Ezekiel 3:12-15 – Appraise before ministering.

The cherubim, the expanse, the chariot, the throne, the manifestation of God, and His glory described earlier were all far too magnificent an experience. Hence, it is not difficult to imagine how reluctant it was for Ezekiel to leave the experience of that wonderful encounter with the presence of God. So amazing was his experience, that he was not too anxious to start his prophetic assignment immediately. He would rather linger in God’s presence a little longer. But we know that if he had to speak to the house of Israel, he had to go to them.  

So, in Ezekiel 3:12-15, the prophet felt jostled and taken away by the Spirit of God from His presence. This signals the end of his vision. As he was being lifted away from God’s presence, he heard the voice of a great earthquake proclaiming, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from this place!” The sound of the great earthquake came as the chariot was taking off. It was produced by the touching of the wings of the cherubim bearing it and the vibrating of the wheels.  

Verse 14 tells us that as the Spirit lifted him from that wonderful experience of the presence, he felt embittered as the strong hand of the Lord was upon him. This was to say how he felt about the sinful condition of the house of Israel. In Isaiah’s case when he saw the vision, he saw how wretched he was with all his failings. In Ezekiel’s case, he saw the wretchedness of the people of God he was sent to preach.  No one who had caught a glimpse of the glorious presence of God could deny the wretchedness of his or her sinful self and the circumstances surrounding him or her.

From the lofty experience, Ezekiel now came among the exile in Tel-abib by the Chebar canal. There he sat among the exiles quietly observing the situation for seven days and felt overwhelmed. These seven days of observation could be a time for Ezekiel to appraise and be apprised of the condition. It was perhaps also a time to develop empathy for the people. No one can be effective without having a clear perspective and condition of the people he would be ministering to. Ezekiel also needed to see the people from God’s perspective.  Those seven days of observation must have deepened his compassion and fuelled his passion to fulfil the responsibility entrusted to him.

As God’s redemptive agents sent to reach a fallen world, we too need to have a good appraisal of the condition. Knowing God’s heart is an important starting point. But we need also to be acquainted with the needs of the people. When we can see how far short, they have fallen from God’s desires for them, it will fire us up to play our part to reach them for God. We can only know where to start when we have a good assessment and evaluation of the situation.