Saturday, September 1, 2012

The Word of the Lord?

Scripture Verse that Caught my attention today: Ezekiel 15:1 The word of the LORD came to me:

Observation: This phrase is both audacious and common in Ezekiel. The phrase occurs 62 times in the Bible and the vast majority of them are in Ezekiel (49 occurrences) and Jeremiah (10).

Application: True, I’m a preacher, but I still wonder how one can say with assurance, “the word of the Lord came to me.” However, in some ways it is less audacious than the 428 occurrences of it’s cousin phrase “thus says the Lord.” The latter is present tense, whereas the former is in the past tense.

There have perhaps been times when I have looked back over something I’ve said and felt that perhaps what I had spoken (often without even realizing it at the time) was the word of the Lord. So I guess it does seem feasible to look back and consider various things spoken that seemed to have a special godliness to them. In that sense I guess I can perhaps relate to Ezekiel.

The harder thing to imagine is knowing in the moment that the word of the Lord is before us. How does one know that such things are a word of the Lord and not just the wishful thinking of the speaker?

I have no real answers to that question this morning other than the profound belief that through faith God does use us to convey sacred truth.

Crazy, I know…on what basis can I or anyone else possibly make such a claim?

I don’t know.

But there have been times when people have indicated to me in one way or another that the sacred truth of God has been shared. For some reason I believe them.

Prayer: Dear God, as the opening lines of a hymn put is, “Lord speak to us that we may speak.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(readings today included: Ezekiel 15-16, Psalm 70, and Revelation 6)

1 comment:

  1. Sometimes the reverse is also true - when I look back and realize that my words were NOT the 'Word of the Lord'. Then I have to examine my conscience/motives, ask for forgiveness and hope that God's guidance will prevail next time!

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