Ezekiel 3
1 “Moreover
He said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest;
eat
this roll, and go speak unto the house of
The iteration of the command of ch.
2:8 seems to imply, like the words,
“be not thou rebellious,” in that verse, some reluctance on the prophet’s part.
In substance the
command was equivalent to that of Revelation
22:18-19.
The true prophet does not choose his message (Acts 4:20); his “meat” is
to do
his Lord’s will (John
4:34), and he takes what he “finds” as given to
him by that will.
2 “So I
opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll.
3“And he
said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill
thy bowels with this roll that I give thee.
Then did I eat it; and it
was in my mouth as honey for
sweetness.” It was in my mouth
as honey, etc.
The words remind us of Psalm 19:10; Proverbs 24:13; and again
of those of
Jeremiah in the
darkest hour of his ministry (Jeremiah 15:16).
They are
reproduced yet
more closely by John (Revelation 10:9). There is,
after the first
terror is over, an infinite sweetness in the thought of
being a fellow worker
with God, of speaking His words and not our own. In the
case of John,
the first sweetness was changed to bitterness as soon as he
had eaten it;
and this is, perhaps, implied here also in v. 14. The first
ecstatic joy
passed away, and the former sense of the awfulness of the
work returned.
The Bread of Heaven (v. 3; ch. 2:9)
The appetites of the human body may be regarded by us as pictures
and
symbols of the inner hunger of the spirit. Not more surely
does the body
cry out for food than does the inner man crave for truth.
He only who has
created this complex frame can meet its varied wants.
out for friendship, as the
intellectual asks for knowledge, so the spiritual
element eagerly asks after God’s
will. “Lord, what wilt thou have me to
do?” To be out of harmony with
God is
misery
to the soul. To be ignorant
of God’s purposes and intentions
respecting us must bring perpetual
disquietude. Hence the question
in some form, either vague or clear, is ever
rising to the surface, “What
must I do to gain eternal life?”
undertaking, a fresh vision was
vouchsafed to him. A hand was stretched
out from heaven, containing a
parchment roll. In form, it seemed like the
“bread that perisheth;” but it
was in truth the heavenly manna — the
revelation of Jehovah’s will.
Man, at the best, is under the dominance of
animal appetites; and
consequently spiritual facts make most impression on
him when presented under
material images. But God never deceives. He
unfolded the roll; showed him
how full it was of instruction and meaning;
explained to him its real
contents, viz. “mourning, lamentations, and woe.”
Like unleavened bread and bitter
herbs, this knowledge of God’s will may
be most healthful for men at
certain seasons of their life. God’s regard for
us is too genuine and profound
for Him to indulge our appetites with
dangerous delicacies. The bitter
must come before the sweet, darkness
before light, sorrow before joy.
that I give thee.” “Fill thy bowels with this roll.” A superficial acquaintance
with God’s will is not enough
for the prophet’s equipment. He must
observe, learn, masticate,
digest, incorporate, the truth. Here is indeed
precious counsel — a Physician’s
wise advice. Less food, probably, but
more digestion. Heavenly counsel
this, which every disciple should write in
golden letters on his chamber
walls. The truth which God gives to men
does not become really theirs
until it is assimilated into their own
nature —
becomes part and parcel of
themselves. By examination and reflection and
practical obedience, this truth
passes into the very blood and nerve and
fiber of our being. We become
the truth — “living epistles, known and read
of all men.” (II Corinthians 3:2)
as honey for
sweetness.” The regenerate man will
welcome all the truth of
God. Whatever God’s will be, he knows that God’s will is right, and that
righteousness
must bring blessing and peace. He is
not now so blind as to
limit his vision to the narrow
present; he compasses, in the sweep of his
eye, the remote and the future.
That the prophet learned that lamentation and
mourning were decreed, was an
element of hope. Would the Divine Ruler
take such pains with men if He
did not intend to do them ultimate good?
The very severity of the
treatment implied that health would come at last.
To do the will
of God is always sweet to the renewed man. Unless our
spiritual palate is in a
diseased condition, every particle of heavenly truth
will be “as honey for sweetness.” “Thy words were found, and I did eat
them; and they
were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.”
(Jeremiah 15:16)
4 “And He
said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of
people of a strange speech and of an hard
language, but to the house of
Israel;”
Of a strange speech and of a hard language, etc.; literally, as
in margin, both of Authorized Version and Revised Version, to
a people
deep of lip and heavy of tongue; i.e. to a barbarous people outside the
covenant, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Scythians: not speaking the familiar sacred
speech of
Isaiah 28:11; 33:19). The thought implied is that Ezekiel’s
mission, as
to “the lost sheep of
the house of
outwardly easier than if he had been sent to the heathen.
With
was at least the medium of a speech common both to the
prophet and his
hearers. In v. 6 the thought is enlarged by the use of “many peoples.”
6 “Not to
many people of a strange speech and of an hard language,
whose words thou canst not understand.
Surely, had I sent thee to
them, they would have hearkened unto thee.”
Surely, if I sent thee to them, etc.
The “surely”
represents the Hebrew “if not”
taken as a strong affirmation, just as
“if” in Psalm 95:11 represents a strong negation; compare the use of the
fuller
formula jurandi in I Samuel 3:17; II
Samuel 3:35; 19:13; and of the same in
Deuteronomy 1:35; Isaiah 62:8; and in Ezekiel himself
(ch.17:19). The margin
of the Authorized Version, If I had sent thee to them,
would they not have
hearkened, etc.?
expresses the same meaning, but is less tenable as a translation.
The thought in either case finds its analogue in our Lord’s
reference to
and
was more hardened than the worst of the nations round her.
7 “But the
house of
hearken unto me: for all the house of
hardhearted.” For they will not hearken unto
me, etc. The words are, as it
were, an a fortiori argument. Those who had despised the voice of
Jehovah, speaking in
His Law, or directly to the hearts of His people, were
not likely to listen with a willing ear to His messenger. We are reminded
of
our Lord’s words to His disciples in Matthew 10:24-25. Impudent
and hard-hearted; literally (the word
is not the same as in ch.2:4), in
Revised Version, of an hard forehead and of a stiff
heart. The word “hard”
is the same word as the first half of Ezekiel’s name, and
is probably used
with reference to it as in the next verse.
The privileges of those who, in this Christian dispensation, hear the gospel of
salvation preached to them, far exceed the privileges of the ancient Hebrews.
To reject the testimony of Christ’s ministers is to reject Christ Himself, as
our Lord has explicitly declared (Matthew 10:40; John 12:48). The
condemnation and guilt are tenfold when men harden their hearts, not only
against the authority of the Divine Law, but against the pleadings of Divine
love.
The Awful Consequences of Neglecting the Word of the Lord
(vs.
4-7)
“And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the
house of
etc. Here is a comparison between two possible spheres of
prophetic
service — between the Israelites and the heathen (v. 5);
between the one
house of
Both these
spheres of service would have presented difficulties in the
way of the
fulfillment of the prophet’s mission. In the case of the
heathen
nation or nations there would have been the linguistical difficulty. Ezekiel
would not have understood their speech; they would not have
understood
his. European missionaries find this, and have to spend no
inconsiderable
time in acquiring the language of those to whom they are
sent before they
can begin their great work. In
the case of the house of
was in their moral condition. It was not that
the prophet’s speech was
unintelligible unto them, but that their hearts were hardened against the
Word of the Lord.
The liaguistical hindrance to the success of the prophet’s mission was
far less
serious than the moral. Time and patient application would enable
him to surmount the former; but
what human skill or assiduity can
overcome the strong prejudice or moral obstinacy of the
heart?
The mortal
hindrance to the success of the prophet’s
mission is
sometimes
humanly insuperable. (v. 7.) What is the reason of this, that
the untaught heathen would have attended unto the prophet,
while the
privileged Israelites would not hearken unto him?
PUBLISHED BY THE PROPHET HAD DEPRIVED THOSE TRUTHS
OF THE INTEREST WHICH ARISES FROM NOVELTY. The
unfamiliar and the new have
great attractions for many minds (compare Acts
17:19-21). Ezekiel had no new
fundamental truths to make known unto the
house of
enforce and apply to their
present circumstances. With the general
principles of his teaching they
were well acquainted. His message had
no
interest to them. But to the
heathen his message would have been fresh and
charged with interest. It would
have awakened inquiry, etc. And alas! how
many in Christian congregations
today are so familiar with the gospel of
Jesus Christ THAT
THEY HEED IT NOT! Things which, compared
with it, are the trifles of an hour,
secure their eager attention, while it is
treated as an unimportant and
unprofitable thing.
TRUTHS PUBLISHED BY THE PROPHET HAD RENDERED THEM
INSENSIBLE TO THE POWER OF THOSE TRUTHS. They had heard
them without heeding them,
until heedlessness had become habitual in
relation to them. They had refused to recognize their importance so long
that now they seemed
to them to have no importance. But the
heathen
would not have been thus
indifferent to these truths. For them they would
have had, not only the interest
of novelty, but the influence arising from
their practical
relation to their hearts and lives. Is
it not to be feared that in
Christian countries at present
there are many who, like the house of
how so long been indifferent to “the glorious gospel of the blessed God”
(I Timothy 1:11) that now it is natural to them NOT TO FEEL ANY
PERSONAL CONCERN
FOR IT! The offer which is repeatedly
disregarded is ere long
unnoticed. Warnings which are frequently
unheeded at length
cease to be heard.
TRUTHS PUBLISHED BY THE PROPHET HAD HARDENED THEIR
HEARTS AGAINST THOSE TRUTHS. They had so long
refused to do
the will of God that
they had become insensible to the power of his Word.
They were “impudent and hard-hearted” — “ stiff of
forehead and hard of
heart.” They would not hear the Word of the Lord. But the heathen would
have beard it if that Word had
been sent unto them; for they had not
hardened
themselves against it. They were
accessible to its influence, etc.
This solemn truth receives
confirmation from other portions of Scripture.
While the house of
retorted at the preaching of
Jonah. Our Lord also confirms this truth in
solemn words (Matthew 8:10-12;
11:20-24; 12:38-42). The history of
modern missions supplies
illustrations of the power of the gospel of Christ
to interest and
astonish, to attract and fascinate, to convince and convert,
heathen peoples. Yet in this highly favored land there are millions who are
unmoved by that gospel. And of
these many, many, we fear, have hardened
themselves
against the will and Word of God. They
who persist in so doing
become “past feeling”
(Ephesians 4:19). Moral power fails to
impress them.
They are “hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).
When holy
authority has no force for men, and Divine threatenings
no
awakening power,
and truth and righteousness no sacred majesty, and
death and
eternity no solemnity, and the deepest, tenderest
love no spell
upon the heart, — when men are indifferent to these, harden themselves
against these, WHAT
MORAL INFLUENCES OF A SAVING
CHARACTER CAN BE BROUGHT
TO BEAR UPON THEM?
Let us “take heed how we hear” (Luke 8:18). Let us “Despise not
prophesyings” (I Thessalonians 5:20). Beware of hearing
the Word of the Lord
with indifference; for indifference may grow into OBDURACY OF
THE HEART
WHICH NO MORAL FORCE CAN PENETRATE!
8 “Behold,
I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy
forehead strong against their
foreheads.” I have made thy
face strong;
literally, as in the Revised Version, hard. Ezekiel’s name was
at once nomen
et omen. Hard as
they, and should
prevail against them (compare the parallels of
Isaiah 50:7;
Jeremiah 1:18; 15:20). The boldness of
God’s prophets is a strictly supernatural
gift. Whatever persistency there may be in evil, they will be
able to meet it,
perhaps to overcome it, by a greater persistency in good.
9 “As an
adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear
them not, neither be dismayed at their
looks, though they be a
rebellious house.” Adamant. The Hebrew word shemir is
used in Jeremiah
17:1 (where the Authorized Version gives “diamond” for a stone used in
engraving on gems. In Zechariah 7:12 it appears, as it does
here, as a
type of exceeding hardness. It is not found elsewhere in
the Old Testament.
