Again the word of the Lord 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, if the people of the land take a man of their
coasts, 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. But he that taketh warning shall
deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow
not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if 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. So
thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of
Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn
them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt
surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way,
that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I
require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his
way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in
his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul (verses 1-9).
The commission to Ezekiel as watchman corresponds to the same
commission as found in the first section of this book. (See chapters
iii:16-21.) The watchman is to warn of impending danger by the blowing
of the trumpet. If the warning is unheeded, the consequences rest upon
the person who rejected the warning. But he that taketh warning shall
deliver his soul. And if the watchman is not faithful in sounding the
alarm and disaster overtakes some on account of it, their blood will be
required at the watchman's hand. Ezekiel was set as a watchman unto the
house of Israel. He received the message from the Lord and was to warn
them. The divine message was that the wicked should surely die, and if
the watchman neglected to deliver that message and warn the wicked he
would die, while his blood would be required from the hands of the
watchman. But if the wicked was warned and did not act upon the warning,
he would die; the faithful watchman had delivered his own soul. Ezekiel
was the faithful watchman while the false prophets did not deliver the
message and perished with the ungodly. How great then the responsibility
of those who are called as watchmen! And how few the faithful ones who
deliver the divine warning to the unsaved!