Ezekiel 33

Ezekiel 33 EZEKIEL’ S RENEWED

Ezekiel’ s predictions of the destruction of Jerusalem had become a tragic reality. No more does the prophet sound forth the threatening blast against the inhabitants of Judah, for Judah no longer existed. It was time for consolation. Hope had to be rekindled. A remnant had to be prepared for the restoration and rebirth of the nation. Ezekiel opens this section of the book with an oracle underscoring individual responsibility and the power and potential of repentance (ch 33). Then the prophet predicts the removal of the corrupt leadership of the nation (ch 34) and the national enemies of Judah (ch 35). By so doing he sets the stage for his later prophecies of restoration.THE PROPHET AS A Eze_33:1-9 Watchman Parable Presented(Ezekiel 33:1-6) Appointment of the watchman (Ezekiel 33:1-2): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (Ezekiel 33:2) Son of man, speak to the children of my people. Say to them: When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their midst, and set him as their watchman… Following the interlude in which Ezekiel spoke to foreign nations, the prophet is again instructed to devote his attention to the children of my people. When God in his sovereign will determined to bring a sword, i.e., war, upon a land, normally that land tried to protect itself as best it could. A responsible person was appointed as watchman. He was charged with the task of sounding the alarm as the enemy approached (Ezekiel 33:2). The diligent watchman (Ezekiel 33:3-5): if he sees the sword come against the land, and he blows the horn, and warns the people; (Ezekiel 33:4) then whoever hears the sound of the horn, and does not take warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood will be upon his own head. (Ezekiel 33:5) He heard the sound of the horn, but did not take warning, so his blood will be upon him; for if he had taken warning he will have delivered his soul. A watchman can do nothing prevent the coming of or the taking away by the sword. He can only sound the alarm. Normally the watchman will warn his neighbors by means of a (ram’s) horn (Ezekiel 33:3; cf. Amos 3:6). Those who failed to heed the warning blast were responsible for their own death.

If they had taken refuge or had fled the doomed land, they will have saved their lives (Ezekiel 33:4-5). No blame can be attached to the watchman in such a case. He did his job. His blood will be upon his own head reflects the oriental custom of carrying one’s burdens on the head. In this case, the burden of guilt comes down on the head of the one who refuses to heed the warning. He thus forfeits his life.The indifferent watchman (Ezekiel 33:6): But if the watchman sees the sword come and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword come and take a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the hand of the watchman.

If the watchman sees the danger and fails to sound the alarm, he is responsible for the death of those who are slain. Even if those who died were worthy of death because of their iniquity, still the watchman is held accountable by God. That unfaithful watchman will someday pay for his negligence.Watchman Parable Applied (Ezekiel 33:7-9) Ezekiel’s position (Ezekiel 33:7): As for you, son of man, I have set you as a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore, when you hear from my mouth a word, then you will warn them from me. The long section of judgment oracles (chs 4-32) concludes as it began (Ezekiel 3:17-21), with Ezekiel’s commission as Israel’s watchman by God Himself. The fundamental responsibility of an Old Testament prophet was to convey to God’ s people any threatening word that he might have heard from the mouth of God. Ezekiel’s responsibility (Ezekiel 33:8): When I say to the wicked: O wicked man, you will surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked of his way, that wicked one will die in his iniquity; but his blood I will seek from your hand. If he fails to warn the wicked man of the consequences of his way, the blood of that wicked man will be upon the hands of the prophet. Ezekiel’s responsibility discharged (Ezekiel 33:9): But if you warn the wicked one of his way to turn from it, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your own soul. You will surely die is the announcement of a death sentence. The sentence may be spoken by God (e.g., Genesis 2:17), the king (e.g., 1 Samuel 14:44), the prophet (e.g., 2 Kings 1:4) or temple officials (Jeremiah 26:8). Always, however, it the response to disobedience to a specific command.

