1 Ezekiel eateth the roll. 4 God encourageth him. 15 God sheweth him the rule of prophecy. 22 God shutteth and openeth the prophet’s mouth.
Eze 3:1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.”
Eze 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Eze 3:3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Eze 3:4 He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.
Eze 3:5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel—
Eze 3:6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
Eze 3:7 But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.
Eze 3:8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.
Eze 3:9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”
Eze 3:10 And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you.
Eze 3:11 Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”
Eze 3:12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the LORD rose from the place where it was standing.
Eze 3:13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.
Eze 3:14 The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD on me.
Eze 3:15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days—deeply distressed.
A Watchman for Israel
Eze 3:16 At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me:
Eze 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
Eze 3:18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
Eze 3:19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.
Eze 3:20 “Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
Eze 3:21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”
Eze 3:22 The hand of the LORD was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.”
Eze 3:23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.
Eze 3:24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
Eze 3:25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.
Eze 3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.
Eze 3:27 But 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.
This is what I experience in the vision. Let us carefully and prayerfully look at vision again.
Eze 3:1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.”
Eat this roll.
Perhaps a slight hesitation on my part called for a repetition of the command (see ch. 2:8). But the lesson intended required dramatic illustration. It was not for me, the prophet to choose my own message. My meat must be to do the will of Him who sent him and to proclaim His message.
Inspiration is more than the subjective purifying and stimulating of mental powers. There is an external, objective impartation of facts.
The lesson is also for the student of the Word. He must receive the Bible as sent to him. Men do not create divine truth. It is discovered from the Bible. The message must be personally appropriated, internally consumed. The truths must become a part of the life and character. This is the means by which men become in every sense new creatures.
Eze 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Eze 3:3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
How thrilling the realization that I had been called to be a fellow worker with God, to be his mouthpiece in reproving the sins of my people! The call to prophetic office is indeed a high privilege. But the danger of self-exaltation is ever present.
My initial experience of sweetness was later turned to bitterness as I came face to face with the realities of the task. You know dear reader it is frequently so with those called to special service. How soon the early thrill loses its potency when one is face to face with the stark realities of grim duty. Has this perhaps happened to you?
Eze 3:4 He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.
Eze 3:5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel—
The implication is that outwardly my task would be easier than if sent to the heathen whose language I did not understand and to whom my tongue would be foreign. My commission was primarily to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”, not that other nations were outside the pale of salvation, but that God’s purpose was to make Israel the spiritual nucleus and evangelizing force.
Through His chosen people He purposed to preserve among men a knowledge of His law and expand His spiritual kingdom. I and other prophets recognized this purpose. A considerable portion of my prophecies was devoted to an enumeration of judgments to be visited upon surrounding nations. These were in intent appeals to these countries, disclosing to them their subsequent history in the event they refused to accept God’s plan.
Eze 3:6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But Israel was more hardened than the nations around her.
The strong denunciations of us, the prophetic writers must be understood, as intended, to be forecasts of national calamities, never pronounces eternal doom upon all the individuals composing the nation. No matter how severe the prediction of national ruin, the individuals comprising the nation still had the opportunity of personal salvation. Thus it was that in Elijah’s day there were left 7,000 that had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18).
Eze 3:7 But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.
Lest I, Ezekiel should become discouraged by the refusal of the people to listen to words, the Lord reminded that they had already refused to listen to Him. The servant must not expect better treatment than his Master. Many refused the Lord of glory, and should His servants feel that they are superior to their Master?
All the Israelites. This expression should be interpreted to mean, “all the Israelites generally,” for there were at this time saints like Jeremiah and Daniel, and no doubt many others who, as individuals, were maintaining their integrity before God.
Eze 3:8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.
I, the prophet pleaded my own weakness in contrast with the obduracy of hardened sinners. Here is the promise that, hard as the Israelites might be, the prophet would be made harder than they and would prevail against them. This promise does not imply any coercion to secure acceptance of that message. Under God’s government acceptance is always a voluntary act.
Eze 3:9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”
Eze 3:10 Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.
There must be no refusal to receive and to declare the whole counsel of God.
Take to heart. These words describe the prophetic eating of verse 1. The seeming reversal of the process of reception in the final clause of this verse—the heart receiving first, then the ears—is an example of a typical transposition in Hebrew.
Into your heart. These words explain the visionary eating of v. 1. The inversion of the process of reception in the latter part of this verse, first the heart, and later the ears, is an illustration of a kind of transposition not uncommon in the Hebrew.
Eze 3:11 Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”
I had been told that my mission was to the house of Israel. Now the commission is specialized “your people in exile.” At the time of my call, and for several years afterward, the captives comprised but a small part of the Jewish nation. After the fall of Jerusalem the captives represented the mass of the people.
