It is Saturday morning, and there’s a knock on the front door. You think, ‘Who could this be so early?’ You open the door, and as you do, you’re immediately blinded as the light pours into your house. As your eyes adjust to the morning glow, you scribble your name and the courier hands you a registered letter. Your name is written in gold and beside your name there’s big, bold lettering with the words ‘Son of Man.’ Curious, you open the envelope and pull out a beautifully written letter in gold. Once again, you find the letter is addressed to you and beside your name you find the inscription (Son of Man). You read on.
The letter addressed to you says, “I am sending you to a place where the people have rejected my name: They are a rebellious people. While they know me they neither recognize me. Nor glorify me, nor give me thanks for what I have done. (Romans 1:21). So, Son of Man (there it states it again) I am sending you to these people that have rejected Me and you are to speak to them what I speak to you.”
As the letter continues, Ezekiel 2: 7-10 is quoted with a summary that shakes me to the core. “You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you. Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.”
But first, I am sending you My words, and when I do, I want you to eat them, chew them up and swallow! When you do, you will find My words will be sweet as honey, good for ALL who eat it. As you read the letter, you think about yourself; you wonder how qualified you are to do anything for God and how you have even rejected God’s truth at times. Even now, as you ponder, you think God must know something about me that I don’t know because He is referring to me as Son of Man, a title reserved for those who have been called for a special assignment. As you continue reading, the message becomes clearer, yet the request becomes even larger. Another exert from Ezekiel jumps off the page:
Ezekiel 3:16-21
At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of Man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself. “Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.
You are to warn them to turn from their wicked ways because surely, if they don’t, they will die. Speak what I have spoken to you. And if they turn back to Me they will be saved. Yet, if you tell them My Truth and they don’t, then they will die. However, Son of Man, if you know my Truth and do not warn them, then there death is on you! What, you ask? You mean if I don’t show them what God has shown me then I face the set consequences. Yep! As Son of Men, God calls us to be Watchmen! Watchmen are called to help navigate ships away from the rocks. The only way this can be accomplished is by assisting others in installing strong rudders—rudders of truth! We are all bound for destruction and in need of a rudder. If you’re like me, you might not feel qualified.Yet, as I learn God’s truth, I find He wants to use, not just the well- schooled, but also the ones that realize that the strength of the rudder is not in size but in the strength of the steel!
God’s Word is our steel! We are called to be watchmen over our families, friends and community. Son of Man, you are the watchman who is called to learn God’s Word and pass it on. Don’t doubt you’re calling! God has set you in place for times like these. ‘And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).
Red Truck Men,
Steve L. Thomas