It is commonly identified with the stone known as corundum,
which
appears in some of its forms as the sapphire and the
Oriental ruby, and also
as the stone the powder of which is used as emery. The
special point of the
comparison is, of course, that the adamant was actually
used to cut either
flint itself or stones as hard as flint. Neither be dismayed at their looks.
The words indicate the extreme sensitiveness of the
prophet’s natural
temperament. He had shrunk not only from the threats and revilings of the
rebellious house, but even from their scowls of hatred.
The Fearlessness of the
Lord’s Messenger (8-9)
After hearing that
Prophet Ezekiel must have needed strong encouraging. It is always
depressing to
engage in a hopeless undertaking. Yet
there was a moral
necessity for the mission to be fulfilled. And the Lord
strengthened and
fortified His servant for his painful duty by breathing into him a Divine
courage, and by bidding him dismiss all fear. Although Ezekiel’s position
was very special, every servant and
herald commissioned by the Most High
to witness on His behalf to his fellow men has frequent need of such
encouragement as that
imparted to the prophet of the Captivity.
·
THE OUTWARD OCCASIONS OF FEAR. There are many
circumstances which are likely
to arouse the apprehensions, and so to
depress the energies, of God’s
messengers to Their fellow men.
Ø
Want of sympathy with
his message on the part of those to
whom he is sent.
Ø
An attitude of
deliberate indifference and unbelief.
Ø
Determined resistance
and resentment.
Ø
Threats of personal
violence.
The former occasions of fear are
such as every minister of religion must
expect to encounter. But the
Hebrew prophets sometimes met with actual
ill treatment — blows, bonds,
and death. So it was with the apostles of our
Lord, and so it has been with
missionaries of the cross, who have fulfilled
their ministry among the
unenlightened, prejudiced, and hostile heathen.
Many have “resisted
unto blood, striving against sin.” (Hebrews
12:4)
·
THE INWARD INCLINATION TO FEAR. There is great difference
in the matter of constitutional
temperament; some men are naturally timid,
and prone to be overawed by
opposition and intimidation, whilst others
have a certain delight in
antagonism, and care not what odds are against
them in the conflict.
Ø Sometimes the messenger of God is too
prone to regard his own peace
and comfort,
and is averse to any step which may bring him into collision
with others.
Ø The feeling on the part of God’s servant,
that he is but one against
many, inclines
him to retirement and reticence.
Ø And this is increased when there is no
countenance or support from
colleagues in labor
and warfare. The consciousness of personal feebleness
and
insufficiency, combined with the feeling of isolation, may naturally
account for the
prevalence of fear in the presence of difficulty, opposition,
and hostility.
He who made man, and who is perfectly acquainted with
human nature,
is aware that His servants are subject to such infirmities, and
that they
need accordingly a special provision of Divine grace to fortify
them against
the spiritual danger to which they are exposed.
·
THE DIVINE PRESERVATIVE FROM FEAR.
Ø The consciousness of a message from God to
be delivered, whether man
will hear or
forbear, is fitted to take away all dread of men’s displeasure, as
well as all undue
desire for men’s favor.
Ø The
assurance that Divine authority accompanies the Lord’s servant is in
itself sufficient to make his face and
his forehead hard as adamant in .the
presence of
opponents whose only authority lies in force or in the
conventional
greatness attaching to earthly rank or station.
Ø To
this is added THE EXPRESS PROMISE OF GOD’S AID. The
opponents may
be mighty; but the soldier of truth and of righteousness
has the
assurance that He who is with him is mightier still. “Fear not,”
says the
Almighty, “for I am with you.”
Adamant (v. 9)
Ø
It is external hardness. Zechariah writes of those who “made their
hearts as an
adamant stone” (Zechariah 7:12).
Ezekiel is not to do
this; he only has his forehead
made as adamant. The adamantine
heart is a sign of
sin. It is sure to fail in all
attempts at spiritual work.
We must feel sympathy with those whom
we would help. But it is
possible to have a “tough skin with a tender heart.” Unfortunately,
those people who are pachydermatous
are also too often tough hearted.
Yet the forehead of adamant
does not imply want of sensitiveness to
the finer feelings. It only means
a certain callousness in regard to
external criticism.
Ø
It is hardness against hindrances to progress. The adamant is to be
in
the forehead, in the front. It
is like Christian’s armor, with a good
breastplate, but no protection
for his back. We want most strength and
security in advancing.
Ø
It is hardiness before the seat of thought. The forehead guards
the
brain. Much may move our hearts, but no human considerations
should shake our
convictions.
Ø
It is hardness before a vital organ. The brain must be
sheltered, or the
life will be forfeited. We may
bear attacks on the outworks of our
religious life. The crowning citadel
of faith must not be touched.
Ø
It is required by the opposition of men. Ezekiel had to face
fierce
opponents. The servant of truth must often encounter unpopularity.
If men always speak well of a
Divine messenger, there is a suspicion
of weakness in following the
popular whims. There must be
unpleasant truths for the
faithful preacher to declare.
Ø
It is necessary for success. The prophet must
guide, mold, influence
men. If he is but a weather
cock, his mission has failed. Often he
must set himself like a rock in
the middle of a raging torrent. Decision
and firmness are essential in
the work of a leader of men. The
Christian
minister who is afraid of his congregation has forfeited
all right to be their
teacher.
Ø
It is demanded by loyalty to God. The prophet is God’s
messenger.
The Christian minister is
Christ’s servant. To his own Master he
stands or falls. Obsequiousness (flattery; sweet talk) before
men
means a betrayal of the duty owed to God.
the truest servants of God are
naturally so sensitive and timorous that they
well need some such assurance as
that given to Ezekiel. Now, God had
made His prophet’s forehead as
adamant. It is a Divine work. But there
are human ideas through which He
works.
Ø
God is to be feared more than man. We must remember that
“the fear of man…
bringeth a snare” (Proverbs 29:25).
While shrinking from man’s
petty anger we risk
the awful thunders of the
wrath of God.
Ø
Trust is to be put in the protection of God. He wilt not desert
His own agents at the post
of peril. When men do their worst,
Almighty aid is
at hand. If death is to be
encountered, there
is the martyr’s
crown beyond.
Ø
There must be a deep conviction of the truth of our message. A
wavering mind will not support a
countenance of adamant. We must
first be sure
ourselves. Then we can dare to face
the world. Truth
is the adamant
that hardens the forehead against unbelief,
misrepresentation,
opposition. It has been well said, “Those men
are strongest who stake most on
a deep and worthy conviction.”
Ø An honest
kindness of intention will create the firmness of adamant.
Selfishness wavers; sympathy is
strong. The murderer’s hand trembles;
The surgeon’s hand is steady,
though his patient shrieks under the knife.
When we earnestly desire to
benefit people, we can afford to have them
misunderstand us, and perhaps
even smile when they cry out against our
unkindness. Mixed motives weaken the front we present to the world. A
pure, unselfish devotion will be
brave, strong, firm as adamant.
10 “Moreover
He said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall
speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine
ears.”
All my words, etc. The stress lies
on the first word. The
prophet was not to pick and choose out of the message, but
was to deliver
“all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Take
into thine heart, etc. An
inverted order of the two commands would, perhaps, have
seemed more
natural. What we actually find, however, is sufficiently
suggestive. The
message of Jehovah is first received into the inner depths
of the soul, but in
that stage it is vague, undefined, incommunicable. It needs to be clothed in
articulate speech before it can be heard with the mental
ear and passed on
to others. The
mouth speaks out of the fullness of the heart.
The Inpouring of
Divine Fullness (v. 10)
A great and strong nature is sometimes observed to obtain a
vast
ascendancy over others, to communicate opinion, to exercise
influence, to
control, to impel, to restrain, to inspire. Now, the
prophet is the man to
whom the Lord, who is the eternal Truth and Wisdom and
Authority,
stands in such a relation. As is strikingly described in
the text, God pours
into the ears and the heart of the prophet the words which
are the
expression of His infinite mind and will, and thus fits
him to stand as His
own representative before his fellow men. There was no doubt a special
immediateness in this relation between God and the ancient
prophets such
as Ezekiel; yet the remarkable language of this passage may
justly be taken
as describing the relationship which exists between the
Father of spirits and
those whom He has made partakers of His nature and of His
truth and life
and love.
grandeur in the language here
attributed to the Eternal: “All my words
that I shall speak unto thee.” How can we gather up into one apprehension
all the communications, the words, addressed by God to man?
Ø
All nature may fairly be regarded as the speech of Him who, being
at once the Father of
spirits and the Author of the universe, makes
use of the works of His
hands as the medium by which to
communicate with the beings whom He has endowed with
capacities for
knowing Hmself and for sharing in His character.
Ø
Man’s moral nature is in an especial
manner the organ by which the
Creator reveals His most
venerable and admirable attributes; unless
man had a heart to feel, he
would remain forever a stranger to the
glorious character of his God.
Ø
The text refers
undoubtedly to a special revelation accorded to
selected individuals for
definite purposes. And although there are
those who would admit the
manifestations of God previously
described, and yet would
question the reality of a supernatural
revelation, there are good
reasons for believing that we are
indebted to such special
provision for not a little of our most
precious knowledge
of our God.
so much intellectual as moral.
It is the worldly nature, engrossed with the
pursuits of
earth and the pleasures of sense, THAT REPELS
DIVINE
COMMUNICATION. The
atmosphere is too dense and foggy for the rays
of Divine
righteousness and purity to pierce. It is SIN which makes the ear
deaf and the heart
impenetrable so that the words of wisdom and of love die
away unheeded and upheard.
NATURE BY THE IMPARTING OF DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS:
The purpose of the Eternal was
that the whole being of the “son of man”
should be taken up and occupied
by the words to be uttered. And surely
this is the intention of God
regarding, not Ezekiel alone, but every child of
man. There is no obstacle upon the Divine side. On the
contrary, the
purpose of infinite benevolence
is that our humanity may be receptive of
Divine blessing.
Ø
Divine truth is intended to fill the
intelligence. In God’s light it is for
us
to see light. Truth regarding
God and man, and regarding God’s relation
to man, is communicated in
wonderful and abundant measure to the
truth-seeking soul, and especially by Him who is “the Truth.”
Ø
Divine love is intended to fill
the heart.
Ø
Divine authority is intended to
control the will — the active
nature of man.
Ø
And Divine service is intended to fill
man’s life, so that the words
of God may
produce their perfect fruit in the actions and the habits
of man.
11 “And
go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy
people, and speak unto them, and tell them,
Thus saith the Lord
GOD; whether they will hear, or whether
they will forbear.”
Get thee to them
of the Captivity, etc. In ch. 2:3 and here vs.1 and
4
the mission had been to “the
house of
specialized. He is sent “to
them of the Captivity.” They are the rebellious
house. There is an obvious significance in the phrase, “thy people.”
Jehovah can no longer recognize them as His. The words of ch.2:7
are repeated. Here also, even among the exiles, who were
better than those
that remained in
that account, to shirk the completion of his task. Thus saith the Lord
God; Adonai Jehovah, as in ch.2:4.
12 “Then
the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a
great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory
of the LORD from his
place.”
Then the Spirit took me up, etc. The words are to be
interpreted as in ch. 2:2.
Luther, however, gives “a wind lifted me
up.” The parallels of ch. 8:3
(where, however, we have the
addition, “in the
visions of God”) and ch.11:1 suggest the
conclusion that this was a purely subjective sensation,
that it was one of the
phenomena of the ecstatic state, and that there was no
actual change of
place. On the other hand, the use of like language in the
cases of Elijah
(I Kings 18:12; II
Kings 2:16), of our Lord (Mark 1:12), of
Philip (Acts 8:39), would justify the inference that the
prophet actually
passed from one locality to the other. The language of
I Kings 18:46
probably points to the true solution of the problem. The
ecstatic state
continued, and in it Ezekiel went from the banks of Chebar to the dwellings
of the exiles at Tel-Abib (see
note on ch. 1.), at some distance from it. I
heard behind me, etc. The words imply that the prophet, either in his
vision or in very deed,
had turned from the glory of the living creatures and
of the wheels, and set his face in the direction in which
he was told to go.
