Thus calls the Lord!

By Paul Lintern, Editor, the Joyful Noiseletter

Each day, I pick a scripture verse to reflect on, based on the month and day of the year.  For example, on February 4 (second month, fourth day) I rather randomly picked Ezekiel 2:4 - The people also are impudent and stubborn. I send you to them, and you shall say to them, "Thus says the Lord God."

This verse jumped out at me because of the word impudent, a word I do not use very often, although I suppose I could, given the impudence that is exhibited in abundance in our world today (nothing new, really).  

It means offensive boldness. Insolent, which is the speech side of it, displays the rudeness, arrogant speech, the presumptuousness, the disrespect and the impertinence, which is what exceeds the limits of good manners and propriety, which is conformity to prevailing cultures and usage, of polite societies.

Other versions call the people obstinate, stiff-hearted, brazen-hearted, stubborn, a veritable plethora of variations on impudence! And this is to what God is calling Ezekiel. 

"I will put the words in your mouth.  Your words will be my words.  You will be my mouthpiece.  Just open your mouth, I'll do the rest," God is telling Ezekiel, in this epic career change moment. 

He was already a priest; now he is a prophet.  He did not apply -- pretty sure he was not keen on the idea -- but faithful he was, and obedient he was, and willing to be ridiculed by impudent, obstinate, stubborn, brazen-hearted people, because God showed him enough for him to know that he could stand up to the impudent with God's backing.

“Ezekiel, I've got your back!”

Impudent, insolent, impertinent, impropriety -- all these im- and in- words can only mean rebellion and error and waywardness and disobedience by the people who should be pudent, solent, pertinent and proprietous to the one who brought them out of slavery, saved their bacon countless times (even though they can't eat bacon), and gave them a homeland, promised centuries earlier. 

Ezekiel's call by God is spectacular, worthy of a Super Bowl halftime show, but the life of messaging for Ezekiel is anything but super. It was exactly what would be expected when having to confront impudent, obstinate, brazen-hearted people. 

But this I know; Ezekiel was not trying to impress the people and earn their praise and adoration; he was being faithful, and letting the quips fall where they may. God knew that Ezekiel was the right one for the job; and we are the better for it, once we set aside our brazen hearts, and impudence.

And obstinance and insolence and stubbornness and impropriety, and whatever else pops up in my brazen-heartiness.  If you'll excuse me, I have a lot to hand over to God right now.

You do, too.

To sum:

Im-words, In-words, block my way,

To what the Savior has to say,

Breaking through a brazen heart,

Ezekiel says, that's where to start!

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