Ezekiel 3 Study Notes: Ezekiel Eats the Scroll and Becomes a Watchman
Ezekiel eats the scroll, which tastes sweet, and God makes him as unyielding as the hard-hearted people he must address. After a week sitting stunned among the exiles, he is appointed a watchman to warn the wicked and the righteous, and he is told to stay silent except when God gives him words.
General
How did God prepare Ezekiel to face a hard-hearted people (3:8-9)?
Answer: He made Ezekiel’s brow as hard as theirs
Israel was hard of face and hard of heart, so God promised to make Ezekiel’s face and forehead just as hard as theirs, his forehead like diamond and tougher than flint (3:8-9). The picture is of firm, unbending courage: Ezekiel would not be stared down or shamed into silence. God again told him not to fear them or be dismayed by their looks, though they were a rebellious house (3:9). His strength came from God, not from his own temperament. With the Lord GOD’s help, the Servant in Isaiah sets His face like flint, confident He will not be shamed (Isaiah 50:7), and God made Jeremiah a fortified city and walls of bronze against all the land (Jeremiah 1:18).
- Ezekiel 3:8-9 (BSB)“Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.””God makes Ezekiel’s face and forehead as unyielding as the people’s, his brow tougher than flint, and tells him not to fear them.
- Isaiah 50:7 (BSB)“Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame.”With the Lord GOD’s help, the Servant sets His face like flint, sure He will not be shamed.
- Jeremiah 1:18 (BSB)“Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.”God made Jeremiah strong as a walled city and an iron pillar to withstand the whole nation.
Theological
By what means did God equip Ezekiel for a ministry to a hardened people (3:8-9)?
Answer: He made Ezekiel’s brow as hard as theirs
Against the people’s hardness God set a matching, God-given firmness: He would make Ezekiel’s face just as hard as theirs and his forehead like diamond, tougher than flint, and He renewed the command not to fear or be dismayed at them (3:8-9). The prophet’s steadfastness is not native temperament but divine equipping for the task God assigned. The Servant of Isaiah, upheld by the Lord GOD, likewise sets His face like flint, confident that He will not be shamed (Isaiah 50:7), and Jeremiah was made a fortified city and walls of bronze against all the land (Jeremiah 1:18). God never sends His servants into opposition without supplying the strength the calling requires.
- Ezekiel 3:8-9 (BSB)“Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.””God makes Ezekiel’s face and forehead as unyielding as the people’s, his brow tougher than flint, and tells him not to fear them.
- Isaiah 50:7 (BSB)“Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame.”With the Lord GOD’s help, the Servant sets His face like flint, sure He will not be shamed.
- Jeremiah 1:18 (BSB)“Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.”God made Jeremiah strong as a walled city and an iron pillar to withstand the whole nation.
General
Why did God say Israel would refuse to listen to Ezekiel (3:7)?
Answer: They refused to hear God Himself
God stressed that He was not sending Ezekiel to a foreign people with a strange language he could not understand. If God had sent him to such nations, they would have paid attention (3:5-6). The problem was not language but hearts. Israel would refuse to listen to Ezekiel because they refused to listen to God, for the whole nation was stubborn of mind and hard of heart (3:7). Jesus said something similar about the towns of Galilee: if Tyre and Sidon had seen His miracles, they would have turned in repentance long before (Matthew 11:21). He also told His disciples that people would treat their message the way they had treated His (John 15:20), and that rejecting His messengers means rejecting Him and the One who had sent Him (Luke 10:16). Rejecting God’s messenger is, at root, rejecting God.
- Ezekiel 3:5-7 (BSB)“For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel— not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.”Ezekiel is not sent to foreigners, who would have listened, but to Israel, who will not listen to him because they will not listen to God.
- Matthew 11:21 (BSB)““Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”Jesus says Tyre and Sidon would have repented had they seen His miracles, unlike the Galilean towns that saw them.
- John 15:20 (BSB)“Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.”Jesus tells His disciples that people will treat their word as they treated His.
- Luke 10:16 (BSB)“Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.””Jesus says that rejecting His messengers means rejecting Him and the One who sent Him.
Theological
What reason did God give for Israel’s coming refusal to heed Ezekiel (3:7)?