As he does so, he hears the sounds of a great rushing (Septuagint - σείσμος –
seismos – earthquake,
tempest, rushing - Luther, “earthquake”),
followed by
words which, though
in the form of a doxology, uttered, it may be presumed,
by the living creatures, were also a message of
encouragement. His readiness
to do his work as a preacher of repentance calls forth the praise of God
from
those in whose presence there is “joy over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke
15:10). We are
reminded of the earthquake in the Mount of Purification
and the Gloria, in excelsis of
Dante (‘Purg.,’ 20:127-141; 21:53-60). The
words, from his
place (belonging, probably, to the narrative rather than the
doxology), point, not to the sanctuary at
forsaken, but to the region thought of as in the north (see
note on ch.1:4),
to which he had withdrawn himself.
13 “I
heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that
touched one another, and the noise of the wheels
over against
them, and a noise of a great rushing.” And I heard, etc. There is no
verb in the Hebrew, but it may be supplied from v. 12. We lose in the
English the kissing, or touching, poetry of
the original, “each its sister.”
The attitude as of wings raised for flight, and
the sound of both the wings
and wheels, implied the departure of the
glorious vision, presumably to the
region from which it came.
Celestial
Voices (vs. 12-13)
As a true prophet, Ezekiel was specially susceptible to
spiritual influences.
Again and again he speaks of the Spirit as taking
possession of him,
pleasing him in new circumstances, enlarging his
experiences, qualifying
him for special ministries. Divesting ourselves of the
notion that such
interpositions are to be interpreted as mechanical and
local, we must seek
to enter into their spiritual significance. The interest of
this passage largely
lies in its bearing upon the prophet’s own personal history
and ministerial
service.
·
CELESTIAL VOICES CAME TO ONE WHO HAD JUST PASSED
THROUGH VERY DISHEARTENING EXPERIENCES.
Ø
Ezekiel had been
reminded of the unbelief and rebelliousness of his
countrymen, to whom it was his
vocation to minister. Their character had
been described to him in
language of the truth of which he was too well
aware. To preach to the hardened
and unsympathetic is no pleasant task.
Yet it is a task to which every
minister of religion is often called. His is
frequently the voice of one
crying in the wilderness. And again and again
has he been cast down and
distressed in spirit when thus encountered by:
o
prejudice,
o
worldliness, and
o
unbelief.
Ø
Ezekiel had been made
to feel the difficulties arising from the feebleness
and insufficiency of the spiritual
labourer. It is hard to face a powerful
foe; but to do so becomes harder
when the warrior is conscious of his
own weakness. And this has been
the experience of every faithful
servant of God. Often has the
minister of Christ, overpowered by a
sense of his impotence, cried
aloud, “Who is sufficient for these
things?”
·
CELESTIAL VOICES COME TO REANIMATE, TO COMFORT,
AND TO STRENGTHEN THE SERVANT OF GOD. When the prophet
was depressed by his experiences
and apprehensions, the Spirit lifted him
up, and he heard voices from
above. Whilst we listen only to the voices of
earth, we shall endure distress
and discouragement. But if filled with the
Spirit, we may hear voices
which shall ravish our hearts with joy and
inspire them with courage.
Ø
Celestial voices
summon our attention away from man to God. There is
a Divine side to our humanity,
to our life, our work, and even our
sorrows. The spirit of man is capable of apprehending the Divine, and,
indeed, only in doing so does it realize the purpose of its
existence.
God is not far from every one of
us; and He is near to all who call
upon Him in truth.
Ø
Celestial voices
summon us to contemplate the majesty of the Eternal.
This is their burden: “Blessed
be the glory of the Lord from His place.”
How poor do earth’s pleasures, and how paltry do earth’s
interests
seem, when brought into comparison with the heavenly and
eternal!
The Hebrew prophets certainly enjoyed a wonderful insight into the
majestic attributes of Jehovah. If we will be led by them, they will lead
us into the presence, and reveal to us something of the glory, of the Lord
of all. Thus may we be freed from bondage to earth’s littleness; thus may
we learn the true, full
lessons of being.
Ø
Thus earthly trouble
may be lost and absorbed in heavenly grandeur. The
voice of the rushing, the noise
of the wheels, the rustling of the wings, —
these appealed to the
imagination and touched the spirit of the prophet;
and his trials and difficulties
shrank into their proper insignificance,
when he was
conscious of the nearness and of the infinite superiority
of the
Divine. We may not always be able to reason down our
difficulties, to repress our anxieties, to
vanquish our temptations.
But we may bring all into the presence of
Divine visions and Divine
voices; and they will assume
their just
proportions, and God will be
the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, of all.
14 “So the
spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in
bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but
the hand of the LORD was
strong upon me.” The Spirit lifted me up (see note on v. 12). Here the
Septuagint has the more definite phrase, “the
Spirit of the Lord.”
For bitterness (see note on
ch.2:3). The heat of my spirit. The
first noun is here
translated literally. Elsewhere it is rendered as “wrath” (Deuteronomy 29:23;
Job 21:20; Proverbs 15:11, et al.), “fury”
(Jeremiah 4:4). Here probably it
points to the conflict of emotions — indignation against
the sins of his
people, the dread of failure, the consciousness of
unfitness.
The hand of the
Lord, etc.
The word for “strong” is the same as
that
which enters into Ezekiel’s name. Taking this and v. 9 into
account, there
seems sufficient reason for translating as the Vulgate
does, confortans (so
Luther, “held me firm”), at least for thinking of that
meaning as implied
(compare Ezra 7:9; 8:18; Nehemiah 2:8; Daniel 10:18). There
was
a sustaining power in spite of the “bitterness” and the “heat.”
In a more
general sense, as in ch.1:3, it is used as implying a
special intensity
of prophetic inspiration, as in the case of Elisha (II Kings 3:15); but this
is the only case in which it occurs with the adjective “strong.”
The Start in Life (v. 14)
Ezekiel here describes the commencement of his active ministry.
Hitherto
he has been under preparation, receiving communications
from heaven in
vision and word. Now the time has come for him to start on
his errand and
begin his work among the captives of
Although we need not suppose
that Ezekiel was carried up bodily into the
clouds, blown over the fields,
and dropped down in the midst of a crowd of
his countrymen, we are not to
suppose that his visit to them was any the
less one of Divine impulses. Like
Philip the evangelist, when he was taken
from the Ethiopian convert and
sent to Azotus (Acts 8:39-40), Ezekiel
felt a mighty power of God
driving him to his work. Inspiration does
not
only illumine; it
impels. The Spirit of God drove Christ
into the wilderness
(Mark 1:12). Such an action does
not involve forcible constraint
against the will. God only works
on men in this way through their wills.
The will of the man is so
completely subservient to the will of God that it
no longer acts separately; it
voluntarily obeys as though it were but a
Divine instrument. The highest
work for God is always done in this way.
Without the
mighty spiritual impulse such tasks as God sets His servants
could never be
accomplished; but with it the hardest service ends in
success.
Ø
In grief. The prophet is in bitterness. The cause of his sorrow is
that he
is to speak of bad subjects, and
to face unwilling hearers. Nothing can
be more painful to a sympathetic
soul. If a preacher could delight in
denunciation and take a pleasure
in describing the horrors of future
punishment, he would be little
better than a demon at heart. A true
preacher of
repentance must be a voice of sorrow.
Moreover, it must be
painful to a sensitive man to
find himself compelled to create
unpopularity for himself by
fidelity to his message. His face may be as
adamant; but his heart will
bleed.
Ø
In anger. Ezekiel went “in
heat.” There is a righteous wrath. Christ
could be “moved with indignation”
(Matthew 20:24) against cruelty
and hypocrisy. The man who is
incapable of this anger lacks power of
conscience. Love must lie at the
heart of the servant of God, but anger
at sin and at the
wrong of it to God and man may show itself in his
voice and manner.
HIM. God does not only
send His servant; He accompanies
him. The Spirit
carried Ezekiel forth; the hand
of God was strong upon him all the way.
This hand of God is felt in
various ways.
Ø
In pushing forward. God thus keeps His
servants to the front.
While He is with them He
will allow of no cowardice or indolence.
Ø
In support. This hand of God is a helping hand, a holding hand, a
supporting hand. God
sustains those whom He sends.
Ø
In restraint. While
pushing His servants on in the right way, God
is ready to hold them back
from peril, error, and ruin.
Ø
In uplifting.
The servants of God may slip and even
fall. Then they are
not deserted. The same strong
hand which sent them forth lifts them
up and sets them on their feet
again. Thus the mighty ever-present
God stands by to
help his feeblest servants and lead them on to victory.
Human Bitterness and Divine Strength (v. 14)
The Prophet Ezekiel would have been more or less than human
had he not
felt poignantly the painful commission with which he was
entrusted. He
was a patriot as well as a prophet; and his distress and
trouble arose not
merely from the discouragement natural to his position and
service, but
from his sympathy with his fellow countrymen, his censure
of their sin, his
sorrow for their fate. Yet it was not the will of God that his grief should
interfere with the efficiency of his ministry. And the Lord
who called him
to his special work chose the occasion of the prophet’s
depression as the
occasion of His intervention upon his behalf and for his
strengthening. It
was when Ezekiel was in bitterness and the heat of his
spirit that the hand
of the Lord was strong upon him. Nor was this experience
peculiar to this
prophet; many have, in God’s service, known Ezekiel’s
bitterness, and
have, in the time of their bitterness, felt God’s hand
upon them, a hand of
encouragement, of guidance, and of blessing.
WORKER FOR GOD. The
circumstances described in the context are
abundantly sufficient to account
for the bitterness and heat of the prophet’s
spirit. Every faithful servant
and minister of God can enter, more or less
completely, into his feelings.
The conditions of labor are often
discouraging and distressing.
BITTERNESS SHOULD BE THE CRIPPLING OF THE HANDS FOR
EFFICIENT LABOR. A
cheerful mind contributes to efficient toil. Even
if the task be difficult and
painful, it will not be well performed if bitterness
and heat of spirit prevail. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah
8:10)
ALLAY VEXATION, CAN FIT FOR SPIRITUAL MINISTRY. “The
hand of the
Lord,” says the prophet, “was strong upon me.” This
metaphorical expression is full
of significance.
Ø
Strong to uphold, as a father’s hand sustains his child in a difficult
and dangerous road.
Ø
Strong to defend, as the hand of an escort may ward off from his
charge the attack of a foe.
Ø
Strong to direct, as the hand of the helmsman may steer the ship
upon her course.
Ø
Strong to cheer and encourage, as the hand of the
husband may
grasp that of the wife, to
comfort and to animate with courage,
in times of common
difficulty, sorrow, and distress.
Ø
Strong to save, as the hand of a deliverer may rescue a drowning
form from raging floods.
15 “Then I
came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt
by the
astonished among them seven days.”
Silence (v. 15)
When Ezekiel came upon a settlement of captives he sat down
with them in silent
amazement for seven days. At the end of that time a Divine
message roused him,
and sent him forth on his mission. We have now to consider
the lessons of the
week of silence. They may be the more valuable for us
because we seem to have
lost the faculty of keeping quiet. The rush and roar of
modern life have killed that
ancient power, and its depth and spiritual range are lost
to us. No doubt much of
the superficiality and unreality of modern life may be
traced to the habit of
ceaseless chatter: It would be well if we could rediscover
silence. Silence
has many shades according to the varying circumstances in
which it arises
and the diverse moods in which it is cherished. Some of the
characteristics
of silence are illustrated in the case of Ezekiel.
·
THE SILENCE OF GRIEF.
Ezekiel grieved to see the sorrowful state
of his fellow captives, and to
think that it was his mission at first even to
add to their distress by words
of rebuke and warning. Like a true patriot,
he found the
troubles of his countrymen occasions of personal mourning.
As a tender-hearted man, he
could not fail to be pained at their
moral
shame and peril. Their
grief silenced his voice. The greatest sorrow lies too
deep for words. The widow of
Tennyson’s “warrior” was stricken into a
fearful silence. Referring to a
season of extreme trouble, David said, “I
was
dumb with silence, I held my peace” (Psalm 39:2). Thus terrible blows
stun the sufferer.