In every case this formula applies to a sentence passed on an individual. Not only does the prophet have the responsibility of warning the nation as a whole, he has the task of warning individuals about the just consequences of their disobedience. Implicit in the death sentence is the promise of “life” to those who heed the warning. The prophet can only clear himself before God by the faithful discharge of his duty of sounding the alarm. Whether or not the sinner heeds the prophet’ s call to repentance, the watchman has saved his own life (Ezekiel 33:9). OF Ezekiel 33:10-20 Appeal for Repentance (Ezekiel 33:10-11) Despondency among the exiles (Ezekiel 33:10): As for you, son of man, say unto the house of Israel, Thus you have said: Our transgressions and our sins are upon us. We waste away in them. How then can we live? Despair engulfed the exilic community after the fall of Jerusalem. For the first time the captives faced up to the enormity of their sin. There could be no other explanation of the disastrous overthrow of their holy city and shrine. The words upon us suggest the picture of a people crushed under the heaviest burden. That crushing burden consists of transgressions (rebellious disobedience) and sins. The punishment for that enormous burden is described under the image of wasting away, i.e., slow but irreversible deterioration.615 How can we live? they asked in desperation.’ God’s desire for repentance (Ezekiel 33:11): Say unto them, As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) surely I do not delight in the death of the wicked one, but rather when the wicked one turns from his way and lives. Turn, turn from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel? The Jewish nation seemed doomed to extinction. Life more abundant and life eternal seemed remote for such sinners. God had good news for those captives, as he always does for those who honestly face up to the sin problem in their lives. He underscores this good news by an oath (as I live). God is not vindictive. He does not desire to see his enemies die in their sins. Divine chastisement is designed to move wicked people to repentance so that they might escape the ultimate consequences of their sin. The prophet responds to the despairing question of the preceding verse with a question of his own: Why will you die? The judgments prophesied in chs 4-32 could have been averted. The death sentence on wicked individuals also can be averted by repentance. In fact, it is God’s delight, i.e., pleasure, hidden will, desire, that individuals escape death (cf. 2 Peter 3:9). This hopeful note is underscore by (1) a divine oath; and (2) the oracle formula. Ezekiel urges his hearers to turn from their evil ways. That is always the key to life (Ezekiel 33:11). Here the watchman metaphor is transformed.

What Ezekiel saw in the distance was not the approach of another enemy. The watchman saw God coming with forgiveness for all who will accept it through repentance. Need for Repentance (Ezekiel 33:12-13): Now as for you, son of man, say unto the children of your people: The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression. As for the wickedness of the wicked man, he will not be brought down by it in the day he turns from his wickedness; neither will the righteous man be able to live thereby in the day of his sin. (Ezekiel 33:13) When I say to the righteous man that he will surely live; if he trust in his righteousness and commits iniquity, all his righteousness will not be remembered, but he will die in his iniquity that he has done. Ezekiel 33:12-20 sets forth a great truth, viz., that a man’ s past does not of itself determine future relations with the Lord. A backslider who formerly lived by the righteous law of God will not live, i.e., escape punishment, when he casts his lot with the wicked.

By the same token, a penitent sinner will not stumble, i.e., suffer punishment or recrimination, because of his past. The life/death contrast of the preceding verses here becomes the contrast between deliver and brought down (Ezekiel 33:12).

God’ s promises to the righteous are conditional. The righteous man must continue to trust in God, not in his own goodness. Should he deliberately commit iniquity, he will die for that iniquity (Ezekiel 33:13). Description of Repentance (Ezekiel 33:14-16): When I say to the wicked man: You will surely die! and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right; (Ezekiel 33:15) if the wicked man returns what has been taken in pledge, if he restores what has been seized by robbery, walks in the statutes of life, so that he does not do iniquity; be will surely live, he will not die. (Ezekiel 33:16) None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live. The threats made to the wicked are not absolute.

God has decreed that death— physical, spiritual, eternal— is the penalty for wickedness. But if the wicked man turns from sin to pursue a righteous and lawful life, that death threat is cancelled (Ezekiel 33:14).

The repentance envisioned here is more than contrition for sin. The penitent person must (1) restore pawned articles that he had illegally retained; (2) restore what had been taken by violence; and (3) walk in the statutes of life, i.e., those laws of God that lead to life more abundant and ultimately life eternal (Ezekiel 33:15). If the former sinner manifests genuine repentance, God will not hold his past against him. He will live (Ezekiel 33:16). An Objection Answered (Ezekiel 33:17-20): Yet the children of My people say: The way of the Lord is not equal; but as for them, their way is not equal. (Ezekiel 33:18) When the righteous man turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he will die in them. (Ezekiel 33:19) When the wicked man turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live on account of them. (Ezekiel 33:20) But you say, The way of the Lord is not equal. I will judge each man according to his ways, O house of Israel. Some Jews argued that Ezekiel’ s teaching will portrayed God as inconsistent. The way of the Lord is not equal, they said. But to this reasoning the prophet replies that it is not God who makes the change, but man (Ezekiel 33:17). Righteous men do in fact turn from righteousness and pay the consequences (Ezekiel 33:18).

Wicked men sometimes do repent and reap the reward (Ezekiel 33:19). God deals with men as they are in the present, not as they were in the past (Ezekiel 33:20). ISRAEL AND THE LAND Ezekiel 33:21-33 Introduction (Ezekiel 33:21-22) News from Jerusalem (Ezekiel 33:21): It came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, the tenth month, the fifth day of the month, the fugitive from Jerusalem came, saying, The city has been smitten! The date and setting of Ezekiel’s next six messages (33:21-39:29) are given in these two verses. In fulfillment of the prophecy of Eze 24:26-27, a fugitive escaped Jerusalem’s destruction. He arrived in Babylon to report the city’s fall to the exiles. The term fugitive (palit)— one who escaped from battle (Joshua 8:22)— becomes in Ezekiel a technical term for the Jerusalem exiles (cf. Ezekiel 24:26-27).