Answer: They refused to hear God Himself
God underscored that the obstacle was not linguistic: had Ezekiel been sent to peoples of unintelligible speech, they would have paid attention (3:5-6). Israel’s refusal to hear Ezekiel would flow from their refusal to hear God Himself, for all Israel was stubborn of mind and hard of heart (3:7). The hardness is moral, not intellectual; privilege and clear revelation do not soften the fallen heart, which by nature resists God until He changes it. Jesus made the same comparison when He said that Tyre and Sidon would have repented had they seen what Chorazin and Bethsaida saw (Matthew 11:21). He told His disciples that their word would be received as His had been (John 15:20), and that rejecting His messengers is rejecting Him and the Father who sent Him (Luke 10:16).
- Ezekiel 3:5-7 (BSB)“For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel— not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.”Ezekiel is not sent to foreigners, who would have listened, but to Israel, who will not listen to him because they will not listen to God.
- Matthew 11:21 (BSB)““Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”Jesus says Tyre and Sidon would have repented had they seen His miracles, unlike the Galilean towns that saw them.
- John 15:20 (BSB)“Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.”Jesus tells His disciples that people will treat their word as they treated His.
- Luke 10:16 (BSB)“Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.””Jesus says that rejecting His messengers means rejecting Him and the One who sent Him.
General
What did God tell Ezekiel about his speaking during this time (3:26-27)?
Answer: He would be mute except when God opened his mouth
God called Ezekiel to go out onto the plain, where he saw the LORD’s glory again, just as he had by the Kebar River, and he fell facedown (3:22-23). The Spirit set him on his feet, and God told him to shut himself in his house (3:24). People would bind him with ropes so he could not go out among them, and God would make his tongue cling to his palate so that he would fall silent, unable to correct them. But whenever God spoke with him, God would open his mouth, and he would announce the Lord GOD’s message; whoever was willing could listen, and whoever refused could refuse (3:25-27). So the only words Ezekiel spoke to the people in this period were God’s own. God later ends this silence, opening his mouth on the evening prior to the arrival of the foretold fugitive from Jerusalem (24:27; 33:22). The closing appeal resembles Jesus’ call for those with ears to hear (Matthew 11:15).
- Ezekiel 3:22-23 (BSB)“And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.” So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD was present there, like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell facedown.”On the plain Ezekiel again sees the LORD’s glory, as at the Kebar River, and falls facedown.
- Ezekiel 3:25-27 (BSB)“And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes, and you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.”Ezekiel will be bound and silent, unable to rebuke the people, except when God opens his mouth to speak His word.
- Ezekiel 24:27 (BSB)“On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.””God foretells the day Ezekiel’s mouth will be opened and his muteness will end.
- Ezekiel 33:22 (BSB)“Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.”On the evening before the fugitive from Jerusalem reached him in the morning, God opened Ezekiel’s mouth and ended his muteness.
- Matthew 11:15 (BSB)“He who has ears, let him hear.”Jesus calls everyone with ears to hear, an appeal like the one that closes Ezekiel 3.
Theological
What restriction did God place on Ezekiel’s speech (3:26-27)?
Answer: He would be mute except when God opened his mouth
On the plain Ezekiel again beheld the LORD’s glory as at the Kebar and fell facedown (3:22-23); the Spirit raised him, and God told him to shut himself in his house (3:24). Bound by ropes, his tongue made to cling to his palate, he would fall silent, unable to reprove the rebellious house. Yet when God spoke with him, God would open his mouth to deliver the Lord GOD’s word, leaving the hearers to listen or refuse (3:25-27). The prophet’s silence ensured that every word he addressed to the people was God’s word and not his own. God ended this muteness on the evening prior to the fugitive’s arrival from Jerusalem, as He had foretold (24:27; 33:22). The closing formula, leaving each hearer to hear or refuse, anticipates Jesus’ summons to those who have ears to hear (Matthew 11:15).
- Ezekiel 3:22-23 (BSB)“And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.” So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD was present there, like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell facedown.”On the plain Ezekiel again sees the LORD’s glory, as at the Kebar River, and falls facedown.
