“NO LONGER MUTE!”

 Ezekiel 33:21-29                                  (ESV)

Jerusalem Struck Down

[21] In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been struck down.” [22] Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I WAS “NO LONGER MUTE”.  [23] The word of the LORD came to me: [24] “Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ [25] Therefore say to them, Thus says the LORD GOD: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land? [26] You rely on the sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land? [27] Say this to them, Thus says the LORD GOD: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence. [28] And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through. [29] Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all THEIR ABOMINATIONS THAT THEY HAVE COMMITTED.”

When you can’t understand why ALMIGHTY GOD seemingly is allowing us to continue in Judgment for an extended period of time, yet we know HE is a faithful and just CREATOR, we might need to review Ezekiel 33 a little closer?  Ezekiel 33:12 says in part “…The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins”!  

Ezekiel had to endure being exiled just like the rest of the children of Israel.  But he also MUTED about speaking about the sins of Israel UNTIL GOD released him to speak about their failure to obey GOD.  

We can try to alert people to the error of their ways, but until ALMIGHTY GOD changes the hearts of HIS CHOSEN they will continue to be IN EXILE, doing things THEIR OWN WAY!  When GOD has their hearts where HE needs them to be, only THEN can HE use a tongue that is “NO LONGER MUTE”!  HIS WORD is POWERFUL (Hebrews 4:12), but unless it falls on OPEN EARS it will NOT facilitate the CHANGE that is needed.  

FATHER IN HEAVEN, we beseech YOU to change hearts and lives to Glorify YOU and use us to be “NO LONGER MUTE” at the appropriate time!!!