·
THE SILENCE OF WONDER.
The prophet was astonished, The
fearful spectacle of his kindred
in distress overwhelmed him with
amazement. A great surprise produces
a shock of silence, by throwing us
off the familiar
lines of thought, so that we know not
what to think or say.
It is fortunate for us that
this is the case, or we might blunder into some
very rash expressions. We may well be silent before “the burden and the
mystery of all this
unintelligible world.”
·
THE SILENCE OF SYMPATHY. Job’s three friends “sat down with
him upon the
ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a
word
unto him: for they
saw that his grief was very great”
(Job 2:13). In the
deepest trouble the kindest
words sound harsh. You cannot handle an open
wound in the most tender manner
without giving pain. A look of sympathy
is more helpful than a speech of
most choice phrases. To weep with
those
who weep is
better than to preach to them.
·
THE SILENCE OF ANTICIPATION. Ezekiel has not received the
message which he is to give to
the captives. So he waits for it in silence.
Having as yet no utterance to
give, he is wise in keeping his lips closed. It
has been truly remarked that we
should not attempt to speak because we
have to say something, but only
because we have something to say.
Macaulay delighted his companions by “flashes of silence” in the
torrent of
his conversation. It would be
well if some of us kept longer silence, that
when we did open our mouths some
words of weight might come forth. It
is good to understand the
libeling of ‘II Penseroso,’ and to be able to
welcome the “spirit of contemplation” —
“Come,
pensive nun, devout and pure,
Sober,
steadfast, and demure.”
16 “And it
came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD
came unto me, saying,” At Tel-Abib, etc., We now enter on the first
scene of the
prophet’s ministry. The Septuagint leaves the proper name.
The Vulgate rightly
translates it as acervus
novarum frugum, the
“mound of ears of corn” (the
meaning appears in the name of the Passover month, Abib). Luther gives,
strangely enough, “where the almond trees stood, in the
mouth Abib”).
Jerome’s suggestion, that here also there was a nomen et omen. and that
those who shared Ezekiel’s exile were regarded as the “firstfruits”
of the
future, is at least ingenious, and finds some support in
Psalm 126:5-6.
The place has not been identified, and its position depends
on that of the
river with which it is connected (see note on ch. 1:1). The word
“Tel” is commonly applied to the mounds formed out of
masses of ruins,
which are common all over the plains of
case may suggest that the earth had gathered over it, and
that it was
cultivated. I sat
where they sat, etc. The
ministry begins not with speech,
but silence. Our Western habits hardly enable us to enter
into the
impressiveness of such a procedure. The conduct of Job’s
friends (Job
2:13) presents a parallel, and as Ezekiel seems to have
known that book
(ch.14:14, 20), he may have been influenced by it. Like
actions
meet us in Ezra 9:3-5 and Daniel 4:19.
17 “Son of
man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of
therefore hear the word at my mouth, and
give them warning from
me.”
A watchman unto the house of Israel. The seven days’
session of amazement came to an end, but even then there
was at first no
utterance of a message. The word of the Lord came to his
own soul, and
told him what his special vocation as a prophet was to be. He was to be a
“watchman unto the house of
on his tower, to be on the
look out to warn men against coming dangers,
not to slumber on his post.
In II Samuel 18:24-27 and II Kings 9:17-20
we have vivid pictures of such a work. It had already been
used
figuratively of the prophet’s work by Jeremiah (Jeremiah
6:17). The
cognate verb, with the image fully developed, meets us in
Habakkuk
2:1. Its use in Hosea 9:8 is doubtful as to meaning, and in
Isaiah
52:8 and 56:10 it may be, if we accept the theory of a Deutero-Isaiah, an
echo from Ezekiel. It is reproduced with special emphasis
in ch.33:2-7.
More than any word it describes the special characteristic
of
Ezekiel’s work. He is to watch
personally over individual souls. So
in a like
sense, a corresponding word is used of the Christian
ministry in
Hebrews 13:17 (compare also for the thought, though the
word is not
the same, Isaiah 21:11-12; 62:6; Psalm 127:1). A vivid
picture of
the work of such a watchman is found, it may be noted, in
the opening
speech of the ‘Agamemnon’ of AEschylus.
Give them warning, etc. It is,
I think, a legitimate inference that the prophet acted on
the command while
he was with the exiles and before the departure of v. 22,
not by
harangues or sermons addressed to the whole body of the
exiles, but by
direct warning to individuals.
The Watchman (ch 33:1-9)
Ezekiel here returns to an idea which he has expressed earlier
(ch.3:17).
He stands as a watchman for his people. Every Christian preacher
and teacher is in a similar position. The same may be said of every
Christian man and woman who knows the peril of sin and
has an
opportunity of warning the ignorant and. careless.
Ø
To watch. In order to serve his people he must first of all see for
himself. We can only teach men what we have first
learned. The
prophet must be a seer, the
apostle a disciple, the missionary a
Christian. To watch means:
o
to be awake while
others sleep;
o
to fix attention while
others are listless;
o
to look abroad while
others are satisfied with what they can
see at home.
The Christian watchman must
be spiritually alert; he must not be
satisfied with his own notions;
he must sweep the horizon of truth;
he must consider the
distant and the future, but chiefly that which
is approaching and of
practical moment. He must look especially
in two directions:
o
nto the revealed truths of Christianity, to see indications of
the
principles of life
and death;
o
into the actual world,
to note its condition. Knowledge of men
must go with knowledge of
Scripture. The Christian teacher
must not be a mere bookworm
or cloistered student; he must
know the world — men and
affairs.
Ø
To warn. Having seen danger, the watchman must at once inform the
city of the fact. He must wake
the slumbering guard, blow the trumpet, or
run to the belfry and sound the
alarm. The Christian teacher is to warn as
well as to comfort and exhort (I
Thessalonians 5:14).
watch and warn. When he has been
quick to detect approaching danger,
perhaps at first but as a faint
cloud of dust on the horizon, and vigorous in
blowing his trumpet to rouse the
city, his part is done. He cannot meet the
foe in the plain and prevent
them from approaching the city. He cannot
man the walls and guard the
citadel. He can but blow his trumpet. Further,
if the people will not heed or
believe him, he cannot compel them to
prepare for the conflict. If
they still prefer their couches to their swords,
the watchman cannot force them
to arm. He is not the commander of the
city. The greatest Christian teacher is but a watchman. No
servant of Christ
can compel men to turn from their
carelessness and face the stern facts of
life. If they will not hearken to faithful expostulation, the preacher can do
no more for them. They are free, and they must choose for themselves.
Ø
This is a warning to the careless. They may refuse to
attend. They can
fall asleep again, vexed at the
rousing trumpet-blast. But if they do this
it is at their own
peril.
o
The danger is not the
less because it is neglected.
o
The folly and sin of
negligence aggravate the faults of those
who give no heed to
warning. Now they are without excuse.
They can blame no
one but themselves.
Ø
This is a consolation for the faithful watchman. If he is a true
man, he
must grieve over his negligent
hearers. Still, his Master will recognize his
fidelity.
Ø
It is failure in a trust. The citizens sleep in time of peril, and no one
expects them to be on guard. But
the watchman’s special duty is to be
awake and give warning. He who is entrusted with responsibility is
expected to be true
to his charge.
Ø
It is sin against light. The watchman sees the danger which the sleeping
citizens do not perceive. His
knowledge adds to his responsibility. His
sin is but negative, he gives no
false news, he does not play the traitor by
opening the gates to the enemy. Yet he is unfaithful.
Ø
It is negligence that hurts others. It risks a whole city. We
risk the
welfare of all whom we might help
to save, if we fail to warn them.
Fear of disturbing their peace
is no excuse. The watchman must have
courage to sound the alarm.
There are times when the harp must be
exchanged for the trumpet. The
preacher must have courage to say
unpleasant things.
18 “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.” Thou givest him not warning, etc.
The word, as in the parallels already referred to, is
characteristic of Ezekiel,
almost indeed,
peculiar to him. Psalm 19:11 may be noted as
another instance
of its use. When the watchman saw danger coming, he was to blow
the trumpet
(ch.33:3-6). The prophet was to speak his warnings. Thou shalt
surely die; literally, dying thou shalt
die. Were the words of Genesis 2:17
in the prophet’s mind? To save his life; literally, for his life, or that
he may live. Shall die in his iniquity. Do the words refer
only to physical
death coming as the punishment of iniquity? or do they point
onward
further to the judgment that follows death, the loss of the
inheritance of
eternal life which belongs to those whose names are written
in the book of
life? Looking to the tremendous responsibility implied in
the words, we can
hardly, I think, in spite of the questions which have been
raised as to the
belief of the Hebrews in the immortality of the soul,
hesitate to accept the
latter meaning. Ezekiel anticipates the teaching of
Philippians 4:3;
Revelation 3:5; 13:8, if, indeed, that meaning was not
already familiar
to him in Exodus 32:32-33. For “in” his iniquity we may,
perhaps, read
“because of.” The negligence of the watchman does not avail to procure a
full pardon for the evil doer. The degree in which it may
extenuate his guilt
depends on conditions known to God, but not to us. In any
case, as in our
Lord’s words (Luke 12:47-48), a man’s knowledge and
opportunities
are the measure of his responsibility. But the unfaithful
watchman has his
responsibility. It is as though the blood of the sinner had
been shed. His
guilt may be described in the same words as that of Cain
(Genesis 9:5).
Compare Paul’s words in Acts 18:6 and 20:26 as echoes of
Ezekiel’s thought.
19 “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.” Thou hast delivered thy soul, etc. This phrase is again an
eminently characteristic one (compare ch.33:9). Here also,
though
the words do not necessarily imply more than deliverance
from bodily
death, thought of as a judgment for negligence, it is, I
think, scarcely
possible to avoid finding in them a “springing and
germinant” sense,
analogous to that which we have found in the preceding
verse. The dread
warning has for its complement a message of comfort. The
judgment
passed on the prophet does not depend on the results of his
ministry.
“Whether men will
bear, or whether they will forbear,” he
has “delivered
his soul,” i.e. saved his life, when he has done his duty as a
watchman. The
phrase is noticeable as having passed out of the language
of Scripture into
familiar use. A man can say, “Liberavi
animam meam,” (I have freed
my
soul) when he has uttered his conviction on any question of
importance affecting
the well being of others.
The Watchman’s Office (vs. 17-19)
Every servant of God conceives his service in his own
manner, under the
special light of his own experience and character. Ezekiel
evidently felt the
peculiar solemnity of his position among the children of
the Captivity, and
evidently was consumed by a desire to discharge his
difficult and painful
duty with fidelity and efficiency. Hence his habit of
regarding himself, as
indeed the Divine Spirit prompted him to do, as a watchman set to
admonish and protect the Hebrew exiles in the East. In many respects this
figure sets forth the vocation of every true minister of
Christ called upon to
watch for souls as one who must give account unto God.
keeper does not undertake this
duty at the suggestion of his own thoughts
and inclinations; he is called to it by the voice of God Himself. The word of
the Lord comes unto him. He is
stationed where he stands by Divine
authority. He has to listen for
the Divine voice, to give heed to every
direction, to be ready to utter
such messages as he may receive from
Heaven.
according to the instructions
he receives. He has to hear in order that he
may speak, to take in the truth
in order that he may give it forth. It is,
therefore, not enough that he be
attentive and intelligent; he must impart
the tidings, the message, which
he receives. He has a ministry, a
trust, to
fulfill for the benefit of his fellow
men — he has to seek to bring them into
conscious relations with the
Father of spirits.
REBELLIOUS. Watching
for men, the spiritual guardian is bound to
remember the special character
of those over whom he is placed. He is not
simply an instructor entrusted
with the duty of declaring truth, of
inculcating lessons and
precepts. He has to deal with “a
rebellious house.”
