Fight Fear: Study the Scriptures

Living among Briers, Thorns, and Scorpions

And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. Ezekiel 2:6-7

Ezekiel was given a tough job. He was a priest when God called him to be a prophet to the exiles as well. He would have a tough audience. God called Ezekiel, “son of man.” He must identify with the people to whom he was sent, but he mustn’t rebel like the rebellious people who would be briers and thorns all around him. He mustn’t be afraid of what they said or be terrified living among “scorpions.” Though he prophesied for about fifty years, only a few listened to him.

When God unrolled a scroll—the words Ezekiel was to deliver— he saw “on both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe” (Ezekiel 2:9-10). God told Ezekiel Jerusalem would be destroyed. Although false prophets said God’s people would escape from the Babylonians’ dominion, God revealed they’d be in captivity for seventy years before he would restore Israel to their land. Ezekiel had a tough message to deliver.

God told Ezekiel to eat the words on the scroll, that is, “chew on them”—study, meditate, take them to heart. No matter what happened, Ezekiel must speak God’s words. God would “make his forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint” (Ezekiel 3:9). Speak, no matter how much he had to butt heads. God promised, “When I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people” (Ezekiel 3:27).

The words spoken by God, through Ezekiel were not wasted. They became part of the Scriptures which we’re reading thousands of years later. We see more of the Big Picture than they did. We find encouragement as we read what God said he was going to do, what he did, and what he will eventually do—maybe after we’re gone. We’re also called to be bold as we face a hostile environment, to know and meditate on Scriptures, to tell others about God.

Will you study the Scriptures and speak God’s words faithfully even among briers, thorns, and scorpions?

Dig Deeper

Read Matthew 8:20, 11:19, 13:37, and 20:28—just a few of the many times Jesus called himself the “Son of Man.” How did he identify with humanity?

What does Ezekiel 14:1, 3 and Ezekiel 33:31 say about what the people knew concerning Ezekiel’s prophecy? How do you respond to what you read in Scripture?

Compare Ezekiel 2:6-7 with 2 Timothy 4:1-5. Although these charges were given to a prophetic priest and a preacher, how can they apply to our call, our charge to serve?

Nancy J. Baker

This devotion is part of our “Do Not Be Afraid” series.