The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 1 — Section 60

And now the ministers of Jesus Christ must speak his Word faithfully, irrespective of the treatment which is given to that Word. 'l'he treatment which the gospel receives from their hearers they are not responsible for; but for fidelity in the proclamation of that gospel they will be held responsible (cf. eh. iii. 16-21). IV. 1'HE DIVINE ENCOURAGEMENT IN PROPHETIO SERVICE. 1. Obedience to the Divine call demands this service. "I send thee to the children of Israel" (ver. 3), "I do send thee unto them" (ver. 4); "Be not thou rebellious" (ver. 8). The tru~ prophet, whether Hebrew or Christian, is called of God. Ile cannot decline the service without grievous unfaithfulness and disobedience. He is encouraged to fulfil it by the fact of the Divine commission; for he who calls strengthens and sustains his servants. 2. .Attention to the Divine exhortations strengthens for this service. " Be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words," etc. (ver. 6). This exhortation implies that he who gives it will defend his servant. "Be not afraid of their faces; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord" (Jer. i. 8; and see Matt. x. 26-31). 3. The assurance of its vindication encourages in this service. "They, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, yet shall know that there bath been a prophet among them." Because of his covenant relation to the children of Israel, the Lord will send his prophet unto them. "His testimony, the tidings from him, must be heard in the midst of Israel." The declaration of that testimony was a proof of the fidelity of the Lord to his covenant engagements. .And the people should know the genuineness of that testimony. Those who truly heard it would know, by blessed experience of the resuHs of obedience, that a prophet had been among them. .And those who rejected it would know by bitter experience, know to their confusion, that a prophet bad been among them, and that his words were true. So also shall the mission of every true Christian minister be vindicated, as we see from 2 Cor. ii. 14-16. CoNCLUSION. 1. Let those who have received a mission from the Lord be encouraged to fulfil it. (Cf. 2 Tim. ii. 1.) 2. Let those to whom the Word of the Lord is preached "take heed how they hear."-W. J. Ver. 9-ch, iii. 3.-The vision of the roll; or, a view of the proplietic message. ".And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me," etc. 1'his section concerning the roll of prophecy must be looked upon as beiug of the nature of vision. It pertained not to the external and material, but to the internal and spiritual. It suggests the following observations concerning the prophetic message. I. THE PBOPHETIO MESSAGE IS BEOEIVED FROM THE LORD, ".And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a. book was therein; and he spread it before me." The volume was unrolled before him that he might become acquainted with the Divine commission given to him; "undertake hill mission with a clear consciousness of its difficulty;" and know the Word of the Lord which he was to proclaim. He was not to promulgate his own thoughts, opinions, or convictions (however true or noble they might have been); but the things which were revealed to him by God. "Thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. ... .And thou shalt speak my words unto them" (vers. 4, 7). And the Christian minister is to "preach the gospel" (Mark xvi.15), to "preach the Word" (2 Tim. iv. 2), after the example of the apostles who, "when they had preached the Word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, a.nd preached the gospel," etc. (.Acts viii. 25). "They ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ" (Acts v. 42; a.nd cf. 1 Cor. i. 23; 2 Cor. iv. 5; Eph. iii. 8; Col. i. 27, 28). II. THE PROPHETIO MESSAGE IS BOTH LONG AND MOURNFUL. The roll was "written ,vithin and without: and there was written therein lamentations, a.nd mourning, and woe." This roll is intended to represent the book of the prophet. 1. lt was long. "Written within a.nd without." Such was the extent and fulness of the rnvelation that the one side, which generally was alone used for writing on, was insufficient to contain it; both sides were required. 2. It was mournful. "There was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe." A correct description of many of the prophecies of this book. How mournful was the moral condition of the people as set forth by the prophet I How woeful the judgments which he proclaimed unto them! Very often the Word of the Lord by the prophets was in fact a heavy "burden" (cf. Isa. xiii. 1; xv. 1; xvii. 1; xix. 1; Nab. i. 1; Hab. i. 1; Zech. ix. 1; xii. 1: 46 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [ou. m. 1-27,