God makes Ezekiel eat the scroll in this chapter. Now Ezekiel must prophesy according to what is written in the scroll. The Holy Spirit makes a person prophesy according to God’s will.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel— not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.” (v.3-9)

When the Israelites entered the land of Canaan by grace of God, they all swore to continue to follow God. And this is written in the Book of Joshua. But as we read in the Book of Judges, the Israelites quickly fell away and went astray after entering the promised land. Moses prophesied concerning this treachery before his death in Deuteronomy 31:14-22. The treachery of the Israelites is because most of them did not receive the understanding. Caleb and Joshua were different from them because they were given the Spirit.

But as for My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. (Numbers 14:24)

And the LORD said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. (Numbers 27:18)

Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. (Deuteronomy 29:4)

The Book of Judges tells us the abominable actions of the Israelites and how God used other nations to discipline them. I hope I get the chance to go through it someday.

God sends prophets to those who claim to be His children. They say that they know God and keep His commandments. However, they do not know God and are evildoers. When they are rebuked by God’s prophets, they do not listen to them. Instead, they mock and kill them. This has been the pattern from the beginning. Cain killed Abel, who was his brother. Psalm 55 also speaks of God’s enemies in His house.

¹² If an enemy were insulting me,
    I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
    I could hide.
¹³ But it is you, a man like myself,
    my companion, my close friend,
¹⁴ with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
    at the house of God,
as we walked about
    among the worshipers. (Psalm 55:12-14)

It is still the same today. Christians reject truths. They reject Sola Gratia. But this is God’s will. God from the beginning did not want to make all people become His Kingdom. Only the remnant are saved. And these remnant people are not those who went back to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity. The remnant people are chosen people of God, who receive the Holy Spirit. This is explained in Romans 9.

In Ezekiel 3, we read that God makes Ezekiel a watchman for the Israelites. Yet, Ezekiel cannot speak other than God’s words. He is given the task of warning people but cannot rebuke them.

I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people. But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people. (v. 26-27)

If indeed one’s true repentance was a result of men’s works, God would have made His prophets look attractive and speak well in the eye of the world. But the Bible repeatedly says that His prophets are far from those who receive praise from others. People love those who speak well with charming voices. I consider them as good actors/actresses. Moses admitted that he could speak. Jeremiah also did. Amos was a farmer, not a teacher. Christ was considered uneducated. This tells us a lot. Our present age is full of preachers who speak well in the eyes of the world. They get much training in speaking in front of people. Their speeches sound inspiring and passionate. Some even sound like they are about to cry. Yet, most of them do not speak truths of God. Ministers and theologians rely on people (more precisely money) for their living. Although it is God who feeds them, most of them do not believe this and rely on others. They spend much time persuading and convincing others that they are good teachers. However, God’s prophets are often considered unimportant and weak.

For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible. (2 Corinthians 10:10)

God’s prophets speak truths. But the truths displease most people. There are people who speak lies and yet, please others. Saints must be aware of those wolves who wear sheep skins.

Ezekiel stayed mute until Jerusalem fell as we read in Ezekiel 33:21-22. If Ezekiel had persuaded them day and night, some might have repented and turned. And Jerusalem might have been saved. But God did not allow it. Jerusalem who became an idol must fall. Similarly, Isaiah was given the same task as we read in Isaiah 6:8-13. Isaiah was sent to speak God’s words but not to persuade people.

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” ⁹ And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on listening, but do not understand;
And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.’
¹⁰ Make the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes blind,
So that they will not see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”

¹¹ Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,

“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
¹² The Lord has completely removed people,
And there are many forsaken places in the midst of the land.
¹³ Yet there will still be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is cut down.
The holy seed is its stump.”

This was quoted in Matthew 13:15, John 12:40, and Acts 28:27. And Christ spoke in parables because of the same reason. God did not choose everyone to be saved. When people focus on salvation, God becomes unfair and unrighteous. But, does not the Creator have the right to do everything that He wants to do? Those false Christians say that God has no right. Many people reject Sola Gratia because their only interest is eternal life. They make a god (or gods) who says that all of them are saved. God made the world for a purpose, that is the Kingdom. The true and eternal Kingdom is built on the stump, the Holy Seed.