The person who came to Ezekiel was one of the many exiles recently brought from Jerusalem. He may even have been a disciple of Jeremiah. Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar in the fourth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, i.e., Tammuz 586 B.C. = July 3, 586 B.C. (Jeremiah 39:2). The news arrived in Babylon in the tenth month of the twelfth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity (Jan 4, 585). Six months elapsed between the event and the report of it among the captives (Ezekiel 33:21).Effect upon Ezekiel (Ezekiel 33:22): Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, before the fugitive came. He had opened my mouth until he came unto me in the morning. my mouth was opened, and I was dumb no more.

For Ezekiel’s ministry, Jan 4, 585 B.C. was the continental divide. It closes out seven and a half years of “sentinel ministry” in which Ezekiel sounded the warning of God’s judgment to Jerusalem and the nations as well. The news of Jerusalem’s fall opened the mouth of the prophet to s pastoral ministry of hope and comfort. On the evening before the arrival of the messenger, Ezekiel again experienced the hand of the LORD upon him. Each time this expression appears in the book it refers to an extraordinary experience. In this case, the speech restriction imposed upon the prophet seven and one-half years earlier was removed, as predicted in Ezekiel 24:26 f. God opened Ezekiel’s mouth to speak messages of encouragement to the exiles immediately prior to their reception of the tragic news of Jerusalem’s fall (Ezekiel 33:22).Audacity of the Judeans (Ezekiel 33:23-26) What they were saying (Ezekiel 33:23-24): Then the word of the LORD came, saying, (24) Son of man, those who are living in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, Abraham was one man, but he inherited the land; but we are many. The land has been given to us for a possession. Again Ezekiel received revelation from the Lord (Ezekiel 33:23). It pertained to those pitiful survivors who remained among the ruins of Judah under the governorship of Gedaliah. Once the initial shock of seeing their homeland ravished had passed, that ragtag band began to imagine that they were the favored of the Lord. They apparently believed that they will form the nucleus of a new nation.

They consoled themselves by the thought that originally Canaan had been given to a solitary individual, the patriarch Abraham. But how much greater their claim to that land! They were many, and they were actually occupying that land. They will be able to recoup their loses and rebuild that land in no time (Ezekiel 22:24). By the words the land has been given to us, the survivors were appropriating the property of the exiles. The Judean survivors have derived a right from the fact of their having been spared in 586 B.C. “What should have been understood only as grace here becomes a claim.” What God had to say to them (Ezekiel 33:25-26): Therefore, say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD: You eat along with blood. You lift up your eyes unto your idols. You shed blood. Will you possess the land? (Ezekiel 33:26) You stand upon your sword. You do abominations.

Each of you defiles the wife of his neighbor. Will you possess the land? Even the fall of Jerusalem did not cure the Jews of their rebellious conduct. The hopes of those few survivors to rebuild Judah was doomed to failure so long as they persisted in the very crimes that caused God to destroy their city in the first place. Six such crimes are listed. They (1) violated the Mosaic dietary regulations; (2) prayed to idols; (3) shed blood, i.e., persisted in child sacrifice (Ezekiel 33:25); (4) stand upon the sword, i.e., live by violence; (5) worked abomination, i.e., participated in immoral pagan practices; and (6) commit adultery (Ezekiel 33:26).

