Ezekiel 3; Ezekiel 4; Hebrews 11:20-40

1 He said to me, "Son of man, eat what is in front of you. Eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the people of Israel."

2 So I opened my mouth. And he gave me the scroll to eat.

3 Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you. Fill your stomach with it." So I ate it. And it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

4 Then he said to me, "Son of man, go to the people of Israel. Give them my message.

5 "I am not sending you to people who speak another language that is hard to learn. Instead, I am sending you to the people of Israel.

6 You are not being sent to many nations whose people speak other languages that are hard to learn. You would not be able to understand them. Suppose I had sent you to them. Then they certainly would have listened to you.

7 But the people of Israel do not want to listen to you. That is because they do not want to listen to me. "All of the people of Israel are very stubborn.

8 But I will make you just as stubborn as they are.

9 I will make you very brave. So do not be afraid of them. Do not let them terrify you, even though they refuse to obey me."

10 He continued, "Son of man, listen carefully. Take to heart everything I tell you.

11 Go now to your own people who were brought here as prisoners. Speak to them. Tell them, 'Here is what the LORD and King says.' Speak to them whether they listen or not."

12 Then the Spirit of the LORD lifted me up. I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me. May the glory of the LORD be praised in the place where he lives!

13 The sound was made by the wings of the living creatures. They were brushing against one another. The sound was also made by the wheels beside them. It was a loud rumbling sound.

14 Then the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. My spirit was bitter. I was burning with anger. The strong hand of the LORD was on me.

15 I came to my people who had been brought as prisoners to Tel Abib. It was near the Kebar River. I went to where they were living. There I sat among them for seven days. I was shocked by everything that had happened.

16 After seven days, a message came to me from the Lord.

17 He said, "Son of man, I have appointed you as a prophet to warn the people of Israel. So listen to my message. Give them a warning from me.

18 "Suppose I say to a sinful person, 'You can be sure you will die.' And you do not warn him. You do not try to get him to change his evil ways in order to save his life. Then he will die because he has sinned. And I will hold you accountable for his death.

19 "But suppose you do warn that sinful person. And he does not turn away from his sin or his evil ways. Then he will die because he has sinned. But you will have saved yourself.

20 "Or suppose a godly person turns away from his godliness and does what is evil. And suppose I put something in his way that will trip him up. Then he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The godly things he did will not be remembered. And I will hold you accountable for his death.

21 "But suppose you do warn a godly person not to sin. And he does not sin. Then you can be sure that he will live because he listened to your warning. And you will have saved yourself."

22 The strong hand of the LORD was on me. He said, "Get up. Go out to the flatlands. I will speak to you there."

23 So I got up and went out to the flatlands. The glory of the LORD was standing there. It was just like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River. So I fell with my face toward the ground.

24 Then the Spirit of the LORD came into me. He raised me to my feet. He said to me, "Go, son of man. Shut yourself inside your house.

25 Some people will tie you up with ropes. So you will not be able to go out among your people.

26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth. Then you will be silent. You will not be able to correct them. They always refuse to obey me.

27 "But later I will speak to you. I will open your mouth. Then you will tell them, 'Here is what the LORD and King says.' Those who listen will listen. And those who refuse to listen will refuse. They always refuse to obey me.

1 "Son of man, get a clay tablet. Put it in front of you. Draw the city of Jerusalem on it.

2 Then pretend to surround it and attack it. Make some little models of war machines. Build a ramp up to it. Set camps up around it. Surround it with models of logs to be used for knocking down its gates.

3 Then get an iron pan. Put it between you and the city. Pretend it is an iron wall. Turn your face toward the city. It will be under attack when you begin to attack it. That will show the people of Israel what is going to happen to Jerusalem.

4 "Next, lie down on your left side. Pretend that you are putting Israel's sin on yourself. Keep their sin on you for the number of days you lie on your side.

5 Let each day you lie there stand for one year of their sin. So you will keep Israel's sin on you for 390 days.

6 "After you have finished that, lie down again. This time lie on your right side. Pretend that you are putting Judah's sin on yourself. Lie there for 40 days. That is one day for each year of their sin.

