"A spirit came upon me as HE spoke and kept me standing; and then I heard HIM speak,
'Son of man, I AM sending you to the Israelites, to a people who have rebelled against ME; they and their fathers have sinned against ME to this day. Now I AM sending you to these defiant and stubborn people to tell them 'this is the LORD YAHWEH's word.'
So, whether they listen or not, this set of rebels will know there is a prophet among them." - Ezekiel 2:2-5
(I AM sending you to the Israelites to a people who have rebelled against ME. This is similar to what has been expressed by earlier prophets. When the LORD sent Isaiah, HE told him only about the counter-productive effect of his mission: the people will become hardened. In Ezekiel's case, there is more optimism: sent to rebels, he must be firmer and more persistent than they are to break through the shell of their hardened hearts. In fact, Ezekiel will be constantly arguing and fighting. Paul will say later that those who evangelize must teach whether the time is right or not [2 Timothy 4:2] without ever losing heart.)
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