Ezekiel 3

Ezekiel 3:1

PREPARATION OF THE PROPHETIn chapter 3 we have the preparation of the prophet for a hard job, a difficult assignment. Jeremiah was a different type of individual from Ezekiel. Jeremiah was the prophet of the broken heart, tears often streaming from his eyes. At that crucial moment in history God needed Jeremiah to let His people know that it was breaking His heart to send them into captivity. Now the people have gone into captivity, and they are bitter and rebellious. However, at this time the temple had not yet been burned or the city of Jerusalem destroyed.

It would not be until seven years after this delegation of captives arrived in Babylon that that destruction would occur. Therefore, the false prophets were still telling the people that they were God’s people and they would go back home. They said to this man Ezekiel, “Who do you think you are to tell us these things? We are God’s people, and we are going back to our land. We will not be in captivity a long time.” But God had told Ezekiel, “You tell them they are not going back. They are going to be in captivity for seventy years just as Jeremiah said.

They are going to be in Babylon seventy years, and they are going to work hard there along the canals, working in the fields and building buildings. It is going to be a hard lot for them.” “Son of man"again, this is the title the Lord gives Ezekiel in this hard job, in the suffering he would experience. “Eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.” This is quite a diethe is to eat the Word of God. The Word of God should become part of us, my friend. No man ought to preach the Word whose heart is not in it and who doesn’t believe every word he says. Otherwise, he should get out of the ministry. The pulpit is no place for flowery speech and high-flown excess verbiage. The pulpit is the place to declare the Word of God.

Ezekiel 3:2

For a good diet study the Word of God. May I ask you, do you love the person of Christ? Maybe I ought to first ask, do you love the Word of God? You will never love Him unless you love the Word of God. A seminary professor asked me one time, “What theory of inspiration do you hold?” I said to him, “The theory I hold is no theory at alllove the Book.” You have to love the Word of God before it will ever become meaningful to you. The Word of God reveals a Person to you and then you fall in love with Him. Ezekiel said, “It was in my mouth as honey for sweetness"he loved the Word of God.

Ezekiel 3:4

Ezekiel was not sent to speak to foreigners but to his own people. He would not go as a missionary who has to learn a foreign tongue and a hard languageGod sent him “to the house of Israel.”

Ezekiel 3:6

“Ezekiel, I am sending you to a congregation that is impudent and in rebellion against Me. They won’t hear Me, and they are not going to hear you either.”

Ezekiel 3:8

The Lord tells Ezekiel, “You are to go ahead and give them My Word, and I am going to make your head hard.” Now God didn’t make Jeremiah’s head hard. Jeremiah had a soft heart, and he couldn’t stand up against all the trouble he faced. At one time he even went to the Lord and resigned. Ezekiel is not about to resign. God says, “The children of Israel are hardheaded, and I am going to make your head harder than theirs. A man came to me one time and said, “You know, our preacher really talked hard to the board the other night, and I don’t think a preacher ought to talk that way to the board.” “Well,” I said, “what kind of a board is it?” He replied, “They’ve caused the pastor a lot of trouble.” I told him, “That’s the kind of problem Ezekiel had, but God made his head harder than Israel’s. I just hope your preacher’s head is harder than anyone’s on the board.”

Ezekiel 3:15

HIS OFFICE AS WATCHMANNow God tells Ezekiel what he is to do and how he is to warn Israel. God gives to Ezekiel the job of being a watchman to warn His people. They may not want it, but he is to warn them. God says to him, “If you do not warn them that they are going to die in their sins, I am going to hold you responsible. However, if you warn them and they continue in their disobedience and die in their sins, you will not be responsible.” My friend, I would hate to be in the place of a minister who does not give out the Word of God. I’d hate to be in his position and stand before the Lord Jesus someday in judgment. A man who has the Word of God should have the intestinal fortitude to declare the Word of God. This was Ezekiel’s responsibility, and God chose the right man for the jobhe was as hard as a hickory nut. The watchman held a very important position in the ancient world, in that day of walled cities. The cities were walled for protection, and the gates were closed at nightfall. A watchman then ascended the wall to begin the vigil of the long, dark night. With a trained eye he peered into the impenetrable darkness which surrounded the city. With a trained ear alert to every noise, he listened for the approach of danger, for the approach of an enemy. The Word of God has quite a bit to say about the watchman. In Isa_62:6 we read: “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night….” And then in Psa_127:1 it says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that built it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” In the Hebrew culture, the watchmen functioned in three watches of the night; that is, they had three shifts: from dark until about midnight; from midnight until cockcrow, which was probably about two or three o’clock; and from then until dawn. The watchman in the morning watch was the one who announced the dawn. The Romans had the night divided into four watches. We might think that the practice of having watchmen belongs to a backward age and a day that is past, that at the dawn of civilization it was satisfactory but it’s not needed today. However, we are finding out again that we need watchmen. The police who patrol all during the night in our cities are watchmen. I personally feel they should have more support from the citizens and from the legal profession. We should stand behind them. I know that some of them individually are not what they should be, but we should respect their office and respect the fact that they do protect us during the night. But if we continue on the lawless path on which we are now, I am afraid that the day will come when they will not be able to help us at all. The Book of Isaiah teaches us that the watchman had not only a responsibility, but also a visibility. He was to be able to distinguish the enemy out there in the darkness. Today, the minister is to be the watchman for his community. He should be able to give a warning of dangerhe is responsible to give that type of message.