Hence one great function of the
watchman is to warn. Throughout this
book the greatest stress is laid
upon this duty. “Warn them from
me!” is the
admonition of God to the
faithful watchman. The people are in danger
from manifold temptations; and
they have to be put upon their guard
against the spiritual perils by
which they are threatened. The wicked are to
be warned, that they may repent;
the righteous have to be warned, lest they
fall from their righteousness.
is indeed an honorable one; but
it is difficult and responsible. Much
depends upon the way in which
the duty is discharged; the safety of the
people and the acceptance of the
guardian are both alike at stake.
Ø
The watchman’s
fidelity will be rewarded. If he
fulfill his duty, he will
deliver his soul, he will be
approved and recompensed, promoted and
honored.
Ø
The watchman’s
unfaithfulness will be punished. If he
do not his duty,
others will suffer, but he
himself will not escape just retribution. The
blood of the lost will be
required at his hand.
Those who are appointed to watch for souls must have their
ears open to receive
the Word of the Lord; their lips must be open to speak that
Word.
Here is a lesson for those who enjoy the benefit of
spiritual ministrations. It is not
only an awful and responsible duty to watch; it is an awful and responsible privilege
to listen to the watchman’s warning. If the preacher is
accountable for his utterances,
the hearer is accountable for the spirit in which he receives
those utterances.
Take heed what,
and how, you hear! (Mark
4:24)
20 “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.”
21 “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.” From his righteousness. The Hebrew
gives the plural, “his righteousnesses” — all his single righteous acts that lie
behind. I lay a stumbling block, etc. The word is again characteristic (ch.7:19;
14:3-4). It occurs in
Jeremiah 6:21, and Ezekiel may have learned the
use of the word from him. It is found also in Leviticus
19:14 and
Isaiah 57:14; but the date of these, according to the so
called higher
criticism, may be later than Ezekiel. In Isaiah 8:14: the
word is
different. The English word sufficiently expresses the
sense. One of the
acts of Eastern malignity was to put a stone in a man’s
way, that he might
fall and hurt himself Here the putting the stone is
described as the act of
Jehovah, and is applied to anything that tempts a man to
evil, and so to his
own destruction (Jeremiah 6:21). The thought is startling
to us, and
seems at variance with true conceptions of the Divine will
(James 1:13).
The explanation is to be found in the fact that the
prophet’s mind did
not draw the distinction which we draw between evil
permitted and the
same evil decreed. All, from this point of view, is as God
wills, and even
those who thwart that will are indeed fulfilling it.
Glimpses are given of the
purpose which leads to the permission or decree. In the
case now before us
the man has turned from his righteousness before the
stumbling block is
laid in his way. The temptation is permitted that the man
may become
conscious of his evil (so Romans 7:13). If the prophet
preacher does
his duty, the man may conquer the temptation, and the
stumbling block
may become a “stepping stone to higher things.” If, through
the prophet’s
negligence, he comes unwarned, and stumbles and
falls, he, as in the case
of the wicked, bears the penalty of his guilt, but the prophet has here also
the guilt of blood upon his soul. The “righteousnesses” of the man (here, as
before, we have the plural), his individual acts of
righteousness, shall not
be remembered, because he was tried, and found wanting in
the essential
element of all righteousness. The highest development of
the thought is
found in the fact that Christ Himself is represented as a “stumbling stone”
(Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:32-33; I Corinthians 1:23). Paul’s
solution of the
problem is found in the question, “Have they stumbled that they should fall?”
(Romans
11:11). Was that the end contemplated in the
Divine purpose?
Will it really be the end?
Responsibility (vs. 15-21)
It is a serious thing to be responsible for our own
conduct; it is (if possible)
yet more serious to have responsibility for others. The two
things are
inseparably intertwined.
Relationships are of all kinds —
near and remote. No man is completely
detached from others. His life
penetrates other lives. A father is responsible
for his children. Brothers are
responsible for sisters, and vice versa, it was
not until the demon of murderous
hate had strangled the natural instinct of
brotherhood, that the sullen
miscreant asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?
(Genesis 4:9)
eternal God had exalted Ezekiel
to a position of honor in His kingdom;
and high rank is another name
for high responsibility. To make this clear to
His servant, God employed
comparison, analogy, forcible illustration. On
the city watchman hung the fate
of the city — the lives of fellow citizens.
He was exempted from other duties
that he might the better discharge this.
For many reasons, some manifest,
some hidden, God appoints men, not
angels, to be the exponents of His will to men. Faithful service will be richly
rewarded; the loss of
such rewards is a heavy penalty. But responsibility, if
abused, bears a prolific harvest of disasters.
If knowledge is power, knowledge
is responsibility also. The light of
wisdom or of science is entrusted to us that it may be diffused. In
proportion to the practical
value of the knowledge is the responsible
duty
to propagate it.
(“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you.”
Matthew 28:19-20). Hence the special insight into man’s
fallen state, the
subtlety of
temptation, and the overwhelming results of impenitence — in
brief, the special knowledge of
God’s intention with respect to guilty men
— this entails on every prophet
and preacher an imponderable
responsibility
to be faithful. Men might have been
saved had they known
both the generous and the
judicial purposes of God; we knew and might
have instructed them.
the utmost extent that we can
touch the springs of motive and of action in
our fellow men are we
responsible for them. Our responsibility does not
begin and end with the message
we deliver. We are to warn men. This
mystic influence we possess over
others is reflected from every smile and
tone and feature. Hence temper,
motive, fervor, earnestness, are elements
of our power. We warn others by our own abstinence from sin, by our self-
denials, our
heavenly-mindedness, our fruitful goodness, our pious walk
and converse. Responsibility ends only when we have exhausted every
method to draw men heavenward.
NEGLECTED TRUST. The
God who has placed His servants in
responsible positions has
deigned to inform them what shall be the effects
of neglect and cowardice. To the unwarned wicked the effect shall be
destruction: “They shall surely
die.” To
the unfaithful watchman the effect
shall be dishonor and loss: “The blood of the unwarned
shall be required
at his hand.” The wicked might have died, though warned; but he might
have repented
and lived. A diseased man may die,
although the remedy be
applied; but if the known remedy
be withheld, the blame of that death will
fall on the slothful
attendant. God has not seen it to be
wise or fitting to
make provision against
unfaithfulness in His prophets. If they fail in the
discharge of their momentous
functions, no other agency will supply the
room. The impenitent (who have no claim on God for any remedial
measures) will, in such a case, die
in their iniquity. For every position
of
influence, or honor, or
usefulness we hold, “we must give
account of
ourselves before God.” (Romans 14:12)
The Prophet
a Watchman (vs. 16-21)
“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
·
THE CHARACTER IN WHICH THE PROPHET OF THE LORD IS
HERE REPRESENTED. “Son
of man, I have made thee a watchman unto
the house of
Ø The
appointment of a watchman implies the peril of the Church.
Watchmen in ancient times were
posted on the walls or in the towers of
cities in order that they might
watch for the appearance or approach of an
enemy, and give instant warning
of the same. The house of
exposed to dangers and enemies,
or it would not have needed a watchman.
And the
o “the gates of hell”
(Matthew 16:18),
o evil powers in the
world, and
o evil persons and erroneous teachings within itself (Acts
20:29-30).
Ø The
appointment of watchmen in the Church is the prerogative of God.
“Son of man, I have made thee a
watchman,” etc. No man may constitute
himself a watchman, and no
Church may appoint a man to this office
apart from the call of the Lord
thereto. Christian ministers are called
of God (compare. Hebrews 5:4).
·
THE DUTY OF THE PROPHET AS A WATCHMAN. His business
was “to take notice, and to give
notice.”
Ø
To watch. “Hear the word at
my mouth.” It is a peculiarity of these
watchmen that they have not to look around to obtain intelligence, but to
look up. Their eyes and ears must be directed towards the Lord.
They must receive
their message from Him, and then proclaim it unto
men. And the
Christian prophet must speak the Word of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We
must “hear
Him” (Matthew 17:5); we must preach
Him (II
Corinthians 4:5).
This part of a watchman’s duty demands
vigilance. Slothfulness and inattention may
prove disastrous both
to his charge and to himself. His observant faculties must be in
active exercise.
Ø
To warn. “And give them warning from me.” Ezekiel was to publish
to the house of
in his Name. The Christian preacher must
warn and encourage, exhort
and rebuke, in the Name of his
Master, the Christ. He must receive from
Him; he must testify for Him
(compare Matthew 10:40; Luke 10:16).
·
THE CHARACTERS UNTO WHOM THE WATCHMAN MUST
ADDRESS HIMSELF. He
must warn both the righteous and the wicked
(vs. 18-21). But four types of
character are adduced here.
Ø
The wicked man
who has not been warned by the watchman, and dies
because of his
iniquity. (v. 18) God declares that “the
wages of sin is
death”
(Romans 6:23); that “the
soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (ch. 18:20)
And though this wicked man was not warned by
the watchman, yet he was
warned by his
own conscience, and by voices of Divine providence, and by
the sacred Scriptures.
“Where the public ministry does not do its duty,
Holy Scripture is still at hand, and it is each one’s fault if he be not
called
to repentance
by the voice of this” (Hengstenberg).
Ø
The wicked man
who has been warned by the watchman, but still
persists in
sin, and dies because of his iniquity. (v. 19.) His guilt is
greater, and
his punishment will be more severe, by reason of the warnings
which
he has despised.
Ø
The sometime
outwardly righteous man, who has become a worker of
iniquity, and
has not been warned by the watchman, and dies because of
his sin. (v. 20.) This verse calls for some remarks by way of exposition.
Ø That
in the providence of God the characters of men are tested. The
words, “I
lay a stumbling block before him,” point to this. The expression
signifies to
subject one to trial by exposing him to difficulties and dangers,
as in Jeremiah
6:21. “God tempts no man in order to his destruction,
but in the
course of His providence He permits men to be tried in order that
their faith may
be approved, and in this trial some who seem to be
righteous fall”
(Dr. Currey).
Ø That
some characters fail beneath this test. Where the righteousness is
only external,
it is unable to endure the trial. But “the righteousness of God
through
faith in Jesus Christ”
will not be injured by the trial.
Ø That when one who has done righteous acts
fails under trial and
becomes a
worker of iniquity, he forfeits
the reward of those righteous
acts, and, if he
persist in sin, he will die by reason thereof. “He shall die
because
of his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be
remembered.” To obtain the reward of good works
perseverance therein
even to the end
is necessary (compare Hebrew 6:10-12; II John 1:8;
Revelation 3:11).
Ø
The righteous man who has been warned by
the watchman, and,
persevering in his righteousness, lives.
(v. 21.) The
sincerely righteous
need warning,
exhortation, and counsel, and are likely to profit by them.
·
THE DIFFERENT RESULTS OF THE WATCHMAN’S MINISTRY.
Ø
As regards his hearers.
o
Some
would not heed his warnings. In the examples given in the text
there is a
majority of this class. The result to them would be greater guilt
and severer
condemnation. How many, alas! treat the warnings of the
Christian
watchman in a similar manner! They hear them, but
practically despise them.
o
Some
would heed his warnings, and their salvation would be furthered
by so doing. An
example of this is given in v. 21. And others, through
him, might be
led to turn from their iniquity, and live. Unspeakably
blessed are such results.
Ø As regards
himself.
o
If
the watchman should be unfaithful his guilt would be terrible. “His
blood
will I require at thine hand” (vs. 18, 20; compare Genesis 9:5;
42:22). “It is
the life,” says Schroder, “which is in the blood, of
those in
the Supreme
Proprietor, demands a reckoning. The prophet who forgets
his duty, which he owes to the
unrighteous in God’s stead, becomes a
manslaughterer,
a murderer of that man, and is regarded as such by
God;” and as a murderer, not of the
body, but of the inestimably
precious soul. The thought of such guilt is
overwhelmingly dreadful
How awful is
the responsibility
of the Lord’s watchmen! “Who is
sufficient
for these things?” (II Corinthians 2:16)
o
If
the watchman is faithful, though unsuccessful, he would be clear
from guilt, and
be saved himself (compare Acts 18:6; 20:26-27).
o
If
the watchman is faithful and successful, great would be his joy and
great his reward,
as in the case stated in v. 21. And in the case which is
not mentioned
here, but is yet among the possible results of his work,
viz. that the
wicked should believe his message, and turn unto the Lord.