Clearly law and order had broken down in Judah following the capture of Jerusalem. Prediction of Further Disaster (Ezekiel 33:27-29) For the inhabitants of the land (Ezekiel 32:27): Thus you will say unto them: Thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely the ones who are in the waste places will fall by the sword. The ones who are upon the open field I have given to the beasts to be devoured. The ones who are in the fortresses and in the caves will die of the pestilence. Further disaster awaited those ungodly survivors who inhabited the ruins of Judah. They will yet face the sword of divine judgment as wielded by the Babylonians or their agents. Beasts of the field will devour those who might escape the sword. Those holed up in caves and other natural strongholds will face the pestilence that resulted from overcrowding, and lack of food and sanitation. For the land itself (Ezekiel 33:28): I will make the land desolate and waste. The pride of her strength will cease. The mountains of Israel will be desolate so that no one will pass through. Those sinful survivors of Jerusalem’ s fall will not be the ones to rebuild Judah. God will make that land so desolate that no one will even want to make a trip through it. Then the stubborn pride of her strength, i.e., pride in her position as a favored nation, will cease. Result (Ezekiel 33:29): They will know that I am the LORD when I make the land a desolation and a waste, because of all their abominations that they have done. Then they will recognize that the God from whom they expected deliverance actually had brought desolation to their land because of their idolatrous abominations.Ezekiel’s Standing (Ezekiel 33:30-33) He was the center of public attention (Ezekiel 33:30-31 a): As for you, son of man, the children of your people talk about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses. They speak one to another saying, Come, I pray you, and hear the word that comes forth from the LORD. When the news of Jerusalem’ s fall reached Babylon, Ezekiel and his prophecies became the topic of general conversation. Now for the first time in his ministry, the exiles were anxious to hear the word of the Lord from the lips of God’ s accredited prophet. He was a popular teacher (Ezekiel 33:31): They come unto you as the people come. They sit before you as my people. They hear your words, but do not do them. With their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their covetousness. While they were now eager to hear Ezekiel’ s word, however, they still had not surrendered their hearts to follow the commandments of the Lord. With their mouths they were very complimentary to the prophet; but their hearts were full of covetousness, i.e., their own selfish concerns. He was regarded as an entertainer (Ezekiel 33:32): Behold, you are to them a love song of one who has a beautiful voice, and who can play an instrument well. So they hear your words, but they do them not. Ezekiel must not be deceived by the expressions of appreciation for his teaching. To those unspiritual souls, Ezekiel was like a musical entertainer— the crooner of love songs. They enjoyed listening to him, but were unmoved by his passionate exhortations. He will be vindicated by events (Ezekiel 33:33): When this comes to pass (behold, it will come), then will they know that a prophet has been in their midst. When all his predictions came to pass— and they surely will come to pass— they will know that a true prophet had been among them.Ezekiel Chapter Thirty-Three Verse 1 PART III(Ezekiel 33-39) HE OF THE NEW ISRAEL; HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF THE ; AND ; THINGS TO THE KINGDOM; FOR ISRAEL (Note: All of these titles have been proposed by various authors for this third section of Ezekiel). “The destruction of the old sinful Israel was not the end of God’s dealings with his people. The old order would be followed by a new and perfect kingdom. The destruction of the sinful foreign nations would prepare the way for this. The exiles would be returned to Palestine; and a new kingdom would be set up under totally new conditions of worship and fellowship with God. The remainder of Ezekiel falls into two parts: (1) the first deals with the restoration from captivity (Ezekiel 33-39), and (2) the second deals with the new arrangement and laws of the future kingdom (Ezekiel 40-48).[1]EZEKIEL’S CALL TO HIS NEW MISSION; THE OLD RULESIt was a discouraging situation that confronted Ezekiel. Israel was not yet a united entity. (1) There was the arrogant and conceited remnant that remained in Judea, the few left behind by the Babylonians, the few groups of stragglers rounded up by Gedaliah, and a few that had escaped and were in hiding in the remote caves and inaccessible places on the road down to Jericho. The immoral character and the conceited self-assurance of this group made it absolutely impossible for God to find a place for them in his eternal purpose. They were claiming, that since they were “the seed of Abraham,” then they were the heirs of Palestine and all the other blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. This, of course, was the old conceit of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who claimed to be the “seed of Abraham,” but were actually the children of the devil (John 8:44). Ezekiel would deal with both this group and the second one in this chapter. (2) This group were those who indeed recognized the sin and apostasy of the nation and the justice of God’s punishment sent upon them, resulting in a depression and discouragement that raised the question among them, “How can we live (v. 10)?” Before proceeding to deal with these two groups, Ezekiel would turn the thoughts of the people away from their conception that God was going to bless Israel as a nation, to the truth that God’s blessings, all of them, were reserved to individuals who were committed and faithful to God’s Word. It is still a very hurtful and prevalent error in the world that God, some way or other, is going to bless Israel, as a nation. We have never been able to find a single word in the whole Bible that supports such an error. On the contrary, the great Apostle to the Gentiles laid that old error to rest forever in his words of 2 Corinthians 5:10, “That each one may receive the things done in the body.” From this it is easy to see that the first twenty verses here constitute an introduction to this whole final section of Ezekiel.[2]For that reason, the date of the chapter will not appear until Ezekiel 33:21. THE OF (Ezekiel 33:1-9) Ezekiel 33:1-6“And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, Speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman; if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.“Individual responsibility is the blunt message here. Even if the watchman does not warn, that cannot excuse the victim. However, there is something else here; and that is the double responsibility of the watchman. Ezekiel indeed had been a faithful watchman to warn God’s people.

