Ezekiel 3

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Dave Burnette's Commentary

Ezekiel Chapter 3

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Ezekiel
Date Penned: (571 BC)
Overview: To Announce God's Judgement and Salvation (c 1-5)
Theme: Messages of Doom (c 1-24)
Message: God Appoints Ezekiel to be a Watchman (v 1-27)

Ezekiel 3 Commentary

(3:1) Ezekiel's Vision - In his vision, Ezekiel ate God's message and found this spiritual food not only good for him but also sweet as honey (see Revelation 10:8-10 for a similar use of this image). If you "digest" God's Word, you will find that not only does it make you stronger in your faith, but its wisdom also sweetens your life. You need to feed yourself spiritually, just as you do physically. This means doing more than simply giving God's message a casual glance. You must make digesting God's Word a regular part of your life.

(3:8-9) Facing Attacks - Many critics attack belief in God as a crutch for those too weak to stand on their own. These attacks can be strong and persuasive because ideas are powerful. But God encourages Ezekiel (and us) that his power makes his followers strong enough to stand against any attack or idea that tries to ridicule our faith. Just as God gave Ezekiel tough faith ("harder than flint"), he wants to give you the stability, perseverance, and insight you need to live up to the great task he has given you. Give yourself over to God's conditioning and let him give you strength and confidence that what you believe is good and true.

(3:10-11) God's Word - Ezekiel needed to take God's words to heart before preaching them to others. God's message must sink deep into your heart and permeate your actions before you can effectively help others understand and apply the gospel.

(3:14-15) Ezekiel's Anger - Ezekiel was angry--not at God, but at the sins and attitudes of the people. Ezekiel's extraordinary vision had ended, and he had to begin the tedious job of prophesying among his people, who cared little about God's messages. Before the Exile, while still in Judah, the people had heard Jeremiah, but they had refused to listen to him. Here Ezekiel had to give a similar message, and he expected to be rejected as well. But Ezekiel had the vision of the four living creatures and the rumbling wheels to back up his message. He had nothing to fear because God's hold on him was strong. Despite knowing the probable outcome, Ezekiel obeyed God. As we grow, we will have times of great joy when we feel close to God and other times when sins, struggles, illness, or the daily grind wears us down. Like Ezekiel, we should obey God at all costs--even when we feel tired and frustrated. Don't let how you feel hinder your obedience.

(3:15) Seven Days - Ezekiel sat quietly among the people for seven days. This was the customary period of mourning for the dead (Genesis 50:10; 1 Samuel 31:13; Job 2:13). Ezekiel was mourning for those who were spiritually dead. Tel-abib was the name of a settlement for Jews who had been exiled from Jerusalem.

(3:17-18) A Watchman - A watchman's job was to stand on the city wall and warn the people of approaching danger. Ezekiel's role was to be a spiritual watchman, warning the people of the judgment to come. (For more on the watchman's responsibility, see 33:1-20.) Some think that the phrase "his blood will I require at thine hand" means that just as a watchman on the wall would pay with his life if he failed to warn a city of approaching enemies, Ezekiel would have paid with his life if he had refused to warn the people of coming judgment. Others believe this phrase more generally means that God would simply hold Ezekiel responsible if he failed to speak up.

(3:18-21) Death - In these verses, God is talking not about loss of salvation but rather about physical death. If the people back in Judah continued in their sins, they and their land and cities would be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar's armies. If, on the other hand, the people would turn to God, he would spare them. God would hold Ezekiel responsible for his fellow Jews if he failed to warn them of the consequences of their sins. All people are individually responsible to God, but believers have a special responsibility to warn unbelievers of the consequences of rejecting God. If we fail to do this, God will hold us responsible for what happens to them. This should motivate us to begin sharing our faith with others--by both word and deed--and to avoid becoming callous or unconcerned in our attitudes. Some people can be outspoken and even confrontational when sharing their faith. Others share their faith simply by praying with unbelievers, sharing books with them, or inviting them to coffee to talk about the Good News. Ask God to give you opportunities to share his message.

(3:18-19) Not Listening - God had already told Ezekiel that the people would not listen, so why should he bother to tell them God's message? God wanted the people to know they had been warned. Ezekiel's job was to obey God. We are responsible for warning others about God's judgment and sharing with them his message of salvation, although we are not held responsible for how they respond. Ezekiel had a special calling and role as a prophet that we don't necessarily share, but we are all called to share God's truth where it is needed. What can you do to be a watchman today?

(3:23) Helplessness - Ezekiel recognized his helplessness before God and fell face down in his presence. Sometimes our prosperity, popularity, or physical strength blinds us to our spiritual helplessness. But nothing we do on our own can accomplish much for God. To be God's person, first admit that you need his help; then you will see what he can do in your life.

(3:24-27) God's Word Spoken - Ezekiel was allowed to speak only when God had a message for the people. Thus, the people knew that whatever Ezekiel said was God's word. They did not have to wonder whether Ezekiel was speaking by God's authority or his own. He was, in a sense, acting out God's silence and distance from his people due to their sin. Why did God tell Ezekiel to use such strange methods to reach his people? Ezekiel's audience may have required such dramatic means to get their attention. How might God be trying to get your attention today to draw you to himself?

David Burnette's Life Application

A Watchman

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue the Book of Ezekiel with Chapter 3. In our text today we see God appoints Ezekiel to be a spiritual watchman to stand and warn the people of approaching spiritual danger. In making application we see the Lord has given us His Word for truth and we, as the Body of Christ, are to be watchman sharing the truth of Sin and the Savior, Heaven and Hell, and the Love of God. How about you? Are responding to the call to be a watchman. Let us learn from our text today and the life of Ezekiel to see that the Lord has instructed us to be a watchman and tell others of Heaven and Hell, Sin and the Grave, and the Glorious Gospel that can change a persons eternal destiny.

Ezekiel 3

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Ezekiel 3

¹Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

²So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

³And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

⁴And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

⁵For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;

⁶Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.

⁷But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

⁸Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

⁹As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

¹⁰Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

¹¹And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

¹²Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.

¹³I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

¹⁴So 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.

¹⁵Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

¹⁶And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

¹⁷Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

¹⁸When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

¹⁹Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

²⁰Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

²¹Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

²²And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

²³Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

²⁴Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.

²⁵But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

²⁶And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

²⁷But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

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