“Brethren,
if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him,”
Let
him know, that he which converteth the sinner from
the error
of
his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude
of
sins.” (James 5:19-20).
Who can estimate the blessedness of a
result like this?
·
CONCLUSION. Our subject presents:
Ø The strongest reasons for
fidelity on the part of the ministers of the
gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Ø The strongest reasons why the
Church of Jesus Christ should constantly
aid His
ministers by earnest prayers on their behalf. (Compare
Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:3-4; II Thessalonians 3:1-2.)
Varieties of Judgment (vs. 17-21)
The duties and responsibilities of the prophet as a
watchman, which are
here first described, receive more elaborate attention
later in the book,
where therefore they can be best studied. The other side of
the subject —
that which concerns the guilt and dangers of the people,
which is also set
forth in the passage before us — is worthy of grave consideration on its
own account. Let
us take that alone now.
discriminating and fair. He does
not deal out judgment in the gross; each
case is taken in detail. There
is to be no wholesale deluge of future
retribution; every man will bear his own share of guilt. There will be
differences between the
treatment of one sinner and that of another.
Differences in conduct and
circumstances are noted. Temptation is
weighed on the one side; light
and opportunity on the other. The child of
the thieves’ den cannot be
judged as the son of a Christian home. The
ignorance of the heathen puts them
in quite another category in the day of
judgment from that in which the
favored inhabitants of Christendom will
stand. There is thus not only a
difference between the guilt of different
deeds — as of minor morals or
great crimes; there is also a difference in
the guilt of similar deeds
committed by people differently situated.
passage treats of this after
conduct. It presupposes that sin has been
committed. Yet it shows a
variety of possibilities according to subsequent
behavior. We cannot return on
the past. History is not to be wiped out.
What is done remains as a fact
accomplished. Yet its evil fruit may be
crushed, or it may be eaten to
the last bitter morsel. Later conduct may
aggravate the guilt, deepen the
black dye, and add to the weight of the
impending conduct. Or it may be
such as to lift the load of doom and open
a door of escape. We have to do with a personal God, not with a blind
Nemesis. God rules by law,
but this law is not a mechanical system.
Therefore:
Ø
There is hope for the
worst of men. None need despair.
Ø
It is wrong and
foolish for the sinner to be reckless. Nobody’s fate is
so bad that it cannot be
made worse. Even the vilest sinner may be
warned of the danger of intensifying
his already heinous guilt and
multiplying the many
stripes which he has already earned. The
possibilities of evil are
infinite; so also are the possibilities of
heightened penalties. As
there are third heavens and seventh
heavens, so are there
deeper and darker and yet more horrible inner
circles of future
punishment.
AND HIS TREATMENT OF IT. Here are four possible cases.
Ø
The unwarned sinner suffers. He cannot be excused because no
prophet was sent him. On
the face of it this looks unjust; but it is
not so, since no man could
have been a sinner at all unless he had
known he was doing wrong.
Therefore by the light of his own
conscience he must be
judged and condemned. Moreover, the
moral degradation of sin in
the heathen and in
ignorant people nearer home is a
fact that must bring its natural
consequences. If only the pure
in heart can see God, the impure must
miss the beatific vision by lack
of faculty to receive it. Sin kills the
soul by natural necessity.
Ø
The warned sinner who persists suffers a worse penalty. He not only
dies. His blood is on his own head. This must imply an aggravation of
guilt and a consequent increase
of punishment.
Ø
The fallen righteous man is punished, though he is not
warned. His
previous goodness gives him no
immunity in present sin. He of all
men can plead no excuse in the
lack of warning, for certainly he should
have known his danger. His eyes
were once open. He may have been
careless and surprised into sin.
But this would not destroy guilt, for
should he not have
watched and prayed against entering into
temptation?
Ø The fallen
righteous man who repents on receiving warning is
forgiven. He is judged by his returning course of conduct. Too
often despair follows the fall of good men, or reckless indifference.
But the grace of
Christ is for His own repentant
people, as well
as for those who had
never known Him. He
who bade His disciples
forgive seventy
times seven offences is as long suffering
and patient
in His own
treatment of genuine penitents among His
brethren.
22 “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.”
23 “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.” And the hand of the Lord was
there upon me, etc.
There is obviously an interval between the fact thus stated and the
close of the
message borne in on the prophet’s soul. Psychologically, it
seems probable
that the effect of the message was to fill him with an
overwhelming,
crushing sense of the burden of his responsibility. How was
he to begin so
terrible a work? What were to be the nearer, and the
remoter, issues of
such a work? Apparently, at least, he does not then begin
it by a spoken
warning. He passes, at the Divine command borne in on his
soul, from the
crowd that had watched him during the seven days’ silence,
and betakes
himself to the solitude of the “plain,” as distinct from the “mound”
where
the exiles dwelt, and there the vision appears again in all
points as he had
seen it when he stood on the river’s bank.
24 “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.”
Go, shut thyself within thy house, etc. The command
implied that he was to cease for a time from all public ministrations.
There
was a time to keep silence, as well as a time to speak
(Ecclesiastes 3:7),
and for the immediate future silence was the more effective
of the two. It
would, at least, make them eager to hear what the silence
meant.
25 “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:”
26 “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.” They shall put bands upon thee, etc. Did the warning
mean that the prophet’s hearers would treat him as the men of
Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:3; 33:1; 38:6)? Of this, at all
events, we have no
record, and so far we are led to the other alternative of
taking the words
(as in ch.4:8) in a figurative sense. The prophet would
feel, as he
stood in the presence of the rebellious house, as tongue
tied, bound hand
and foot by their hardness of heart, teaching by strange and
startling signs
only, and, it may be, writing his prophecies. In ch. 24:27, four
years later, and again in ch.29:21, we have a distinct
reference to a
long period of such protracted silence. We may compare, as
in some sense
parallel, the silence of Zacharias
(Luke 1:22). That silence unbroken for
nine months was a sign to those who “were looking for redemption in
A Prophet Stricken Dumb (v. 26)
This is something abnormal, almost monstrous. A prophet is
a speaker by
calling. His mission is to use his voice. Something is
strangely amiss if he is
to be driven to silence. The occurrence, the causes, and
the consequences
of such a phenomenon must be of exceptional importance.
If he would speak, he shall not
be able to do so. Then, as before the time of
Samuel, the word of the Lord
must be “rare” (I Samuel 3:1). Divine
messages cease.
Ø
No light. The sun is eclipsed. At noon it is night. Truth sinks into
obscurity. Heaven ceases to
have a meaning. Man is left to earth
alone. (It seems to me as
not only losing its meaning
but its value to secular man! CY –
2014)
Ø
No guiding hand. Left in the dark, people may plunge into quagmires
of error or fall into pits
of destruction; there is no
warning to keep
them safe.
Ø
No commanding voice. Now the people feel
free to choose their own
course. (It is not in man to direct his steps! Jeremiah 9:23)
Ø
No consolation nor message of grace. The prophets were not
all
Cassandra, nor was every message
a prediction of judgment. These
men were the consolers of the
sorrowful. They bore Messianic
messages of hope. Now their
words are hushed. If the black
thundercloud is dispelled, so
also is the rainbow that spanned it.
Ø
By the power of God. It is God who paralyzes the tongue of His
servant. This is no matter of willful reticence or
sullen silence on
the part of the prophet. If
God sends a message, He can also
withhold one. Revelation is
not extorted from heaven by cunning
sorcery. It is freely vouchsafed by the will of God, and if He chooses
to hide it, no skill or
might of man can extract it. The lips of the
prophet from whom God has
withheld a message are as surely
sealed to all new Divine
revelation as the lips of a corpse. The dead
can tell no secrets, the
uninspired prophet can make no revelation.
Ø
On account of man’s
sin. This is a judicial act. God does not work in
caprice. But neither does He act
with mechanical uniformity. He will not
waste His gracious words
forever. Christ warned His disciples not to cast
their pearls before swine
(Matthew 7:6). How many have heard the
gospel so often and heeded it
not, that they may well feel they deserve
to be shut out from hearing it
any more! Why should the sower cast his
seed by the wayside again, only
to be trodden underfoot or stolen by
the wild birds?
prophecy, and that object must
be more than the mere economy of effort.
God has positive ends in view in
all that He does, for He is ever advancing
to larger good, and never simply
withdrawing from fruitless fields as
though frustrated and confined to
a smaller area. At first the cessstion
of
prophecy may be accepted as a
relief from inconvenient admonition. It
used to remind men
of ugly facts — of sins committed and duties
neglected. Now they are free from its annoying insistence. But
presently
other effects may be seen.
Ø
To show the value of what was neglected. Though we may not
recognize the fact, the presence of a Divine voice is a great boon —
it is light and
counsel and help. Men may learn to
value it when
they have lost it. We do
not know how precious our friends were
till they are taken from
us. Perhaps we were sometimes irritated
by what they said. Oh that
we could have them back now that
we have learned their
value! But it is too late.
Ø
To speak by silence. Many words have failed. Silence
itself may be
eloquent. The very cessation of prophecy may provoke reflection
on the old messages.
Ø
To spare the aggravation of guilt. The more words of
warning are
unheeded, the worse is the guilt of the rejection.
27 “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.” When I speak with
thee, etc. This then, as ever, was the
condition of the prophet’s work. He was to speak out of his
own heart.
When the “time to
speak” came, words
would be given him (Matthew
10:19). And those he would then speak would be as the echo
of those in
v. 11. In our Lord’s words (Ibid. 11:15; 13:9) we have, it
may
be, a deliberate reproduction of Ezekiel’s formula. The
Septuagint, in this
instance, it may be noted, translates the second clause by
“ He who is
disobedient (ἀπειθῶν – apeithon), let him be disobedient,” which in
its turn finds an echo in Revelation 22:11.
That God should enjoin one of his own prophets to silence
is certainly a very thing.
It is evidence of
refused to hear, there was a solemn dignity in the refusal
of the prophet any
longer to speak. It
is in rebuke of
people would have their monitor hold his peace; and God
gave them their
wish. The silencing of the
prophet was judicial. Punishment is a
reality; and
severe indeed is the penalty inflicted upon that nation in
which the voice of
God’s prophets is silenced. The effects of such sin recoil
upon the sinners’
heads.
God has different ways of dealing with men; sometimes not
only
different, but apparently opposite ways, as in the case
before us. And
indeed,:
In whatever way God deals with us, we are equally and
inevitably
responsible. It is indeed in our power to hear or to
forbear, i.e. to obey or
to disobey. But to every man faith and obedience bring
blessing; and
moreover (which is still more important), they are in
themselves right and
becoming. Ours is the privilege; ours is the accountability for its proper use!
The Silenced Prophet, a Calamity (vs. 22-27)
The apparent success of wickedness is a seed of retribution.
The people do
not wish to hear, therefore their ears shall be hardened.
They gnash their
teeth on God’s prophet, therefore God will remove him into
a corner.
Such experience our Lord Himself
passed through. “I shall be left
alone;
and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32).
“Arise, and go forth into the plain,” said
God to Ezekiel, “and I will there
talk with
thee” (v. 22). It is
painful to be hindered and repulsed on a mission
of mercy; but the servant of God
may remember that the opposition is not to
him, but to his Master. We
naturally love society; we love success; we love to
feel that our influence is
moving men in the right direction. Resolute and
persistent opposition is
painful; but the friendship of God compensates for
a thousand disappointments. If He smiles, it matters little who may frown.
PROPHET’S SIDE. The
glorious vision which Ezekiel had seen on the
banks of the Chebar
was repeated in the plain. Representatives of all the
living forces of heaven appeared
again as the prophet’s allies. In such a
cause, and with such allied
powers, triumph must eventually ensue. Though
repelled, the prophet is not
defeated; “Though cast down, not
destroyed”
(II Corinthians 4:9). If He pleased, God could have secured outward
and
apparent success for His messenger.
He could have smitten with sudden
death the more rebellious, and
made the calamity an instrument for impressing
and silencing others. But His
wisdom preferred another course. “His thoughts
are not our
thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8). Ezekiel very likely required yet further
training for his work. We see
not the scope and grandeur of Jehovah’s plans at
present; but by and by we shall be able to say, “He hath done all things well.”
