I By Bessie Wllbon
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INTRODUCTION
There is something about a gently flowing stream that
helps to quiet the troubled soul. Thoughts of bitterness and
despair may be welling up from within; one may believe
that he has the burdens of the world resting upon him;1
but the gently flowing waters seem to say, “This too will
pass away.”
Anyone who has stood by the water’s edge to ponder
these things can identify, in a measure, with the prophet
Ezekiel. He had reached the stage of young manhood, that
period in life when one’s hopes and aspirations should
begin to be realized. But any plans he may have had for life
had been shattered. Taken from Jerusalem by Nebu
t chadnezzar- he was now hundreds of miles from home, a
displaced person, in a strange land among strange people.
Five years had gone by without any word of hope for
himself from his fellow exiles. Now the prophet was by the
stream, and there the things he recorded in his book began
Jo happen.
LESSON BACKGROUND
Nothing is recorded of the fast five years of Ezekiel’s
i exile, but they must have been a time of considerable
soul-searching and adjustment. But the exiles had not
‘■v been abandoned by God. Ezekiel was given a vision of the
glory of the Lord and was called to be a prophet. Ezekiel’s
first prophesies were warnings of the judgment that was
yet to fall on Jerusalem. After the fall of the city, Ezekiel
spoke more directly to his fellow exiles, relating much
about the restoration of Israel and the coming reign of the
Davidic Messiah.
v- ' THE LESSON
_v“When I saw this. I fell face downward on the ground.
■ TH****1 Heard a voice saying,‘Mortal man, stand up. I want
to talk to you.’ While the voice was speaking, God’s spirit
entered me and raised me up to my feet and I heard the
voice continue, ‘Mortal man, I’m sending you to the people
of Israel. They have rebelled and turned against me and
are still rebels, just as their ancestors were. Tliey are
stubborn and do not respect me, so I am sending you to
tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them.
Whether those rebels listen to you or not, they will know
that a prophet has been among them. But you, mortal
man, must not be afraid of them or anything they say.
They will defy and despise you ; it will be like Uving among
scorpions. Still, don’t be afraid of those rebels or of
anything they say. You will tell them whatever I tell you to
say, whether they listen or not. Remember what rebels
they are. Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. Don’t be
rebellious like them. Open you mouth and eat what I am
going to give .you.’ I saw a hand reaching out toward me,
^' Wud -it was holding a scroll. The hand unrolled the scroll,
and I saw that there was writing on both sides -cries of
grief were written there, and wails and groans. God said,
‘Mortal man, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the
people of Israel.’” (Ezekiel 2:1-10; 3:1)
The vision granted to Ezekiel was not simply to afford
him sa moment of spiritual delight, and certainly it was
not to give him cause for boasting. Rather it was to
prepare him for service in the work of the Lord. He was to
be empowered and commissioned for active duty.
The vision given to Ezekiel was most unusual. There
was a whirlwind out of the north and four living creatures,
each with four faces and four wings. There were wheels,
the rims of which were full of eyes, so the creature could
see aU and could travel in any direction. High above was a
throne, with what appeared to be a man on it. Apparently,
what the prophet saw was really indescribable, yet It
revealed in an awe-inspiring way something of the
greatness and the glory of God. Ezekiel was overwhelmed
and fell upon his face. Then he heard a voice.
- - God’s servant must not have any misconceptions of the
nature of his task. Ezekiel was not told that it would be
easy. In fact, his mission was to people rebellious against
God. It is never easy to be dedicated wholly to God’s way of
righteousness.
Ezekiel was not to deliver a message of his own devising,
but one committed to him directly by the Lord. And as one
who was hungry for the Word, he must eat it, thus making
it an integral part of himself. As a messenger of the Lord
he must be true to the Word that was given him. Ezekiel
was not to be selective of certain portions of the scroll,
exclusive of others. The message of God In its entirety was
to be received and transmitted. In preparation for his task,
he must thoroughly digest the Word ~ “fill your stomach
with it.” '
The task to which Ezekiel was being called was not
especially easy or pleasant. A time would come when he
. would have a message of hope from God. But first he must
make it clear that the sin of Israel would not go
. unpunished. His was the task of the watchman who sounds
the alarnp. If “lamentations, mourning, and woe” were bi
store for his people, at least the scroll had brought them
warning. Thus Ezekiel could say It was in my mouth as
: honey. , \
Ezekiel was aware that he was sent of God. Hf was given
no assurance that he would be successful but he could be
and he would be faithful in delivering the message
- entrusted to him. We are debtors to Ezekiel because of his
faithfulness. But what of our faithfulness to God? We have
: this message in its fullness, a message that the world must
” hear if It Is not to suffer destruction. What Is our response
to God’s call? 4*r, ■■ Z5 J
THE CHARLOTTE POST
52 Weeka Of Informative, Entertaining
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i
Rev. H.S. Diggs
...Mayfield pastor
Men Of Mayfield
Continued From Page 1A
Jule Huntley, Mayfield’s Man of
the Year for 1985, will serve as
chairperson for the day and he will
also deliver the 6 p.m. Worship
Service address.
The public is expressly invited to
all services.
Mayfield Memorial Baptist
Church is located at 700 Sugar Creek
Rd. West. Rev. H.S. Diggs is pastor.
Flowe-Barringer
Reunion
The Flowe-Barringer reunion will
be held Saturday, July 12, at
Freedom Park. The reunion begins
at l p.m.
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IN THE POST
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NCBLC Hosts Anniversary Conference
The North Carolina Black Lead
ership Caucus will be hosting its 10th
anniversary conference here on July
18-20.
Three sites have been chosen to be
the locations of the conference.
University Park Baptist Church,
Johnson C. Smith University, and
the Charlotte Marriott City Center
The theme chosen for the three
day conference is “Economic and
Political Self-help.”
When the conference opens on
Friday, July 18, Congressman
Walter Fauntroy and Rev. Jesse
Jackson will be present at the
opening general session This ses
sion begins at 6:30p.m. and will take
place at University Park Baptist
Church. The public is invited to this
event.
On July 19, prayer breakfast will
be held at 8 a m. at Johnson C. Smith
University. Later that morning Dr.
Joseph Lowery, president of SCLC,
Dr Benjamin Chavis, executive
director of the commission for
Racial Justice and Lezli
Baskerville, executive director of
the National Black Leadership
Roundtable, will be the guest
speakers, as well as Dr Linda
Williams, senior research associate
of the Joint Center for Political
Studies.
Beginning at noon Tony Brown
will speak at the luncheon Sched
uled to speak at 3 p.m are Congress
man Parren Mitchell, Josbuk Smith,
president and CEO, The Maxima
Corporation, and Arthur Teel Jr ,
president and CEO, National
Business League.
Congressman Charles Rangell will
be the Keynote speaker at the
conference banquet at 6 p.m
And on Sunday, July 20,
Congresswoman Cardiss Collins
addresses the breakfast session The
events at the luncheon banquet and
Sunday breakast session will take
place at the Marriott City Center
Registration for the conference
will take place at University
Memorial Union at Johnson C.
Smith. On Saturday, July 18. at 4
p.m.
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_ Share the spirit.
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8