This was by no means a new principle. Ezekiel had devoted the whole 18th chapter of this prophecy to the same subject. However, there the teaching was stressed to show that the children of Israel were not being punished for their fathers’ sin, but for their own. Here the purpose of showing Ezekiel’s generation of the exiles that it made no difference at all what “all Israel” had done in the past, the important thing turned upon the question of what each individual was doing. “In these verses, Ezekiel compares himself to an ordinary watchman, to show that it is his duty in that current crisis to care for and warn individual souls."[3] As Bunn noted, “All prophets (and also New Testament teachers) stand in double jeopardy, because they are responsible both to God and to man."[4]Verse 7 “So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word of my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked man from his way; the wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way, to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.“This paragraph merely spells out the application suggested in the previous seven verses. Verse 10 “And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live? Say unto them, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall he that is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth. When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live; if he trust to his righteousness, and commit iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in his iniquity that he hath committed, therein shall he die. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that which he hath taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be remembered against him; he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.” THE PROBLEM OF (Ezekiel 33:10-16) “How then can we live …” (Ezekiel 33:10)? The blunt and effective answer to this question rising in the hearts of the discouraged captives is given in the very next verse. Repent and live; why will ye die? “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways …” (Ezekiel 33:11). In order to encourage such repentance upon the part of the captives, Ezekiel assured the people that God had no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that he rejoiced in the turning of the wicked from their evil ways. “If the righteous commit iniquity … if the wicked turn and do right …” (Ezekiel 33:12-16). The principle enunciated here stresses what a man is at the present time, not what he had been in the past. Here was a glorious challenge for the captives to renounce and turn away from the wickedness that had resulted in their terrible punishment and to turn to God with their whole heart. Bunn summarized this thus: “God condemns the righteous when he sins, and forgives the sinful when he repents."[5] Thus, the two things Ezekiel stressed here are (1) the grace of God (Ezekiel 33:11), and (2) the importance of one’s present state, rather than his past record.[6]God had at this point in the chapter dealt effectively with the problem of the discouragement of the captives, mentioned above in the introduction to the chapter. It yet remained for him to address those conceited self-styled “sons of Abraham” in Judea. That will be taken care of in Ezekiel 33:23 ff. Evil men try to justify themselves and find it easy to criticize and find fault with the just judgments of the Lord. The problem resident in that human error was next addressed, Verse 17 “Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die therein. And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. Yet ye say the way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.“As some have noted, even in the times of Christ, the Pharisees had a procedure for keeping tabs on their wicked deeds and their righteous deeds; and as long as their good deeds outnumbered their wicked deeds, they claimed a balance in their favor. It was upon this kind of reckoning that they considered that a righteous man could indeed do certain wicked things and not suffer the consequences.

The Lord put an end to that delusion right here. One’s wickedness would destroy him, no matter what his past record had been! Verse 21 “And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city is smitten. Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he that was escaped came; and he had opened my month, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.“MESSAGE OF THE FALL OF (Ezekiel 33:21-22) “The twelfth year, tenth month, fifth day …” (Ezekiel 33:21). Brace, following the Septuagint (LXX) and Syriac versions, changed this to “the eleventh year,” giving a date of January 19,586 B.C.[7] The date from the the Hebrew text of the Old Testament is January 8,585 B.C. Keil pointed out that the reason for some scholars favoring that date about a year earlier is lodged in the fact that this news of the fall of the city came to Ezekiel about eighteen months after the event, a time lapse some consider to be too long. However, Keil favored the Hebrew text of the Old Testament reading, pointing out that, “The distance between Jerusalem and Babylon, along with the fearful confusion that followed the catastrophe would easily have allowed eighteen months to pass before Ezekiel got the word."[8]Keil also defended the later date against the allegation of some scholars that Ezekiel himself contradicted himself by declaring in Ezekiel 26:1-2 that he received intelligence of the fall of the city in the eleventh year, not in the twelfth. Keil wrote: “Such an interpretation is founded upon a misinterpretation of the passage quoted. It is not stated in Ezekiel 26:1-2 that Ezekiel received his information from a fugitive, or from any man whatever, but simply that God revealed it to him."[9]“He opened my mouth …