- Ezekiel 3:25-27 (BSB)“And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes, and you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.”Ezekiel will be bound and silent, unable to rebuke the people, except when God opens his mouth to speak His word.
- Ezekiel 24:27 (BSB)“On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.””God foretells the day Ezekiel’s mouth will be opened and his muteness will end.
- Ezekiel 33:22 (BSB)“Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.”On the evening before the fugitive from Jerusalem reached him in the morning, God opened Ezekiel’s mouth and ended his muteness.
- Matthew 11:15 (BSB)“He who has ears, let him hear.”Jesus calls everyone with ears to hear, an appeal like the one that closes Ezekiel 3.
General
True or False: According to 3:20, if a man who had lived righteously turned to do evil, his earlier righteous deeds would still be remembered and would save him.
Answer: False
This is false. God said that if a man who was righteous abandoned his righteous life to do evil, and God put a stumbling block in his way, he would die, and his past righteous acts would not be remembered. If Ezekiel had not warned him, God would also require the man’s blood from Ezekiel (3:20). But if Ezekiel warned a righteous man against sinning and he heeded the warning, he would live, and Ezekiel would have delivered himself (3:21). God states the same rule again at length later in the book (18:24). The warning concerns a person’s actual course of life: a past record of good deeds is no shelter for someone who walks away into sin. The New Testament, speaking about people who fall away, teaches that sharing in Christ shows itself in holding on to the end (Hebrews 3:14), and that those who left the believers showed they had not truly belonged (1 John 2:19).
- Ezekiel 3:20-21 (BSB)“Now if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he heeded your warning, and you will have saved yourself.””A righteous man who turns to iniquity will die and his past righteous acts will not count; one who heeds the warning will live.
- Ezekiel 18:24 (BSB)“But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.”God repeats that a righteous man who turns to wickedness will die and his former righteousness will not be remembered.
- Hebrews 3:14 (BSB)“We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.”Those who have truly come to share in Christ show it by holding on to their first assurance until the end.
- 1 John 2:19 (BSB)“They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.”Those who left the believers’ fellowship showed by leaving that they had never belonged to it.
Theological
True or False: Ezekiel 3:20 teaches that a righteous man’s former righteousness would be credited to him even if he turned to iniquity.
Answer: False
This is false. A righteous man who abandons his righteousness for iniquity dies, his former righteous deeds are not remembered, and if the watchman failed to warn him, his blood is required of the watchman (3:20). God says He Himself places a stumbling block in his way, yet the man dies in his own sin, so God’s sovereign hand in judgment and the man’s full responsibility stand together. Conversely, the righteous man who heeds the warning lives, and the watchman has delivered his own life (3:21); the warning is a means God uses to turn people from sin. The principle is restated in 18:24. The issue is a person’s actual course of life, not a past record to be banked against later rebellion. The New Testament, addressing those who fall away, teaches perseverance: those who truly share in Christ keep their first assurance to the very end (Hebrews 3:14), and those who departed showed that they had never truly belonged (1 John 2:19). Continuing to the end is the fruit and evidence of genuine faith.
- Ezekiel 3:20-21 (BSB)“Now if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he heeded your warning, and you will have saved yourself.””A righteous man who turns to iniquity will die and his past righteous acts will not count; one who heeds the warning will live.
- Ezekiel 18:24 (BSB)“But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.”God repeats that a righteous man who turns to wickedness will die and his former righteousness will not be remembered.
- Hebrews 3:14 (BSB)“We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.”Those who have truly come to share in Christ show it by holding on to their first assurance until the end.
- 1 John 2:19 (BSB)“They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.”Those who left the believers’ fellowship showed by leaving that they had never belonged to it.
General
How did the scroll taste when Ezekiel ate it (3:3)?
Answer: Sweet, like honey in his mouth
God told Ezekiel to eat the scroll and fill his stomach with it, and then deliver God’s words to Israel. Ezekiel opened his mouth, God fed him the scroll, and it tasted sweet like honey (3:1-3). The prophet had to take God’s message into himself before he spoke it to others. Even though the scroll was full of lament and woe (2:10), God’s word was sweet to the servant who received it. Jeremiah said that when he found God’s words he ate them and they became his joy (Jeremiah 15:16), and a psalm says God’s words are sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103). John also ate a scroll that was sweet in his mouth, though it later turned his stomach bitter (Revelation 10:9-10). The bitterness Ezekiel felt as he set out a little later (3:14) was in his own spirit; the scroll itself was sweet.
