Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 1-4.

I love the beginning of Ezekiel.  It starts with his vision of the four living creatures and “the likeness of the glory of the Lord.”  This is followed by Ezekiel’s call to be a prophet.  I truly believe that much of Ezekiel’s call applies to most of us.  We have not been called to people of obscure speech and strange language,  Rather we have been called to speak God’s words to people whose language we understand and who understand the words we speak.  Then there is the image of the scroll which Ezekiel is given to eat, the words of which he is to speak to the people.  I have long understood that to mean that God is telling Ezekiel that he needs to take God’s words into his heart to live by them before he speaks them to others.  Perhaps I should state that a little differently.  We need to accept that the words which God gives us to speak to those around us apply to us as much as they do to them.  Let us take God’s words into our hearts, bodies, and minds so that they nourish us and guide our steps just as we speak them to guide those around us.  There is one more part of Ezekiel’s call that we need to take to heart.  When we see those around us doing evil that will result in their harm, if we do not warn them, God will hold us accountable for the harm they suffer.  If we do warn them, perhaps they will change their ways and avoid the harm, but even if they do not, God will hold us blameless for the harm they suffer.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.