I was no longer dumb …” (Ezekiel 33:22). This indicates that the prophecies against the foreign nations (Ezekiel 29-32) were transmitted in writing and were not really spoken. Verse 23 “And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abominations, and ye defile every one his neighbor’s wife; and shall ye possess the land? Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured; and they that are in the strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence. And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, because of all their abominations which they have committed.“GOD’S MESSAGE FOR THE REMNANT IN JUDEA (Ezekiel 33:23-29) The necessity for God’s destruction of that arrogant remnant yet in Palestine was lodged in their influence upon the captives in Babylon. The group in Judea claimed Palestine and all of the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant as theirs by right of inheritance. They were “the seed of Abraham!” The problem was that they had not learned one thing from all the punishment God had brought upon Israel. They were still idolaters, adulterers, blood=eaters, murderers, and truly the sons of the devil in the same manner as their successors (the Pharisees) were so designated by Jesus. Would they inherit the land? No way! was the word God had for them. As Skinner said, “That remnant in Judea afford one more instance of the boundless capacity of the Jewish race for religious self-delusion, and their no less remarkable insensibility to that in which the essence of religion lay."[10]The delusion of the fragment of Israel left in Palestine after the fall of the city of Jerusalem was due to their misunderstanding of the Mosaic covenant. If they had ever read the Book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 28) Moses had told them categorically that, if they did not obey all the commandments of the Mosaic covenant, that God would pluck them off the land I (Deuteronomy 28:63). Moreover Ezekiel here cited a whole catalogue of their violations of the sacred covenant. How could they, for a moment, dare to believe that they were indeed the true heirs of God’s promise to Abraham? God’s verdict was no! The judgments of the Mosaic covenant (Deuteronomy 27:9-23; Deuteronomy 29:25-29, etc.) were at that very time being executed against Israel. Those left in Judea would die by the sword, by disease, or fall prey to wild animals (v. 27). Their arrogant pride would cease (v. 28). The land would become a desolation (vv. 27,28). Most importantly of all, God’s purpose for judgment upon his people would be accomplished; they would come to know that he was their God when these judgments were executed (29).[11]In addition to the sword, pestilence, and wild beast assault upon the conceited Judean remnant, “There would also be another deportation of some of them into Babylonian captivity in 583/82."[12]Regarding the arrangement of this chapter, it is evident that verses 23ff were addressed to the prophet after the fugitive arrived with the news of the fall of the city; but verses 1-20 preceded that event, serving as the renewal of his prophetic commission to Israel, and also resulting in the cessation of the prophet’s dumbness. That, of course, is the reason why the date appears where it does in 5:21. Abraham was one, and he inherited the land …” (v. 23). There was nothing wrong with this argument, except the false notion that the wicked remnant in Judea entertained regarding themselves, namely that they were Abraham’s seed, when as a matter of fact, they were not sons of Abraham at all, but sons of the devil. The complete fulfillment of the Abrahamic promises is accomplished in the New Israel who have inherited all things through Jesus Christ, not a literal Palestine, of course, but “the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 3:2). “Ye stand upon your sword …” (Ezekiel 33:26). “This means that they followed the doctrine that might makes right.' Assassinations were one of the instruments of their policy (Jeremiah 41)."[13]"Ye work abominations ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/33/26" class="green-link">Ezekiel 33:26</a>). "The word here is used in a feminine construction, indicating not merely the open idolatry practiced in Judea, but also the orgiastic rites that accompanied it."[14]Verse 30 "And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, everyone to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh from Jehovah. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their gain."EZEKIEL WARNED AGAINST THE PEOPLE'S "They sit before thee as my people ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/33/31" class="green-link">Ezekiel 33:31</a>) This means that they sat before Ezekiel pretending to be God's people, whereas they had no intention whatever of obeying the Lord's commandments. "Their motive was simply that of curiosity, or entertainment, certainly not reformation of their evil hearts."[15] With some of them there might also have been the hope that God would confirm the things they already desired to do. Such indeed may be seen in the example of Johanan's seeking the word of Jehovah of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 42-43). We should not overlook the fact that, "These verses carry a vivid picture of Ezekiel's popularity at that time. His prophecies had been literally and circumstantially fulfilled in all of the things he had foretold."[16] In a sense, he was the literal lion of that social community among the captives. God, knowing the fickle insincerity of the people gave this stern warning to Ezekiel that he might really know what could be expected of them. "With their mouth they show much love ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/33/31" class="green-link">Ezekiel 33:31</a>). "The Septuagint (LXX) reads this as, Lies are in their mouth.’"[17] The Septuagint (LXX) here may be poor translation, but it is excellent commentary. “Their heart goeth after their gain …” (Ezekiel 33:31) “The Hebrew word here carries the implication of gain through violence or dishonesty."[18] There also appears to be grounds in these verses for supposing that the captivity of Israel in Babylon was not as rigorous as it might have been. Apparently the Jews possessed many opportunities to exercise themselves in the pursuit of gain. Verse 32 “And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not. And when this cometh to pass (behold, it cometh); then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.“The indication here is that not even the captives believed Ezekiel’s prophecy of the total destruction of that conceited Judean remnant. The words in parenthesis here, “behold it cometh” mean that what the prophet had spoken with regard to that bold and arrogant group in Palestine would surely come to pass, just like all of the other things that Ezekiel had prophesied. The warning in this for Ezekiel, according to Keil was that, “Ezekiel should not be prevented by the improper use of his words from preaching the whole truth to the people."[19] In time, all of the captives would learn the truth.

Ezekiel 33:1

Ezekiel 33:1-2. For 8 chapters the prophet has been writing against various heathen nations that had mistreated God’ s people. Some of that writing is in the form of predictions of things to come upon them, and other parts are a summary of what had previously taken place, and written by way of warning to future generations. Ezekiel now resumes his writing to his own countrymen. The general trend of the passages will be favorable and intended to give encouragement to the people of Israel. However, the seriousness of respon sibility on tbe part of a prophet and and teacher will be given attention.