- Ezekiel 3:1-3 (BSB)““Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll. “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.”God tells Ezekiel to eat the scroll and fill his stomach with it, and it tastes sweet like honey.
- Jeremiah 15:16 (BSB)“Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.”Jeremiah says he found God’s words and ate them, and they became his joy.
- Psalm 119:103 (BSB)“How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth!”The psalmist says God’s words are sweeter than honey to his taste.
- Revelation 10:9-10 (BSB)“And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.”John eats a little scroll that tastes like honey but afterward sours his stomach.
Theological
What was the taste of the scroll Ezekiel ate at God’s command (3:3)?
Answer: Sweet, like honey in his mouth
Commanded to eat the scroll and fill his stomach with it before speaking to Israel, Ezekiel opened his mouth, God fed it to him, and it was sweet like honey (3:1-3). The prophet must first internalize the word before he proclaims it. Though its contents were lament, mourning and woe (2:10), the word of God is sweet to the servant who receives it in obedience, because it is God’s own word. Jeremiah describes the same experience of eating God’s words and finding them his joy (Jeremiah 15:16), and the psalmist calls God’s words sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103). John’s scroll is sweet in the mouth but bitter in the stomach (Revelation 10:9-10). The bitterness Ezekiel experiences in 3:14 belongs to his own spirit as he goes out, not to the taste of the scroll.
- Ezekiel 3:1-3 (BSB)““Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll. “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.”God tells Ezekiel to eat the scroll and fill his stomach with it, and it tastes sweet like honey.
- Jeremiah 15:16 (BSB)“Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.”Jeremiah says he found God’s words and ate them, and they became his joy.
- Psalm 119:103 (BSB)“How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth!”The psalmist says God’s words are sweeter than honey to his taste.
- Revelation 10:9-10 (BSB)“And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.”John eats a little scroll that tastes like honey but afterward sours his stomach.
General
What did Ezekiel do when he first arrived among the exiled community at Tel-abib (3:15)?
Answer: He sat among them overwhelmed for seven days
As the Spirit lifted Ezekiel up, he heard behind him a great rumbling: a voice blessing the LORD’s glory where He dwells, along with the noise of the creatures’ wings brushing together and of the wheels alongside (3:12-13). The Spirit carried him away, and he set out bitter and hot in spirit, with the LORD’s hand pressing strongly on him (3:14). He reached the exiled community at Tel-abib beside the Kebar River and sat with them in their place for seven days, stunned and overwhelmed (3:15). Only after those seven days did the LORD’s word come to him again (3:16). Job’s friends likewise sat in silence beside him seven days and nights because his suffering was so great (Job 2:13). The Spirit would carry Ezekiel again in later visions (8:3; 43:5).
- Ezekiel 3:12-14 (BSB)“Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His dwelling place!” It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, a great rumbling sound. So the Spirit 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 upon me.”The Spirit lifts Ezekiel, he hears the rumbling of the creatures and wheels and a blessing of the LORD’s glory, and he goes away bitter in spirit under God’s strong hand.
- Ezekiel 3:15 (BSB)“I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.”Ezekiel comes to the exiles at Tel-abib and stays among them overwhelmed for seven days.
- Job 2:13 (BSB)“Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.”Job’s friends also sat silently beside him seven days and nights, because his suffering was so great.
- Ezekiel 8:3 (BSB)“He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.”The Spirit carries Ezekiel again in a later vision.
- Ezekiel 43:5 (BSB)“Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.”In the final vision the Spirit lifts Ezekiel once more and brings him to the temple.
Theological
How did Ezekiel spend his first days among the exiled community at Tel-abib (3:15)?
Answer: He sat among them overwhelmed for seven days
Transported by the Spirit, Ezekiel heard behind him a great rumbling, a blessing of the LORD’s glory from its dwelling place, together with the noise of the creatures’ wings and the wheels (3:12-13). He went away bitter and hot in spirit, with the LORD’s hand strong upon him (3:14). Arriving at the exiled community in Tel-abib by the Kebar, he sat with them in their place for seven days, overwhelmed (3:15), and only then did the LORD speak to him again (3:16). The seven days resemble the silent week Job’s friends spent with him (Job 2:13), and the Spirit’s carrying of the prophet recurs in later visions (8:3; 43:5).