(Mark 7:37)
FROM GOD. Men’s
pride usually becomes their punishment. They
scourge themselves with their
own sins. If they make themselves dear, God
will make His servant dumb. The time will come when they shall earnestly
desire to hear some
message from the Lord, but they shall desire in vain.
They may attempt to force the
prophet into speech, but they will attempt in
vain. Saul, the first King of
Israel, was disobedient to the heavenly voice;
yet when he was entangled in
thick dangers, he cried to God, but God
answered not, neither by prophet,
nor by vision, nor by Urim or Thummim
(I Samuel 28:6). “Because I called, and ye refused… I also will laugh at
your calamity; I
will mock when your fear cometh” (Proverbs 1:24-26).
Reproof was the kindest message the people could have from God, yet they
understood it not. The hardened soil must be broken up by the plough before
it is of any use to cast in the
seed. The diseased man needs medicine, not
sweetmeats. And when, at times, God does give
His prophets a word to utter,
it is only the word of reproof again. He will
bring their self-will and pride
again to remembrance. The pearls of His
gospel he casts not before swine.
(Matthew 7:6)
Now we all have liberty of hearing. The use and abuse of
this liberty call for some
consideration.
Ø
All men are free to hear God’s Word. This is not a message
for the
priests; it is given to the people.
It is not sent to the few elite; it
belongs to the multitude. There
is no esoteric doctrine in the
Christian revelation.
Ø
All men can understand the Divine Word. Little children
can
grasp its most
precious truths. Simple folk can
receive what is
vital and most valuable. (“And
a highway shall be there, and a
way, and it shall
be called The way of holiness; the unclean
shall not pass
over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring
men, though fools,
shall not err therein.” - Isaiah 35:8).
The path is such that a wayfaring man, though a fool, may
not err therein if he follows it with a true
heart.
Ø
All men have a right to receive God’s Word. It is our duty
to circulate the Bible
throughout the world. If God has given
utterances that are intended
for all peoples and nations and
languages and tongues, it
is the duty of those to whom these
oracles of God have been
committed to see that everything is
done to put them
within the reach of those who have not
yet received
them. (This is the sole purpose of this web site –
CY – 2014)
Ø All men to
whom the Word of God has come are under a solemn
obligation to give heed to it.
on the contrary, it is the
essential condition of the performance of
any duty as such. If God speaks,
we can refuse to hearken, but we
ought to listen; and only by thus listening can the Word of God be
of any profit to
us.
forbear, if the hearing is within
our own power. God forces no one to hear
His Word. nor does He force any
one to enter His kingdom. The Good
Shepherd seeks the wandering
sheep, but when he finds it he does not drive
it before Him; He calls it to him,
and even then, if the foolish creature is so
madly inclined, it can turn a
deaf ear to His merciful voice.
Ø
It would be useless to compel a hearing. God does not
desire
unwilling
service. The revelation that is not
welcome can bring
little good. God blesses us
through our own acquiescence; in the
rebellious heart the
blessing would be soured into a curse.
Ø To be
understood, the Word of God must be received sympathetically.
This is not a statement of
external facts so much as a light to shine into
the heart. If, therefore, the language of it were dinned into our ears,
syllable by syllable, the spirit,
the truth itself, would still remain
outside. We should hear the
sounds, not the message they contained.
Ø
To refuse to hear the Word of God is to incur a grave
responsibility. As
a word of command it requires
obedience. To decline to receive the
message is to rebel and disobey.
As a word of grace this Divine utterance
offers a boon. To refuse it is
to insult the gracious Speaker. It is also to run
the risk of severe judgment when
we fail for lack of that which
would
have saved us IF WE HAD GIVEN ATTENTION TO IT! They who
act thus are without excuse. It
will be “more tolerable for
CONCLUSION. Our subject addresses to us solemn admonition as to our
treatment
of the Word of the Lord. If we
persistently despise or disregard
that Word, He may
withdraw it from us, or place us beyond the sphere of
the ministry thereof. Neglected privileges may justly and reasonably be
taken
away from those who have neglected them.
“Behold, the days come
saith the Lord God, that I
will send a famine in the land, not a famine of
bread,
not a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the
Lord. And
they
shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they
shall
run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, AND SHALL
NOT FIND
IT!” (Amos
8:11-12).
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Eating
a Book (vs. 1-3)
I. THE
FOOD PROVIDED.
1. This is in the
form of literature. Ezekiel receives a written roll. All good
literature is mental food — not merely a plaything or a
sweetmeat, but soul
stuff for sustaining intellectual life and promoting mental
growth. God
feeds our highest nature through literature. His Spirit
comes through his
Truth, his Truth is revealed in his Word, and his Word is
contained in a
book — the Bible.
2. This must be taken
as it is provided. Ezekiel did not write the roll. He
found it. The word of God was sent to him. He did not
invent or imagine
it. We do not create Divine truth. We find it in the Bible.
if we would be
honest we must take what we discover there, and not feed on
our own
notions to the neglect of the Divine revelation.
3. The Divine
provision is full and ample. The roll was inscribed on both
sides — “written within and without” (ch.
2:10). The Bible has far
more in it than Ezekiel’s roll. It is a library in itself,
both extensive and
closely filled. There is no verbosity in it. Its many words
are rich and deep.
No age will ever consume the whole of its vast and varied
teachings.
II. THE
MEAL CONSUMED. Ezekiel must not only read the roll; he
must eat it. All Divine truth needs to be treated thus. We
must feed on the
Bible to profit by it.
1. There must be
personal appropriation. We take a thing to ourselves in
the most absolute kind of possession when we eat it. No
book will profit
much until it is thus appropriated. The bibliomaniac is not
always a student
of literature. The possession or a large library is no
guarantee of great
learning. The mind is fed by the books which are studied,
not by those that
only collect dust as they stand on the shelves. The Bible
profits only as it is
used. The clasps of some Bibles are suspiciously stiff.
They suggest that
the books are more prized than searched.
2. There must be
internal consumption. There is no good in running over
the words of a book with the eye, if the thoughts of it are
not absorbed into
the mind. Good books cannot be profitably skimmed. We may
have much
verbal knowledge of the Bible without ever making it our
food. The
meaning of texts, historical and geographical allusions,
side lights of
manners and customs, may all be studied, and yet the Bible
may lie outside
us, and our souls starve for want of spiritual food,
because we do not take
its essential truths down into our inner being in
comprehension, meditation,
and application.
3. There must be
assimilation. The food, when digested, is converted into
a part of the bodily fabric — blood, bones, nerves, and
flesh. A good book
well digested becomes a part of a man’s life. It colors his
thought and
gives tone and character to his mind — its own breadth and
elevation
enlarging and exalting the reader. This is the highest use
of literature. In
assimilating Plato or Milton the great souls of the
philosopher and the poet
take possession of our souls, and lift them into a higher
atmosphere.
III. THE
EFFECTS FOLLOWING.
1. There is a
pleasant taste. Ezekiel found the roll as honey for sweetness.
The mentally inert have no idea of what rare delights they
miss by not
preparing themselves to enjoy the pleasures of literature.
The writer of
Psalm 119 found the highest of these delights in the Law of
God. To the
loving student of the Bible that grand ancient literature
of man and God is
a source of most profound delight. He who truly sympathizes
with the
spirit in which the Bible was written will never need to
read it as a task. He
will delight in it as in a savoury
meal.
2. Pain ensues. This
was the case in the parallel vision of
(Revelation 10:10). Ezekiel also found bitterness later (v.
14). The
reason is that “lamentations, and mourning, and woe” were
written on the
roll (ch. 2:10). There are bitter
truths to be considered in God’s
Word. Conscience makes the pleasant reading of the Bible to
be followed
by painful reflections. Yet this bitterness is a wholesome
tonic.
3. The final result
is an increase of strength. Ezekiel is able to set his face
like an adamant (v. 9), and prophesy to the rebellious
people. Feeding on
God’s Word tits us to teach that Word and to exemplify it
by our conduct.
Colonial
Missions (v. 5)
Ezekiel was not sent, like Jonah, to a foreign city; though
living among
people of a strange language, he was not called upon to
preach to the
natives. His mission was to a colony of fellow Jews in a
foreign country.
He is the typical colonial missionary of the Old Testament.
I. THE
CLAIMS OF COLONIAL MISSIONS. Broadly stated, there are
two great claims in colonial missions.
1. Close kinship. The
colonists are our brethren. Charity begins at home,
and the English home now stretches to
by those who know our colonies that the affection tot the
old country is
warm among them. To treat them with coldness is a cruel
neglect of family
ties.
2. Pressing need. It
has been said that the colonies should provide for their
own religious requirements. Such a sweeping statement
betrays ignorance
of the condition of our colonies. They cannot be lumped
together in a mass
when we discuss them; for there are enormous differences
between the
several colonies in regard to resources and capacity for
religious activity.
An old colony, such as we find in parts of
itself. But we have to consider new colonies, cities
springing up like
mushrooms, with the most raw civilization. Here the fight
for life is fierce.
Here young men, leaving behind all home influences, find
themselves in
close companionship with the roughest characters. Little or
no provision
can be made on the spot for the spiritual assistance of
these people. We
must follow them into the bush, or leave them to sink to
mere animalism.
II. THE
DIFFICULTIES OF COLONIAL MISSIONS.
1. Lack of novelty. We
cannot draw romantic pictures of these missions
like those pictures of
spectator with emotion. The work is English, commonplace,
without much
adventure. But it is only the superficial mind that should
be discouraged by
so childish an objection when real need presses.
2. Roughness of
character. The backwoodsmen may not speak a rough
dialect, but the freedom of their life tempts into their neighbourhood some
of the wildest characters. Two classes emigrate — the most
energetic and
best workmen, who go of their own accord; and the most
worthless
persons, who are sent by their friends. We ship our
“ne’er-do-weels” off to
the colonies. But change of scene does not bring change of
character.
Those who were scoundrels in the streets of
a sudden respectable citizens in
our colonies the scum and refuse of the old world, a great
burden is being
laid upon these young communities to protect themselves
from dangerous
influences.
3. Width of area. The
colonies are vast in extent, yet they are but thinly
peopled. The colonial missionary must travel far. His
parish may be as
large as a county. Men of great energy and devotion are
required for such
work.
III. THE
ENCOURAGEMENTS OF COLONIAL MISSIONS.
1. Readiness of
access. Travelling is safe. There are no native
chiefs to
conciliate. The interference of a foreign government has
not to be
considered. The colonists speak our own language, and thus
no time is
spent in learning a foreign tongue before the real work
begins. The
missionary has the claims of kinship to help him.
2. A great future. No
missions have been more successful than those to the
away, and in course of time all effects of the missions
will have vanished,
simply because the people will have died out. It is just
the opposite in the
case of our colonies. There population advances by leaps
and bounds.
Greater
loses hold of this young giant, the ultimate result will be
disastrous to
mankind; but if the colonies are won for Christ, the
freshest, strongest,
most promising life of the world is secured for the cause
of truth and
righteousness. Moreover, no work is so remunerative in
result as
successful colonial missions. The new Churches have only to
be planted
and fostered for a time. Before long they will stand alone
and become
centres of usefulness. While foreign mission Churches are too much
like
the ivy, that must always cling to an external support,
colonial Churches
are like the saplings, needing a stake for a time to keep
them straight and
to help them to stand against the gale, but which can soon
dispense with
that aid. Lastly, where colonies are planted among native
races, colonial
missions may save these poor creatures from the ruin which
bad white men
always bring, and thus the colonies may become centres of Christianizing
influence for the heathen.
.
On the Plain and in the
House (vs. 22-24)
The prophet is sent
first into the plain and then into his house. In both
cases he follows Divine leadings. In both he is separated
from his friends
and neighbours. But there are
certain differences between the two
experiences, all full of significance.
1. The scene. If
Ezekiel was sent into the plain, this must have been
because it was a place adapted to what was to happen there.