The subject will necessarily include some remarks concerning the respon-sibility of the people under the work of the teacher or prophet. The first lesson on the subject of responsibility is drawn from the work of a watchman in times of danger, especially the dangers of war. At such times a man is placed in one of the watchtowers and equipped with a trumpet to use as a signalling device.

Ezekiel 33:3

Ezekiel 33:3. The duty of this watchman is to be always on the alert and observe any approach of the enemy. When he sees such a danger he is to blow a warning signal with the trumpet to notify the citizens that danger is near.

Ezekiel 33:4

Ezekiel 33:4. The blowing of the trumpet moves the responsibility from the watchman to the citizen. If he ignores the signal of warning and is taken by the sword of the enemy he will have to take all of the blame for his death.

Ezekiel 33:5

Ezekiel 33:5. His blood shall be upon him means he will be responsible for his own downfall. No blood shall be shed by any other person in his behalf.

Ezekiel 33:6

Ezekiel 33:6. Here Is a rule that does not “work both ways.” If the watchman fails to sound the warning, his neglect of duty will not save the life of the citizen. Besides that, the watch-man also will be required to answer for the death of the victim.

Ezekiel 33:7

Ezekiel 33:7. So far the Lord has been speaking to Ezekiel In general terms on the responsibility of a watchman, now He comes to particulars and tells the prophet that he is being made one. His duty is to watch over the house of Israel, and deliver to them the words of warning that he receives from God.

Ezekiel 33:8

Ezekiel 33:8. The relation of a watchman to his people In times of literal war is being used t.o illustrate a subject far more important. The matter of a man’s personal conduct and Us consequences is the thing the Lord would have the prophet conside’r. He was to warn the wicked man that death would he his lot if he did not repent and turn from his wickeness. If Ezekiel fails to deliver the warning the wicked man will die even though he is not made aware of his danger. Besides that, the negligent prophet will he held responsible for the death of the wicked man.

Ezekiel 33:9

Ezekiel 33:9. If the watchman warns the wicked man and he does not profit by it, he will die in or because of his iniquity. However, the watchman will have done his duty and will not he held responsible for the death of the victim.

Ezekiel 33:10

Ezekiel 33:10. This verse is a complaint of the house of Israel. They seem to think that the Lord is asking that which is impossible for them. They are expected to live in the service of God and yet He causes them to waste away in their sins. Their conclusion is that God wishes them to die, but that will be denied in the next verse.

Ezekiel 33:11

Ezekiel 33:11. The Lord declares that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but just the opposite is what is desired. That is why the wicked man is exhorted to turn from his evil way. Why will ye die is a challenge to the evil man to show a reason for his decision to die. No reason can be given, for nothing lies beyond death that will repay him for his unwise course. Neither can he make the excuse that it is unavoidable, for the Lord not only is giving him full warning of what is before him, but also has promised to help him in his efforts to avoid it.

Ezekiel 33:12

Ezekiel 33:12. The gist of this verse is that as a man terminates his life, so will be his lot ever afterwards. If he turns from a wicked course and does good the rest of his days, the Lord will not hold his former sins against him. On the same principle, if a righteous man backslides and ends his days in sin, his previous good deeds will not save him when the test comes lo determine his lot.

Ezekiel 33:13

Ezekiel 33:13. The paragraph comprised in Ezekiel 33:3-9 looks especially to the phase of responsibility of a watchman toward the people under his charge. This verse introduces the special thought of God’s attitude toward the promises of good or threats of evil that have been announced to man. The promises or warnings of the Lord are made on conditions, either expressed or implied. Hence the promise of life made to a good man is not so fixed that he cannot come short of that promise. If he becomes so confident over his former good deeds and record of them that he begins to do wrong, the promise of life will be revoked. This overthrows the doctrine titled “Once in grace always in grace,” for man’s favor with God depends on faithfulness to the end.

Ezekiel 33:14

Ezekiel 33:14. This verse indicates that a wicked man does not need to give up in despair just because the Lord has told him he must die; he is encouraged to turn from his sins. We should notice the wicked man has a two-sided duty to perform if he is to obtain mercy from God, Not only must he turn from active sin but also he must do that which is right. “Cease to do evil; learn to do well”(Isaiah 1:16-17)

Ezekiel 33:15

Ezekiel 33:15. This verse teaches the same lesson as the preceding ones, but it goes into particulars and specifies certain things the wicked man must do in order to obtain divine mercy and be made reconciled to the Lord.

Ezekiel 33:16

Ezekiel 33:16. This verse teaches the same lesson as Ezekiel 18:21-22. It refutes the theory that an unrighteous man cannot do anything for his own salvation; that if he is doomed “ from all eternity” to perdition, nothing can be done to change it,

Ezekiel 33:17

Ezekiel 33:17. The word equal is from an original that is defined “ to balance” or be consistent and impartial. See the comments at Ezekiel 18:25 for further explanation on this subject of God’ s manner of dealing with the children of men.

