Bible passage: Ezekiel 12:1-13
Recently, I’ve been studying the book of Ezekiel, a text that is often somber and challenging. It primarily reveals God’s judgment on Israel, delivered through the prophet Ezekiel, because of their repeated sins. Yet, as I reached chapter 12, I was struck by a beautiful pattern within these heavy messages—a pattern that reflects a deeper aspect of God’s relationship with Ezekiel.
In this chapter, God reveals His heart to Ezekiel regarding Israel and then gives him an instruction. No matter how strange the instruction might seem, Ezekiel obeys. Following his obedience, God reveals even more of His heart to him, accompanied by another instruction, and again, Ezekiel complies. This cycle of revelation, instruction, and obedience continues throughout the passage.
Reading this, I was struck by the intimacy in the relationship between God and Ezekiel. Ezekiel was privileged to hear God’s heart about specific situations, and it seemed that each instruction was a test of loyalty. With every act of obedience, God entrusted him with deeper revelations.
In that moment, I realized a major barrier to hearing God’s voice is disobedience. When God speaks and we ignore His instructions, why should we expect to hear more from Him? If we dismiss His guidance because it feels inconvenient or doesn’t make sense to us, we’re essentially telling God that our own understanding and feelings matter more than His wisdom. By doing this, we show that we trust ourselves more than we trust God, despite claiming to love Him (John 14:21). How, then, can we expect to hear from Him?
Abraham’s example shows us what true friendship with God looks like. His faith and obedience to God’s instructions, no matter how challenging, set him apart. God tested Abraham’s faith and loyalty, and it was Abraham’s actions—not just words—that counted him worthy. This is how he earned the title of being a friend of God. If trust and loyalty are essential for earthly friendships, how much more important are they in our relationship with our heavenly Father?
Too often, we approach God for what we can receive, but how often do we think about what we can give to Him? Let’s make it our goal to strengthen our relationship with God through obedience to His commands. Only then can we truly demonstrate our love for Him and open ourselves to hear more from Him.
