the gospel's good and sweet message with our target audience.
THE ANSWER
The prophet did not hold the responsibility for the response of the people. The people would hear the message declared and either receive or reject the message of the Lord. The prophet's answer had to be, "Yes, Lord, I will go and share." If the prophet refused to answer God's call, then the blood of the people's eternity would be on his hands. Yet, if he would obey, then the blood would be on the response of the hearers. The same is true today. When we neglect to go and share, we have people's blood on our hands. When we go and share, we place the responsibility on the hearer.
The Lord has given us a message and a command to share the message with the nations. Like Ezekiel, if we refuse to carry out the task, then the blood of others is on our hands. When you consider your life, are you sharing the sweet message of the gospel, or are you standing with bloody hands?