7 "Next, turn your face toward the model of Jerusalem under attack. Uncover your arm as if you were a soldier ready to fight. Prophesy against the city.

8 "I will tie you up with ropes. Then you will not be able to turn from one side to the other. You will stay that way until you have finished attacking Jerusalem.

9 "Get some wheat and barley. Also get some beans and lentils. And get some millet and spelt. Put everything in a storage jar. Use it to make some bread for yourself. Eat it during the 390 days you are lying down on your side.

10 Weigh out eight ounces of food to eat each day. Eat it at your regular mealtimes.

11 Also measure out two thirds of a quart of water. Drink it at your regular mealtimes.

12 "Eat your food as you would eat a barley cake. Bake it over human waste in front of the people."

13 The LORD said, "That is how the people of Israel will eat 'unclean' food. They will eat it in the nations where I will drive them."

14 Then I said, "No, LORD and King! I won't do it! I've never eaten anything that was 'unclean.' From the time I was young until now, I've never eaten anything that was found dead. And I've never eaten anything that was torn apart by wild animals. 'Unclean' meat has never entered my mouth."

15 "All right," he said. "I will let you bake your bread over waste from cows. You can use that instead of human waste."

16 He continued, "Son of man, I will cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will be worried as they eat their tiny share of food. They will not have any hope as they drink their tiny share of water.

17 There will be very little food and water. The people will be shocked as they look at one another. They will become weaker and weaker because of their sin.

20 Isaac had faith. So he blessed Jacob and Esau. He told them what was ahead for them.

21 Jacob had faith. So he blessed each of Joseph's sons. He blessed them when he was dying. Because of his faith he worshiped God as he leaned on the top of his wooden staff.

22 Joseph had faith. So he spoke to the people of Israel about their leaving Egypt. He gave directions about his bones. He did that toward the end of his life.

23 Moses' parents had faith. So they hid him for three months after he was born. They saw he was a special child. They were not afraid of the king's command.

24 Moses had faith. So he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. That happened after he had grown up.

25 He chose to be treated badly together with the people of God. He chose that instead of enjoying sin's pleasures for a short time.

26 He suffered shame because of Christ. He thought it had great value. He considered it better than the riches of Egypt. He was looking ahead to God's reward.

27 Because of his faith he left Egypt. It wasn't because he was afraid of the king's anger. He didn't let anything stop him. He saw the One who can't be seen.

28 Because of his faith he was the first to keep the Passover Feast. He commanded the people of Israel to sprinkle blood on their doorways. He did it so that the destroying angel would not touch their oldest sons.

29 The people had faith. So they passed through the Red Sea. They went through it as if it were dry land. The Egyptians tried to do it also. But they drowned.

30 The people had faith. So the walls of Jericho fell down. It happened after they had marched around the city for seven days.

31 Rahab, the prostitute, had faith. So she welcomed the spies. That's why she wasn't killed with those who didn't obey God.

32 What more can I say? I don't have time to tell about all the others. I don't have time to talk about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah. I don't have time to tell about David, Samuel and the prophets.

33 Because of their faith they took over kingdoms. They ruled fairly. They received the blessings God had promised. They shut the mouths of lions.

34 They put out great fires. They escaped being killed by the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became powerful in battle. They beat back armies from other countries.

35 Women received their dead back. The dead were raised to life again. Others were made to suffer greatly. But they refused to be set free. They did that so that after death they would be raised to a better life.

36 Some were laughed at. Some were whipped. Still others were held by chains. They were put in prison.

37 Some were killed with stones. They were sawed in two. They were put to death by the sword. They went around wearing the skins of sheep and goats. They were poor. They were attacked. They were treated badly.

38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains. They lived in caves. They lived in holes in the ground.

39 All of those people were praised because they had faith. But none of them received what God had promised.

40 God had planned something better for us. So they would only be made perfect together with us.