Accountable

God gives Ezekiel a new role. He who once was priest is now to be a watchman. A watchman over the behaviour of the people of God in exile. And God is going to hold Ezekiel accountable. Personally accountable. That’s new. God has held His people as a tribe, a community accountable before, but not as individuals.

So if someone is doing something evil and Ezekiel says nothing, then that person will die and Ezekiel will be held accountable. If someone does evil and Ezekiel warns them and they stop, then both men are saved. If the man chooses to ignore Ezekiel’s words, then the man will die but Ezekiel will no longer be held accountable. If a good person turns to evil and Ezekiel has not told him what is expected of him by God, then the man will die and Ezekiel will be held accountable.

Heavy duty stuff.

And just when Ezekiel may be feeling weighed down by the huge responsibility God is putting on his shoulders, God takes him back to the plains of Kebar, back to the revelation of His glory. A visual reminder that this is God he is dealing with. The one true God. The Lord of all.

And Ezekiel falls facedown.

So what next? Does God give Ezekiel the strength and freedom and resources to travel far and wide, proclaiming this message and fulfilling his role of watchman? Quite the opposite! God tells him to go shut himself in his house.

And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.  Ezekiel 3:25-26

That’s so confusing, isn’t it? Why give Ezekiel a role and then prevent him from fulfilling it? God’s told Ezekiel he will be held accountable for the behaviour of the people and yet there is nothing he can do about it! You can just imagine the frustration and desperation and fear building as Ezekiel is kept captive in his own home, immobilised and silenced.

God will let Him know when its the right time. And this is not the right time.

But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’  Ezekiel 3:27

His time will come.

I find this passage completely fascinating. I find the whole idea of being accountable fascinating. Not only accountable for our own thoughts and actions and omissions, but also for the effect that these have on others. How we treat others matters enormously. How we speak and act and do not act when we should will all be taken into account.

That’s a pretty scary thought. We look around and we see all the needs all around us and we can never do enough. We are limited in our time, our strength, our resources, our humanness. We can never do it all.

There’s a fine balance. It’s good to be aware of our accountability, but not to let that fill us with fear. Fear that can paralyse and stop us doing anything at all or can force us to rush in at the wrong time and the wrong place, trying to fix everything to save our own reputation before God.

This not about fear, but about obedience. Trust and obedience. Knowing what God expects of us and trusting Him to show us what that is. Show us the time. Show us the place. Prompt us to open our mouths when He has something for us to say. And then obeying. Doing what God asks of us.

We have so many limitations that hold us back. Like Ezekiel, we may be trapped in our own homes by illness or disability or depression or caring for a loved one. We cannot get out there and conquer the world for God. we may be silenced by a crushing lack of confidence or self esteem or overwhelming anxiety. God knows. God understands.

I’ve come to see that this whole accountability thing is far more complicated than our simple human minds will ever understand. God takes everything into consideration, I’m sure. And so we do not need to be motivated by fear, by that paralysing fear of getting it wrong. Our motivation is trust and obedience. We see the glory of God and we respond.

Just like Ezekiel.