Deliverance for Our Souls
| Deliverance for Our Souls
Like it was with Ezekiel, our relationship with God's Word should be extremely personal and transforming. If not, we are no different than the hard-hearted people who Ezekiel was sent to bring God's Word to. To begin with, God's Word must become food for our own souls. We too must eat it (3:1-3). It must find its way into our hearts, each and every Word (3:10). Jesus described His own words as being "spirit and life" (John 6:63). To the Apostle Peter, Jesus declared that one of the greatest ways to express love to Him was to feed God's people, the Word of God (John 21:15-17). Ezekiel's accountability to being faithful to God's Word regardless of how it is received by others is also a vital example to us. The Word of God that is placed within us is a Word that we must faithfully proclaim and obey. To this day, God's people are held accountable for honestly conveying God's Word to the church and the world regardless of how open the ears of the hearers. Our commitment to proclaim the whole truth that God has entrusted to us has nothing to do with people's willingness to accept it. In Ezekiel's situation, God clearly forewarns him that the people will not listen. But that doesn't matter (3:4-11). For all eternity it will be clear that those who have been judged for their sin are without excuse. God sent His word by His Spirit into the hearts of us all (Rom. 1:20-21, 2:14-15). God has sent His Word by the prophets and by His written Word. We, like Ezekiel, are "watchmen." We have been sent into this world to warn humanity that they are accountable before their Maker for the sin that has destroyed one another and the arrogance that has turned our backs on God's wisdom, will, and love. And like Ezekiel, we will be held accountable for our own sin if we withhold warning His people. For we who know what Jesus Christ has graciously done in providing the gift of salvation for all people and not doing all within our ability to make this known is a serious sin. It is the height of selfless disregard for the value of a human soul. God will require their blood at our hand. This is true not only to a lost world, but to God's church, His people. If we stand by and do nothing to correct the influence of false doctrine and sin that is destroying God's people, we will share in the judgment God will bring upon His own children (3:18-20). Lastly, we see that God may require of us to pay a heavy personal price to awaken people to God's warnings. Reading chapter four makes this all too clear. Obviously, what Ezekiel had to do was unique to his time and situation. But the principle is the same. It will be at great personal cost for us to bring God's Word to others. But people are worth it. Christ proved it at the cross (4:1-17). | |
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| Ezekiel 3:1-4:17
3 And He said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you." So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. 4 Then He said to me: "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, 6 not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. 8 Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house." 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. 11 And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear, or whether they refuse." 12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: "Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place!" 13 I also heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. 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. Ezekiel Is a Watchman16 Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 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: 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. 20 "Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul." 22 Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, "Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you." 23 So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. 24 Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: "Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And you, O son of man, surely they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. 26 I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and not be one to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 4 The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed1 "You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. 2 Lay siege against it, build a siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. 3 Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel. 4 "Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year. 7 "Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. 8 And surely I will restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege. 9 "Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. 11 You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight." 13 Then the LORD said, "So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them." 14 So I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth." 15 Then He said to me, "See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it." 16 Moreover He said to me, "Son of man, surely I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall drink water by measure and with dread, 17 that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and waste away because of their iniquity. | |
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| Ezekiel 3:1-4:17 v. 1-3 feed your belly, and fill your stomach – The message is not to be merely sampled or tasted, but fully consumed and internalized before it is spoken to others. mouth like honey in sweetness – Surprisingly, though the message is lamentation, mourning, and woe (2:10), the scroll is sweet when Ezekiel obediently eats what is given him by God. v. 5-7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you – Even though Ezekiel is able to communicate fluently and speaks as one of their own people, Israel will not receive him. Their ability to understand him will prove greater condemnation because they understand yet are too hard hearted to receive. v. 9-11 Like adamant stone, harder than flint – Ezekiel is again told explicitly how he will be received, and warned not to be afraid and that he must communicate the message whether they hear or whether they refuse. v. 10 receive into your heart – It is not enough for Ezekiel to simply record and repeat God's Word. The message must be taken to heart. The burden power and weight must be known, believed, and experienced by Ezekiel himself, and becomes his passion and conviction as well. v. 12-13 a great thunderous noise – The elements and sounds of the vision of God's glory returns once again, and overwhelms Ezekiel. v. 14 in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me – This is the combined effect and result of Ezekiel's vision and the internalizing of God's message. He returns to the captives and remains there astonished among them seven days (Job 2:13). v. 17 I have made you a watchman – These were men who stood watch on the wall as an early warning system for a city. They would give warning and proclaim what they see to those in the city. This is to be the nature of Ezekiel's ministry. v. 18-21 but his blood I will require at your hand – If Ezekiel shrinks from declaring what he sees and warning the people, he bears the responsibility of those destroyed by sin. But if is he faithful, the sinners who repent shall surely live because he took warning, and Ezekiel will be absolved of his responsibility. v. 22 Arise, go out into the plain – Ezekiel is again called out and receives more instruction. This valley will be the setting for the vision of dry bones in chapter 37. v. 24-26 The Spirit warns and instructs Ezekiel again of all that will oppose him – He is to shut himself inside his house, and there he will be bound by those who want to shut him up and keep him from going about and spreading his message. God will even give him difficulty in communicating as a way of further judging those who hear and those who refuse. Ezekiel 4Chapters 4–24 make up a distinct unit in the book. The content is not all in chronological order, but is arranged in subject and genre. Chapters 4-7 contain many dramatic enactments, chapters 8-11 are another vision series, and chapters 15-23 contain many prophetic parables and metaphors. They all take place before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC, which ends and validates all of the prophecies. v. 1 portray on it a city – Jerusalem. Ezekiel is instructed to make a drawing or model of Jerusalem and then show it being surrounded and destroyed. This model showed ahead of time what actually happened in the siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Like many other dramatic acts and sermons in the book, we read what Ezekiel was instructed to do but don't have a record of the outcome or response. v. 3 iron plate – The Hebrew identifies this as a pan or griddle that the priests used to offer grain and bread sacrifices in the tabernacle (Lev 2:5, 6:21). Ezekiel is to set it between his face and the city, symbolizing the barrier between God and Jerusalem and that He is the one judging them by the siege. v. 4 Lie also on your left side – We are not told how many hours a day Ezekiel spent like this, but he was intended both to display and experience the iniquity (or punishment) of the people. It is unclear what period of judgment the 390 is to represent, either the years of Israel's past unfaithfulness that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem, or the Gentile domination that followed its fall. v. 6-8 lie again on your right side – This demonstrates the siege of Jerusalem and because he was restrained by God so that he could not turn over, we assume this was a continuous position for 40 days. It would have certainly caused Ezekiel pain and suffering and helped the prophet sympathetically suffer with and for the iniquities of the people. v. 9-15 – These verses demonstrate the desperate conditions of a siege: unusual combinations of foods because of scarcity, rationed measures of food and water, defiling themselves with uncleanness because of drastic conditions. v. 16 eat bread by weight and with anxiety…and be dismayed with one another – These are the desperate psychological effects of the siege, and waste away because of their iniquity. | |
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| When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. –Ezekiel 3:18-19 These are stern and serious words that we read today, Lord. It is clearly stated here that we are responsible for sharing Your plan of salvation with the world around us. Renew us, God, make over our hearts so that we will not fail to heed the leading of the Holy Spirit to speak Your truth to those who are destined for eternity without You. | |
3:18-19 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
1 Moreover He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.
