4. What comforting thoughts must have strengthened Ezekiel?

⁴ How would the Israelites in general respond to Ezekiel’s preaching? Jehovah stated: “The house of Israel will refuse to listen to you, for they do not want to listen to me.” (Ezek. 3:7) By rejecting Ezekiel, the people were rejecting Jehovah. Those words assured Ezekiel that the people’s rejection did not mean that he had failed as a prophet. Jehovah also assured Ezekiel that when the judgments he proclaimed came true, the people would “know that a prophet was among them.” (Ezek. 2:5; 33:33) No doubt those comforting thoughts gave Ezekiel the strength he needed to fulfill his ministry.

God’s spirit strengthened Ezekiel for the task he received​—that of preaching to the “hardheaded and hardhearted” people in his territory. (Ezek. 3:7) Jehovah told Ezekiel: “I have made your face exactly as hard as their faces and your forehead exactly as hard as their foreheads. I have made your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or be terrified by their faces.” (Ezek. 3:8, 9) In effect, Jehovah told Ezekiel: ‘Do not let the people’s stubbornness discourage you. I will fortify you.’