My message was to the captivity, Jeremiah’s was to the remnant of Judah, and Daniel’s to the court of Babylon, (except for that portion of his book which was sealed till the time of the end). Though the three of us were contemporaries, there was a division spheres of responsibility.
You know my friend, God really cares for our eternal salvation. Three of us had labour for those in Jerusalem, those in Babylon and those in captivity.
Eze 3:12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the LORD rose from the place where it was standing.
The initial phase of my consecration to prophetic office now ends. In spirit I am removed from the scene of the throne, the living creatures, and the wheels. Departing I hear behind me the sound of loud rumbling.
Eze 3:13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.
Eze 3:14 The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD on me.
The call of God, which had been so sweet to me, is now at my performance turning to bitterness. My anger have been partly over the sins of my people; but beyond that, the disclosure of the hopelessness and difficulty of the task, the dread of failure. The consciousness of my unfitness added to my discouragement.
Eze 3:15 Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
When at the end of that period twhere I did not respond, the word of the Lord came to me in solemn warning.
Eze 3:16 Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:
A watchman. The figure is that of a military sentinel on the lookout tower whose work it is to warn men of approaching dangers (see 2 Sam. 18:24–27; 2 Kings 9:17–20).
The word describes the special characteristic of my work. I was to watch personally for souls.
Eze 3:18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
When the watchman saw the danger coming, he was to blow the trumpet. When I saw the wicked going heedlessly on to perdition, I was to speak to them, warning them of the sure results of their course. These words may be taken in their wider application to refer, not merely to physical danger and death, but to spiritual danger that might bring a verdict of eternal death before the judgment bar of God.
The decisions of that court mean either eternal life or eternal death for every soul that has ever lived. Annihilation is the fate of all who persist in transgression. The watchman is charged with the responsibility of warning men of this inevitable doom. His failure may result in the loss of souls.
The question is often raised, “Is it fair for God to permit the salvation of a soul to be dependent upon whether another individual discharges his responsibility of warning or not?” The answer is that God is fair, but that sin is exceedingly unfair.
God works for the salvation of men in a manner consistent with His character and with reference to the issues of the great controversy. He does not use coercion. This places a limit on what He can do directly for the salvation of a soul. Yet when others cooperate with God in His effort to save that soul, immediately there is an increase of influences now operating upon the individual, and a greater likelihood that he will accept the divine plan for him.
Eze 3:19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.
. The responsibility of the watchman ends when the warning has been adequately given. However, the watchman may well inquire, “Was the warning given with the greatest effectiveness possible and was it extended for a sufficient length of time?”
Those who are warned are left free to choose whether they will hear or whether they will forbear. Every soul who is lost will be in such a state through his own choice. No blame can rest upon God, who has provided adequate opportunity to all.
Men live or die according to their own personal choice. I am emphasizing personal responsibility rather than national. The individual Israelites were not to regard themselves as lost because their nation was suffering punishment. On the other hand, they were not to assume that repentance would be unnecessary for them individually because they had Abraham as their father (Matt. 3:9).
Eze 3:20 “Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
The purpose of the stumbling block is to arrest the sinner in his downward course and to arouse him to a sense of his danger. When sinners are thus interrupted, the voice of the watchman is needed. A warning at the appropriate moment may cause them to turn from their evil course.
Failure to utter the warning may result in their rushing headlong to destruction; hence their blood will be required at the watchman’s hand. Again it is seen how largely God depends upon the cooperation of human beings in His work of salvation (see on v. 18).
Not be remembered.
In the plan of God rewards are not calculated based on righteous deeds minus sins, or vice versa. In the case of the righteous man who endures unto the end, the entire record of guilt is blotted out and his reward is determined based on his good deeds.
The sinner, on the other hand, finds that none of his righteous deeds are taken into account, when his punishment is assigned (see ch. 18). This explains why, when sins are forgiven, there is not an immediate blotting out. A record is retained until the time of judgment, for if the righteous man should fall and be lost, all his iniquities, whether at any time forgiven, are taken into account in calculating his final reward.
Eze 3:21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”
Eze 3:22 The hand of the LORD was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.”
What I, Ezekiel had heard filled me with an overwhelming and crushing sense of my responsibility.
Eze 3:23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.
The impressive vision that I had seen (ch. 1) returned to me. The grand display of God’s glory that had inspired me to accept my mission, now doubtless filled me with renewed assurance. I accepted the rebuke for my silence. Henceforth I, Ezekiel appeared as a humble and obedient servant.
Eze 3:24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
Eze 3:25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.
Eze 3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.
The dumbness of the prophet and the ability to speak only when the Lord opened his mouth was a further sign to that rebellious house that the words were indeed the words of the Lord.
Eze 3:27 But 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.
In earlier times God had referred to Israel as a “stiffnecked people” (Ex. 32:9). The same spirit that led to the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness had now made the Captivity inescapable.