Ezekiel 3:20

This verse has been used to argue that a believer can fall from grace, a teaching which is not found in the Word of God. Gal_5:4 is the only place where you will find the expression “…fallen from grace.” There it is not speaking of salvation but of those who have been saved by grace but have fallen down to a legal level and are attempting to live by the law instead of living by grace. The great teaching of Galatians is that we are saved by grace and are to live by grace. Here in Ezekiel we have a man who is living under the time of law. His life was determined by righteous acts. Under normal circumstances the righteous acts he might perform might look very good. But under time of stress and strain he might turn from God, and he would be judged for it. We are not to construe that he was once saved. He will be tested at the end of his life as to whether he is a child of God or not. Today you and I are living under grace, and righteousness is determined in a little different way. We are constituted righteous by faith in Jesus Christ. We are saved by grace through faith. In Rom_4:5 we are told “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted [reckoned] for righteousness.” The true believer today may fall into sin, but he will not deliberately practice and live in sin: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit [practice] sin …” (1Jn_3:9). If a believer falls into sin, a gracious provision is madewe have an Advocate with the Father, and we can come to Him in confession of our sins. The emphasis in Ezekiel is not so much upon this man living under law but upon the responsibility of the watchman. The watchman is to warn the man who has turned from good works to living in a way that conforms to the standard of the enemy.

Ezekiel 3:22

Having been told he is to be a watchman, God now tells Ezekiel to leave these people. For seven days he has sat among them overwhelmed by how far they have apostatized and turned from God. God calls him to leave them.

Ezekiel 3:23

The subject of the glory of God will appear again and again in the Book of Ezekiel. What is glory, by the way? Some will say that glory is something you cannot see, that it is intangible. I feel that is entirely wrong. Glory is something that produces a sensation on all five of our senses. Glory has size.

How big is it? Is it long or square or round? May I say, glory has the size of the infinity of space. The Word of God tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork” (Psa_19:1). The glory of God is seen in this tremendous universe that you and I live in. Glory also has a beauty to it: “…whose glorious beauty is a fading flower …” (Isa_28:1).

Glory is beautiful. My, heaven is going to be a beautiful place. How lovely it’s going to be! Glory has to do with adornment. We read in Scripture that He was “…glorious in his apparel …” (Isa_63:1). He is really dressed up and lovely in the garb that He wears.

There is a majesty about glory. Psa_8:1 declares, “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.” This is the majesty of God; it is bright and light, precious and pure. Finally, glory also sets forth honor and dignity. Daniel said, “O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour” (Dan_5:18). The very name of God suggests His dignity, His glory. Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord.

Ezekiel 3:24

The usual interpretation of this verse is that the enemy binds Ezekiel so that they can take him out of the house. However, Ezekiel wanted to stay in that house, and he would not go although they had bound him. Instead of speaking a great deal, Ezekiel is going to act out the parables which God gives to him. This is one of them: he goes into his house and locks himself in. Why? To show that God has rejected this rebellious people.

Ezekiel 3:26

Ezekiel’s job is to say, “Thus saith the Lord GOD.” Back in chapter 2, verse Eze_2:7 we read, “And thou shalt speak my words unto them.” This man is to give God’s Word to these people, and that is the only time he’s to speak to them, He is to be dumb at other times. He had only the Word of God to give them.