God told Ezekiel directly how to speak. What did this prophet repeat in different sermons and over the course of years?
1. Ezekiel used object and visual lessons.
He drew Jerusalem on a brick. 4:1-3
He lay on his side. 4:4-8
He cooked with dung. 4:12-15
He shaved his head. 5:1-2
He dramatized enslavement. 12:3-7
He ignored his wife’s death. 24:15-18
2. Ezekiel told parables and riddles.
He gave a new meaning to an old proverb. 12:21-24
He retold Israel’s history as the story of a girl. 16
He offered a riddle about two eagles. 17:3-10
3. Ezekiel related visions and personal experiences.
He told his vision of the angels and the throne in the clouds. 1
He told how the Spirit moved him to different places and talked with him. 3
He told how he saw both glory and evil in Jerusalem. 8-9
He saw sights and sounds in the heavens. 10
4. Ezekiel mixed negative and positive truths.
He gives very harsh rebukes, and then offers hope for the future. 6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17
5. Ezekiel kept one great idea throughout all his preaching.
Dozens of time, from the beginning to the end of his ministry, he writes, “They shall know that I am the Lord.” All his preaching has a single direction, and a unified purpose. He is God-centered, logical, and driven without change or novelty over the years of his service.
Sermons ought to be focused, clear, and definable. Our teaching should have a single thesis, and our entire ministries should too.
These marks formed a lively style inspired by God for this prophet, but as each situation allows, it would be wise for sermons today to have such elements.
