Student Devotion Week 43: Ezekiel: Sent To Warn

Key Verse: Ezekiel 33:9, "But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself."

Don't people frustrate you when their words don't match their actions? One celebrity campaigned against sport utiltity vehicles because they use too much gas, yet he flew in a private jet and rode in limousines. Are you ever guilty of speaking God's message but not living it? God instructed Ezekiel to live what he preached.

God chose Ezekiel to be a prophet five years after the babylonians took Judah into captivity. He was called a watchman by God and was given the task of speaking about God's judgment and the future hope for the restoration of God's people. God described Ezekiel's audience as hard-hearted and stubborn. God also warned Ezekiel of the danger of becoming like his audience. By simply "practicing what he preached," Ezekiel could avoid that danger.

Ezekiel used unique ways to present God's message. Once God told Ezekiel to lie on his left side for 390 days to represent 390 years of Israel's sin. Then God told him to lie on his right side for 40 days to represent 40 years of Judah's sin. Ezekiel spent more than a year lying on his side.

God called Ezekiel to minister during some of the darkest days of Israel's history. His message was that God's glory had departed from his people but would one day return. Ezekiel offered the hope of restoration and future blessings from God. While Ezekiel spoke to hostile crowds, God called him to live what he preached. If he did, God promised to protect Ezekiel.