Binding of a Prophet

After the Lord calls Ezekiel to be His watchman over the people of Israel, the prophet has another powerful moment with the Holy Spirit that catches the reader's attention. 

Ezekiel 3:22–23 (ESV) And the hand of the LORD was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face.

At first, this seems like a wonderful invitation from the Lord. Ezekiel is called to a valley and when he arrives, the glory of the Lord revisits the prophet. Yet consider what happens next:

Ezekiel 3:24–25 (ESV) But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people.

The prophet bows down, but the Lord picks him up and leads him home to be bound by cords. Strange events indeed! But the Lord is not done.

Ezekiel 3:26 (ESV) And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house.

Not only will this prophet be alone, and unable to move, he will be unable to speak and reprove the people. In other words, all the work of a prophet is thus stifled by the Lord who called this prophet to His service. 

Now you can wonder, why would God do this to the man He's called? But there is a reason. And the end of the chapter reveals the purpose of the event. 

Ezekiel 3:27 (ESV) But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

Herein lies the purpose of God's stifling event for Ezekiel. The Spirit has entered Him, and the glory of God had gripped him, but Ezekiel was called to be responsible for Israel's spiritual life. And that requires great seriousness on the part of the prophet. Exile provided Israel with a make-or-break time. Would they even return according to Jeremiah's words? Was the nation ever to make a comeback?  Everything seemed so hopeless. Whatever the Lord gave Ezekiel to say had to completely agree with God's plan for the people. 

The calling of a prophet is a call to speak for God. This is not a small calling. It carries a weight of importance beyond any other calling. God's prophet was to speak ONLY what God wanted. He was to see himself as alone, with the Lord in the power of the Spirit. He was to see himself bound by God's will. And his mouth was to be bound by God's silence or speaking. 

As a pastor, I can somewhat relate. The call to preach is a lonely profession. You stand alone before the people. On top of that, getting up there to preach without first hearing God speak is my greatest fear. I never want to just "wing it." I want to know God has burdened my heart with what He wants them to hear. I often feel God's " binding " until I know He has spoken. But the wonder of preaching is this: when you know God has given you a Word for His people, there is no more fulfilling work to accomplish. 

I feel this whole scenario has to cause Ezekiel to feel the same way. It's not truly a prophetic work if God is not fully involved. And until HE speaks, we have nothing to say.