And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
The commission is to go to the house of Israel, God's own professed people then in captivity. The one sent is to speak God's words to them. That means no message of his own, and no human words and fables.
Resistance does not change the assignment, for they are impudent and hardhearted and rebellious and may refuse to listen. To refuse the messenger is to refuse God Himself. The message comes in their own understandable language through a messenger specifically sent to them, while distant peoples of unfamiliar speech would have listened.
The messenger must first receive all of God's words into the heart and hear them with the ears. Then he is to speak as declaring the authority of the Lord God, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear. For this work he is made strong and fearless against opposition. He is lifted and led by the Spirit, with the Lord's strong hand upon him.
God carries out His work through living human agents. They are to depend on Him while earnestly and faithfully doing their assigned part. God Himself is the source of both the message and the power, and the glory belongs to Him and not to themselves.
The speaking is watchman work. The wicked are to be warned to turn from wickedness to save life, and the righteous are to be warned not to turn from righteousness to commit iniquity. If the warning is withheld, the one who sins dies in iniquity with past righteousness forgotten, and his blood is required of the unfaithful watchman. If the warning is given, the watchman delivers his own soul whether the warned turns or not, and the warned righteous who does not sin shall surely live.
The charge remains binding at the present time. The Lord will deal with His people now as He dealt with them in the past. It applies especially to those who have set themselves decidedly against the Lord's messages. This is at a time when many do not know their true condition because the enemy has filled hearts and minds with doubt and unbelief and many are lost in fog.
The commission is to go to the house of Israel, God's own professed people then in captivity. The one sent is to speak God's words to them. That means no message of his own, and no human words and fables.
Resistance does not change the assignment, for they are impudent and hardhearted and rebellious and may refuse to listen. To refuse the messenger is to refuse God Himself. The message comes in their own understandable language through a messenger specifically sent to them, while distant peoples of unfamiliar speech would have listened.
The messenger must first receive all of God's words into the heart and hear them with the ears. Then he is to speak as declaring the authority of the Lord God, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear. For this work he is made strong and fearless against opposition. He is lifted and led by the Spirit, with the Lord's strong hand upon him.
God carries out His work through living human agents. They are to depend on Him while earnestly and faithfully doing their assigned part. God Himself is the source of both the message and the power, and the glory belongs to Him and not to themselves.
The speaking is watchman work. The wicked are to be warned to turn from wickedness to save life, and the righteous are to be warned not to turn from righteousness to commit iniquity. If the warning is withheld, the one who sins dies in iniquity with past righteousness forgotten, and his blood is required of the unfaithful watchman. If the warning is given, the watchman delivers his own soul whether the warned turns or not, and the warned righteous who does not sin shall surely live.
The charge remains binding at the present time. The Lord will deal with His people now as He dealt with them in the past. It applies especially to those who have set themselves decidedly against the Lord's messages. This is at a time when many do not know their true condition because the enemy has filled hearts and minds with doubt and unbelief and many are lost in fog.