Ezekiel 33:18-19

Ezekiel 33:18-19. This is explained at Ezekiel 33:13-16 and elsewhere.

Ezekiel 33:20

Ezekiel 33:20. As a specific denial of the accusation made by the people that God is unequal or unfair. He declares that Israel will be judged “ every one after his ways.” not according to some decree made before the man was born. Since a man’s ways are his own doing, that places his fate within his hands whether good or evil.

Ezekiel 33:21-22

Ezekiel 33:21-22. Twelfth year of our captivity means that dated from the taking of Jehoiachin to Babylon, at which time Ezekiel was taken. Eleven years atter that event king Zedekiah was taken and Jerusalem was destroyed, completing the third and final stage of the great captivity. That means therefore, that the present verse is located at the nest year after Jerusalem was destroyed, expressed by the words the city is smitten. This verbal news was brought to Ezekiel by one who escaped at the time Nebuchadnezzar closed in on the city and completed the overthrow of the great capital of Judah. The distance from Jerusalem to Babylon is great enough that nothing strange will be thought of its requiring until the next year for the messenger to reach the presence of the prophet.

It had been prophesied (Ezekiel 24:26-27) that one who escaped would bring just such a message and here it is. It had also been prophesied (same passage) that when that message was delivered to Ezekiel he would be no more dumb. See the comments at Ezekiel 24; Ezekiel 17, 27 for explanation of dumbness. The man who escaped was not depended on to break the news to Ezekiel as the first information, for the Lord told him about it the evening before according to the present verse. But the coming of the man with the message was to be the signal when the prophet was to consider himself free from the restrictions he had been under since Ezekiel 24; Ezekiel 15-18.

Ezekiel 33:23-24

Ezekiel 33:23-24. The reasoning of the people is In the form of a complaint. They refer to Abraham having possessed the land of Palestine although he was but one man. But here is a large multitude that should possess it since they are heirs of Abraham, but instead they are inhabiting -wastes (in Babylonian captivity) and not enjoying the land that was promised to Abraham’s descendants.

Ezekiel 33:25

Ezekiel 33:25. The prophet was told to explain to the people why they were being denied the land of their inheritance. It does not mean they were doing all the things charged against them at the time Ezekiel was writing, for they were captives in a foreign land. They could not practice all these things there, except some of their idolatrous performances, and that was because the Lord willed it so to teach them a lesson. But the things listed are the ones they did while they did live In their home land. Eat with the blood violated Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 3:17, and they practiced that while back in their own country. Idols . . . and shed blood Includes the guilt of bloodshed in general, but It especially applies to the slaying of their children to make sacrifices of them for their idols.

Ezekiel 33:26

Ezekiel 33:26. .S’fund upon your sword, refers to their use of the sword to accomplish their abominable advantages over their weaker brethren. Not satisfied with this iniquity, they committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors.

Ezekiel 33:27

Ezekiel 33:27. The greater portion of the nation of Israel had been taken to Babylon when Ezekiel began his writing, and in that sense were suffering the wastes mentioned in this verse. But the third stage of the 70-year period had been accomplished only recently, and there were still a great many who were left straggling in the wastes or desolated spaces in Palestine, A few had escaped the immediate effects of the invasion and were hiding in forts and caves and other places in an effort to shelter themselves. But although they might elude the invaders, they were doomed to feel the hand of God through His judgments upon them which would cause them to perish.

Ezekiel 33:28

Ezekiel 33:28. This verse is a general prediction of the desolated condition the whole land of Palestine was des- stined to suffer during the great captivity.

Ezekiel 33:29

Ezekiel 33:29. The Lord was determined that his people should not forget Him. They had special need for that lesson since they had given so much of their time and devotion to the strange gods that were worshiped by the heathen around them.

Ezekiel 33:30

Ezekiel 33:30. The Jews who were in exile in Babylon were more curious than sincere in their pretended inquiry for information. They would come to the prophet as if they really longed for instruction (chapter 8:1; 14:1; 20: 1). but after receiving it they refused to abide by it.

Ezekiel 33:31

Ezekiel 33:31. The people not only failed to accept the words of the prophet hut acted hypocritically about it. They pretended to admire Ezekiel for giving them the Information, but in their heart they were interested In the things of personal interest.

Ezekiel 33:32

Ezekiel 33:32. A very lovely song is a figurative description of the opinion the people pretended to have of Ezekiel’s words. Their motive for such a pretended attitude could not have been sincere since they refused to abide by the admonitions that he gave them. By taking this false interest in him they hoped to obtain some more information, but without the purpose of profil ing by it. Because of this the Lord defeated their attempt to deceive the prophet by enlightening him on the subject.

Ezekiel 33:33

A prediction becomes an evidence of the truth when it is fulfilled and not before. Hence this verse offers the conclusion and assurance to Ezekiel that he will finally be shown to have been a prophet of God.