- Ezekiel 3:12-14 (BSB)“Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His dwelling place!” It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, a great rumbling sound. So the Spirit 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 upon me.”The Spirit lifts Ezekiel, he hears the rumbling of the creatures and wheels and a blessing of the LORD’s glory, and he goes away bitter in spirit under God’s strong hand.
- Ezekiel 3:15 (BSB)“I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.”Ezekiel comes to the exiles at Tel-abib and stays among them overwhelmed for seven days.
- Job 2:13 (BSB)“Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.”Job’s friends also sat silently beside him seven days and nights, because his suffering was so great.
- Ezekiel 8:3 (BSB)“He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.”The Spirit carries Ezekiel again in a later vision.
- Ezekiel 43:5 (BSB)“Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.”In the final vision the Spirit lifts Ezekiel once more and brings him to the temple.
General
God made Ezekiel a watchman for Israel. If he left a wicked man unwarned and the man then died in his sin, what would happen (3:18)?
Answer: God would hold Ezekiel accountable for his death
After seven days God appointed Ezekiel a watchman, like a guard on a city wall who sounds the alarm when danger comes. Whenever he heard a word from God, he was to warn the people on God’s behalf (3:17). If God declared that a wicked man would surely die and Ezekiel gave him no warning, the man would still die for his sin, but God would require his blood from Ezekiel. If Ezekiel warned him and he did not turn, the man would die for his sin, but Ezekiel would have delivered himself (3:18-19). God repeats this charge when He renews Ezekiel’s commission later in the book (33:7-9). Paul could tell the Ephesian elders that he was innocent of everyone’s blood because he had not held back from declaring God’s whole will (Acts 20:26-27), and Hebrews describes church leaders as those who watch over souls and will answer to God for them (Hebrews 13:17).
- Ezekiel 3:17-19 (BSB)““Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me. If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself.”God appoints Ezekiel a watchman; if he fails to warn the wicked, their blood is required of him, but if he warns them he has saved himself.
- Ezekiel 33:7-9 (BSB)“As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me. If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.”When God renews Ezekiel’s commission, He repeats the watchman’s charge almost word for word.
- Acts 20:26-27 (BSB)“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.”Paul declares himself innocent of everyone’s blood because he did not hold back from declaring God’s whole will.
- Hebrews 13:17 (BSB)“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.”Church leaders watch over souls and will answer to God for them.
Theological
Under the watchman charge, what would follow if Ezekiel withheld God’s warning from a wicked man who then died (3:18)?
Answer: God would hold Ezekiel accountable for his death
God appointed Ezekiel a watchman over Israel, bound to relay every word of warning he received from God (3:17). The charge distinguishes two responsibilities. The wicked man who is not warned still dies for his own sin, yet his blood is required at the watchman’s hand; if the watchman warns him and he refuses to turn, he dies for his own sin while the watchman has delivered his own life (3:18-19). The warning is the appointed means through which God calls sinners to turn, and the messenger is accountable for faithfully using it, not for the hearer’s response. The charge is restated when God renews the commission (33:7-9). Paul invokes the same accountability in declaring himself innocent of everyone’s blood for having proclaimed God’s whole will (Acts 20:26-27), and Hebrews describes church leaders as those who will answer to God for the souls in their care (Hebrews 13:17).
- Ezekiel 3:17-19 (BSB)““Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me. If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself.”God appoints Ezekiel a watchman; if he fails to warn the wicked, their blood is required of him, but if he warns them he has saved himself.
- Ezekiel 33:7-9 (BSB)“As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me. If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.”When God renews Ezekiel’s commission, He repeats the watchman’s charge almost word for word.
- Acts 20:26-27 (BSB)“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.”Paul declares himself innocent of everyone’s blood because he did not hold back from declaring God’s whole will.
- Hebrews 13:17 (BSB)“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.”Church leaders watch over souls and will answer to God for them.