Ezekiel 13:1-23, True messenger of God's Words
Ezekiel 13:1-23, True messenger of God's Words
Chapters 12-24 of Ezekiel deal with the judgment of Judah and Jerusalem. Today, he speaks of the characteristics and judgment of false prophets and tells us to live truthfully. First, what are the 10 lessons (Cooper) about false prophets?
1) 1-3,17, They spoke out of their own will, not God’s will.
2) 4, They made the people a prey instead of performing a ministry for them. They scavenged among ruined lives for personal gain and self-gratification.
3) 5, They had no crisis ministry. They could not strengthen the breaks in the walls (i.e. people of nations) or fortify broken lives.
4) 6-7, They claimed their revelations were divine to deceive their followers and easily deceived others because they were deceived themselves.
5) 6-9, They failed to stand against sin and declared an empty message without truth.
6) 10-12, They preached a message of peace, property, and safety in the face of imminent judgment because they failed to relate the consequences of sin.
7) 13-16, Their ministry provoked the wrath of God and invited his judgment.
8) 17-21, They often used false methods and occult practices to legitimize their work and control their victims.
9) 22-23, They encouraged iniquity by word and personal example.
10) 14:1-7, They set up the worst idols, their own self-will.
On the contrary, a true prophet is a messenger who delivers God’s word. It is important for him to receive God’s word, but it is even more important to deliver it well. He delivers the word he received from God with a single mind, boldly and completely, with the sole purpose of delivering the word of God. This is because God’s will is delivered to people through him. Our ministers are people who follow the will of the One who called and established them. In other words, God told them to shepherd His sheep on God’s behalf. When doing this work, ministers should not have other intentions. Their only role is to care for the sheep. No matter what difficulties we face, we must live by worshipping God and serving the church well. May we all become blessed saints who hear, preach, and practice the true word. Amen.