Ezekiel 33, Ezekiel’s Role

“Chapter 33 begins the final major section of the book (chs. 33–48)…At this point, Ezekiel still cannot speak audibly unless the Lord gives him words to say (3:26–27). The Lord gives Ezekiel the parable of the watchman to speak to the people. This recalls chapter 3, where the Lord called Ezekiel to the duty of watchman for the people. The opening of chapter 33 appears to be a renewal of that calling. In chapter 3 it appears that the Lord gave Ezekiel this calling privately, but now Ezekiel is publicly recognized as the official watchman for the people.” (NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible)

1 The word of Yahweh came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

7 “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. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

“The Lachish letters dating from the last days of Judah refer to messages sent from one fortress to another by means of fire signals. Each fortress had a lookout post for this specific purpose. The lookout’s task was to warn as quickly as possible of the approaching enemy. One letter dating from the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Jerusalem states the following: “We are watching the Lachish (fire)-signal [mš׳t] according to the signs [׳t] which my lord has given.” (ZIBBCOT)

10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Yahweh, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’ 13 If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. 14 And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right— 15 if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die. 16 None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.

17 “Yet your people say, ‘The way of Yahweh is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. 18 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. 19 And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. 20 Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of Yahweh is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.”

Yahweh “takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked” (verse 11). God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in him will not perish (John 3:16). But He is just in His judgments of evil and wickedness.

21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!” 22 Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of Yahweh was on 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 silent.

“It took approximately five months for the survivor to reach Ezekiel with the news. This important turning point in the book marks a watershed moment in the history of Israel and the life of Ezekiel and the exilic community in Babylon. From this point forward, Ezekiel will begin to prophesy messages of hope and eventual restoration of the people of God. Ezekiel has also been freed from the divinely imposed muteness that began in Ezekiel 3:26.” (NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible)

23 Then the word of Yahweh came to me: 24 “Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Yahweh says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? 26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’

Yahweh’s judgment has nothing to do with how many people are living in Israel. Abraham was not judged because he kept covenant with Yahweh. Judah has not. They were regularly violating His Law.

27 “Say this to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Yahweh says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. 28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. 29 Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.’

30 “As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from Yahweh.’ 31 My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.

33 “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ezekiel 33)

Jesus warned his listeners to be like the house built on the rock, not the sand, putting his words into practice (Matthew 7). It is never enough to just hear the prophet. You must act on what he says.