Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the
river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there
astonished among them seven days. And it came to pass at the end of
seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of
man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore
hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say
unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not
warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to
save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked,
and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he
shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again,
When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit
iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die:
because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin,
and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered;
but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou
warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not
sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast
delivered thy soul.
And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me,
Arise go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee. Then
I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of
the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of
Chebar: and I fell on my face. Then the spirit entered into me, and
set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut
thyself within thine house. But thou, O son of man, behold, they
shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou
shalt not go out among them: And I will make thy tongue cleave to
the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to
them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak
with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that
forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house
(chapter iii: 15-27).
The Prophet had been transported from the place mentioned in chapter i:1
to Tel-abib, which was also on the river Chebar. Here a number of
captives dwelt. For seven days he sat in their presence astonished and
did not open his lips. Was it their sad condition, or the knowledge of
their rebellious spirit, or the threatening judgments which produced
this silence? Most likely these things filled the Priest-Prophet with
unspeakable sorrow and sadness, so that he could not find words. And the
captives must have read the burden of his soul in his countenance. The
scene reminds us of Job and his three friends, who "sat down with him
upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word unto
him, for they saw that his grief was very great" (Job ii:13). Job broke
the silence by cursing his day. But the silence of Ezekiel's seven days
was broken by the Lord Himself. He addressed the Prophet and told him
that He had made him "a watchman unto the house of Israel." His duty and
responsibility in that capacity was twofold; first to hear the Lord's
Word from His own lips, then to give the warning from Him. Warning is
the important call of a watchman (chapter xxxiii:2, 6, 7; Isaiah lii:8;
lvi:10; Jer. vi:17). If the appointed watchman does not hear the Word as
it comes from Jehovah, he cannot sound the alarm. The false prophets in
Israel, who did not warn the people, but said, "Peace, peace!" when
there was no peace, followed their own dreams instead of the Word. They
did not believe the solemn messages God had given through former
prophets. That was the curse among the professing people of God then. It
produced a false security, decline and apostasy; it hastened the
impending judgments of God. It is the curse to-day in the professing
church. His Word is rejected. The solemn truths concerning "judgment to
come" upon an ungodly age and apostate "church" are not heeded and
mostly rejected. The man who sounds the warning and stands by the
declarations of God's Word is as unpopular with the people to-day as
Jeremiah and Ezekiel were in their days.
The Prophet was commissioned not to warn the nation as such, but to warn
individuals. The wicked and the righteous are mentioned and the
Prophet's responsibility in delivering the message. If he does not warn
the wicked to turn from his wicked way to save his life, his blood will
be required from his hands. If he is faithful and the wicked does not
hear the warning, the wicked shall die, but the faithful messenger
delivers his own soul. And so with the righteous, who turns from his
righteous acts and commits iniquity. He is threatened with death; but if
he sins not and is warned he shall live. After hearing the warning Word
each is to bear the consequences of his own conduct. The nation as such
was rebellious. Its doom could not be averted. Yet God in His
long-suffering still gave the individual an opportunity to escape the
threatening judgment, that by hearing the Word he might live. This
gracious offer concerned the wicked. The righteous one in Israel, who
obeyed the law and did acts of righteousness had to continue in
obedience; if he failed in the midst of the great national crisis when
judgment was about to fall, his former righteous deeds could not save
his life. He also would be swept away and die in his sins. The first
part of the third chapter reveals the hardened condition of the nation;
there was no remedy. The second part reveals the possibility of the
deliverance of all who harkened to the divine warning and turned from
their evil ways.
The passage, as well as the corresponding one in chapter xxxiii:1-20,
has been often used in the defence of what is termed "falling from
Grace," that a true believer, who is saved by Grace, may by sinning
become unsaved again and then perish in his sins like the wicked. The
words "fallen from Grace" are found only once in the Bible, that is in
Gal. v:4. The context shows what they mean. If a believer goes to the
law to be justified before God, if he tries by his own works, and by
ordinances, to be righteous before God, he abandons the ground of Grace.
The dispensation in which we live is the dispensation of Grace; Grace
reigns through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord. (Rom. v:21). The message delivered by God to Ezekiel is in fullest
keeping with the character of the law-covenant, though Grace is also
manifested in it. Righteousness has not the meaning here as in the New
Testament. We are constituted righteous by faith in Jesus Christ. It is
now not the question of doing righteous deeds in order to be saved and
live. We are saved by Grace through faith. "Now to him that worketh is
the reward not reckoned as of grace but as of debt. But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on Him, who justifieth the ungodly, his faith
is reckoned for righteousness" (Romans iv:4). And he who is justified by
faith has peace with God. The true believer may sin, but he does not
deliberately practice and live in sin, for "he that is born of God doth
not commit (practice) sin" (1 John iii:9). If he falls in sin a gracious
provision is made. We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous, and therefore we can confess our sins; forgiveness and
cleansing follow according to the divine promise (1 John i:9;
ii:1-2).[3]
[3] The responsibility of Ezekiel in delivering the message was great.
Every servant of the Lord Jesus Christ with a far greater message than
Ezekiel's should also feel that responsibility. If it were felt more,
there would be more earnestness, more prayer and greater results.
After this solemn charge the hand of the Lord rested upon Ezekiel and he
was commanded to go into the plain, where Jehovah would talk with him.
He obeyed and beheld again the Glory of the Lord, which he had seen by
the river of Chebar. Once more he fell on his face. Then the Spirit
entered into him and said unto him: "Go, shut thyself within thy house."
He had no opportunity to exercise his office as watchman and deliver the
warning message. Immediately after the charge he was commanded to
separate himself from the captives and then became a prisoner in his
house. But more than that. They were to put bands upon him and bind him
with them.
Does this mean that the people would bind him so that he could not leave
the house? It probably meant the opposite. He was to shut himself in the
house and they came with bands and bound him, to get him out of the
house by force. But he was not to go among them. Then God Himself made
the Prophet dumb. "And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy
mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover, for
they are a rebellious house (verses 25-26). First he was to be bound so
that he could not go amongst them, and then God Himself would make him
dumb so that he could not reprove the people. Different suggestions have
been made about the meaning of the condition in which the Prophet was
put. Some have even declared that there is a contradiction in all this,
in view of verses 16-21, while rationalistic expositors think that the
Prophet suffered from some nervous disorder which deprived him
temporarily of the power of speech. That the Prophet was unfitted by God
to go amongst the people and deliver the message in public was a
testimony against the nation. They were beyond hope, therefore, on
account of their rebelliousness; he was not to be a reprover to them. It
witnessed to the fact that judgment upon the nation could not now be
arrested. And yet his dumbness was not complete nor constant. The last
verse of the chapter makes this clear. "But when I speak with thee, I
will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
God; he that heareth let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him
forbear; for they are a rebellious house." Thus the Prophet was
completely cast upon Jehovah. Jehovah directed him in being silent or in
uttering His message. Blessed are all servants of the Lord, who know the
same path of dependence and who declare the Word of the Lord, "Thus
saith the Lord," whenever they speak.
The Prophet's mouth was opened completely and his power of speech
permanently restored after Jerusalem had fallen. "And it came to pass in
the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth day, in the fifth day of
the month, that all that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me,
saying, the city is smitten. Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the
evening, before he that escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he
came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more
dumb" (chapter xxxiii:21-22). This had been previously announced. "In
that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou
shalt speak, and be no more dumb; and thou shalt be a sign unto them,
and they shall know that I am the Lord" (chapter xxiv:27). Thus
Ezekiel's dumbness was a sign to the nation; the sign of God's
displeasure and the coming judgment upon Jerusalem.