Its
characteristic features must eater into the significance of
the prophet’s
errand. Note some of these.
(1) Retirement
from society. The mournful crowd of Jews
was by the
riverbank, and Ezekiel was to detach himself from them and
retreat to the
solitude of the plain. It is not good for man to live in a
crowd. Depth of
soul is to be cultivated in retirement. God does not often
reveal himself in
the din of the world. A too public life is both shallow and
callous.
(2) Breadth of
view. The plain is broad and spacious.
There is ample range
for the eye to rove over its vast expanse. The soul may
here lose its
cramped feelings. The suffocation of the crowd is escaped.
When God’s
glory appears it has room for a large display. Heavenly
painting requires a
broad canvas.
(3) Openness to
heaven. There is no roof over the plain.
You can look
thence right up to the sky. The lark can rise from his nest
on the plain and
soar as high as his unwearied wings will bear him. We want
freedom from
earthly limitations. The smoke of the city hangs over the
haunts of men.
We must go forth from all human entanglements to seek free
intercourse
with God.
2. The events. Once
on the plain this man of visions, the Prophet Ezekiel,
saw new wonders, and there the glory of God appeared to
him. Other men
had been on the plain before; wild tribes of the desert
have ranged over it
since, and perhaps herded their cattle or pitched their
tents on the very site
of the great revelation. Yet to them the heavens have been
as brass. Fitting
scenes may prepare us for heavenly visions, but they cannot
create them.
When the glory is revealed no higher privilege could be
vouchsafed. It is
worth any journey — if need be, across Siberian plains — to
have such a
privilege. No longer do we look for this in outward show.
But there may
be a Divine glory upon the plain to the naturalist who
examines the
meanest weed that grows there, as an angel of Divine
revelation, an
embodiment of heavenly wisdom and beauty.
II. IN
THE HOUSE. The sight of the glory on the plain smites the prophet
to the ground with awe and reverence. But he is not to lie
there dismayed.
Heavenly words follow the heavenly vision, and these words
have a
practical import. God does not reveal himself only to
dazzle beholders with
a splendid pageant. A vision of glory is not enough without
a message of
truth. Revelation makes known the mind of God. So the voice
speaks, and
speaks with a practical aim, bidding the amazed prophet
arise and go to his
house.
1. The scene.
(1) The greatest
privacy. On the plain Ezekiel was in
retirement. In the
house he is in seclusion. Christ bade his disciples go into
their closet, and
shut the door, to pray to their Father in secret (<400606>Matthew 6:6).
(2) Separation
from the external world. On the plain a
man has space; at
home he is shut in by four walls. On the plain he is open
to the voices of
nature; alone in the house he is left to subjective
experiences.
(3) Cessation of
work. The prophet must leave his ministry
for a season,
and wait in patience.
2. The use of this
scene. Retirement and seclusion give a time of rest,
which all busy workers need. They afford opportunities for
meditation and
prayer. Here the soul can take stock, can review its
forces, can seek fresh
supplies. Note: Ezekiel sees the vision on the plain before
he goes to retire
to the solitude of his house. To be profitable, meditation
must be based on
revelation.
The Privileged and the
Unprivileged (vs. 4-7)
It is impossible to read this language without being
reminded of the parallel
language recorded to have been uttered by our Lord Jesus
Christ. The
Prophet Ezekiel was assured that, whilst his message would
be rejected by
his fellow countrymen, it would have been received with
gratitude and faith
had it been addressed to a Gentile nation. And our Lord, in
upbraiding the
unbelief of
been received with joy and would have induced repentance
had they been
addressed to
indeed have rendered the mission of Ezekiel doubly
difficult to be assured
beforehand of the hardness of heart and the incredulity of
the house of
and it was a wholesome, albeit a painful, preparation for
the discharge of a
distressing service, to be told that his words should be
rejected, and yet to
be bidden to utter them in the name and by the authority of
his God.
I. THE
LESS FAVOURED WOULD WELCOME THE DIVINE
MESSENGER AND THE DIVINE MESSAGE. People of a strange
speech, the prophet was assured, would, had he been sent to
them,
certainly have hearkened unto him. How is this to be
accounted for? Such
people would have been favourably
inclined to the herald of God’s justice
and mercy:
1. By their surprise
at an unwonted instance of God’s condescension and
gracious interest.
2. By their gratitude
for words of warning and of promise.
3. By their responsiveness
to the interposition on their behalf of a new
power brought to bear upon their moral nature.
4. By the hope of
Divine acceptance and of a new and better life awakened
by the summons in their nature.
II. THE
HIGHLY FAVOURED WILL MEET THE DIVINE
MESSENGER AND THE DIVINE MESSAGE WITH INDIFFERENCE,
UNBELIEF, AND IRRESPONSIVENESS.
1. Privilege is often
associated with moral obduracy. The expression used
is very severe: “Of a hard forehead, and of a stiff heart.”
It is observable,
and very significant, that the historians and prophets of
the Hebrews, so far
from flattering their countrymen, used with regard to them
language of
stern upbraiding and denunciation, reproached them with their
unbelief,
rebelliousness, hardness of heart, and stiff-necked
attitude towards Divine
authority. And such reproach was abundantly justified by
the facts of their
history. They were chosen to privilege, not in virtue of
any excellence of
their own, but in the sovereign wisdom and mercy of the
Lord. The more
God did for them, the less they heeded his commandments.
Not that this
condemnation applied to all; there were those “faithful
among the
faithless;” but generally speaking, the Jews were a
disobedient and
rebellious race.
2. This moral obduracy
leads to the rejection of God’s messengers. “The
house of
thee.” The same truth was expressed by our Lord himself
centuries
afterwards, when he reproachfully reminded his kindred
according to the
flesh that through long centuries messengers from God had
been sent to
their forefathers, only to be ill treated, wounded, and
slain. Ezekiel was
only to be treated as similarly authorized messengers of
God both before
and afterwards.
3. God’s messengers
are rejected by those who have rejected God himself.
Most terrible are the words of the Lord to Ezekiel: “They
will not hearken
unto thee; for they will not hearken unto ME.” God had spoken
unto
in the events of past history, and in the directions and
reproaches of
conscience. Ezekiel might well believe that there was no
special reason
why they should listen to him; but he was well aware that
there is no sin
more awful than the refusal to listen to the Eternal
himself, all whose
words are true and just, wise and good. It was not a case
for personal
feeling, a case of offence given and taken. Such feeling
would have been
out of place. The serious aspect of
unbelief of God; they turned away from the voice that spake from heaven.
APPLICATION. The
privileges of those who, in this Christian
dispensation, hear the gospel of salvation preached to
them, far exceed the
privileges of the ancient Hebrews. To reject the testimony
of Christ’s
ministers is to reject Christ himself, as our Lord has
explicitly declared. The
condemnation and guilt are tenfold when men harden their
hearts, not only
against the authority of the Divine Law, but against the
pleadings of Divine
love.
Dumbness and Speech (vs.
26-27)
The wise man has said, “There is a time to keep silence,
and a time to
speak.” There are those who speak when they would do well
to hold their
peace; there are those who are speechless when it becomes
them to utter
their mind with boldness. A prophet is emphatically one who
speaks for
God; a silent prophet is a paradox. Yet, as Ezekiel was, of
all his order, the
one whose ministry was especially a ministry of symbol, it
is only in
harmony with his peculiar vocation that, for a time and for
a purpose, he
should be as one dumb. On the other hand, the abundance of
his utterances
is apparent from the length to which the book of his
prophecies extends.
There were reasons fur both his dumbness and his speech.
I. THE
TESTIMONY OF SILENCE. That God should enjoin one of his
own prophets to silence is certainly a very remarkable
fact, and one that
needs explanation.
1. It is evidence of
refused to hear, there was a solemn dignity in the refusal
of the prophet any
longer to speak.
2. It is in rebuke of
people would have their monitor hold his peace; and God
gave them their
will. The oracle was dumb.
3. The silencing of
the prophet was judicial. Punishment is a reality; and
severe indeed is the penalty inflicted upon that nation in
which the voice of
God’s prophets is silenced. The effects of such sin recoil
upon the sinners’
heads.
4. Such silencing was
suggestive. It offered opportunity for reflection; it
called for consideration regarding the future; it may well
have appeared to
the thoughtful premonitory of worse calamities to follow.
II. THE
TESTIMONY OF SPEECH.
1. This is the result
of Divine preparation: “When I speak with thee, I will
open thy mouth.” The same power which, at one time and for
one purpose,
closes the lips, at another time and lot another purpose,
opens them. So
long as God withholds the message, the prophet is silenced;
no sooner is
the message conveyed to the prophet than he is empowered to
utter it.
2. This is in fulfilment of a Divine commission: “Thou shalt say unto them,
Thus saith the Lord God.” A
command like this may well unseal the lips.
The man who is convinced that he is justified in thus
prefacing his
utterances may well speak, whether his message be palatable
or
unpalatable, whether it bring the messenger praise or blame
from his fellow
men. 3 This accompanied by Divine authority: “He that heareth, let him
hear; and he that forbeareth, let
him forbear.” It is for the people’s own
advantage that the prophet witnesses; if he warns, it is
that they may
escape threatened danger; if he promises, it is that they
may obtain
blessings; if he commands, it is that they may obey, and
secure the rewards
of obedience. Accordingly, it is for the people to consult
their own highest
interests. But in any case they are subject to Divine
authority; from that,
and all that it involves, there is no escape.
APPLICATION.
1. God has different
ways of dealing with men; sometimes not only
different, but apparently opposite ways, as in the case
before us. And
indeed, one man may be reached and benefited by speech;
another man, by
silence.
2. In whatever way God
deals with us, we are equally and inevitably
responsible. It is indeed in our power to hear or to
forbear, i.e. to obey or
to disobey. But to every man faith and obedience bring
blessing; and
moreover (which is still more important), they are in
themselves right and
becoming. Ours is the privilege; ours is the accountability
for its proper
use.
Ambassadorship
(vs. 4-14)
God makes unusual manifestations of his glory to men, to
qualify them for
extraordinary service. The opened heavens and the voice of
Divine
approbation, on the occasion of Jesus’ baptism, were a
preparation for the
desert conflict. The transfiguration of our Lord on the
mount was designed
to qualify the disciples for arduous spiritual toil.
Ezekiel found it right
pleasant to receive higher revelations of God’s Person and
God’s will, but
irksome to the flesh to convey that will to his brethren.
I. THE
SOURCE OF AUTHORITY. The splendid manifestation of God,
recorded in the first chapter, was intended to prepare and
loftily Ezekiel for
this difficult undertaking. The God of heaven, who dwelt
amid such
splendours, and who had such a magnificent retinue, condescended to
employ this timid “son of man” as his ambassador. Whenever
an envoy has
been sent by his monarch to a foreign court, on a momentous
errand, he
has been sustained by the consciousness that he
represented, in his weak
person, the honour of the monarch
and the strength of the whole empire.
So Ezekiel had been admitted to the court of the celestial
King, and was
honoured to bear the commands of the eternal God. No other
authority
could be compared with this. Having revealed to his
ecstatic vision the
glories of the heavenly King, the Sovereign’s voice broke
graciously on the
servant’s ear, “Go, get thee unto the house of
II. THE
SUBSTANCE OF THE MESSAGE. “Speak with my words.”
The first task the prophet had to perform was with himself.
It was a
necessity that he should repress and subject self. He must
overbear his
timidity. He must mortify his pride. He must forego
personal tastes and
predilections. This done, his task was simple. He
was to be spokesman for
God. He was released from the perplexity of inventing suasive arguments
or selecting fitting words. All the material for reproof,
expostulation,
counsel, appeal, was furnished by God himself. On every
occasion the
prophet was required to speak in the name of the Sovereign,
and to use this
formula, “Thus saith Jehovah.”
III. THE
RESISTANCE ANTICIPATED. At first sight, it would seem as
if the prophet’s mission were an easy one. To convey a
further disclosure
of God’s will to his own people would surely be a most
welcome thing. If
they had accorded to Moses almost reverential honor, will
they not display
a similar disposition to another prophet? Moreover, the
people were now
in the extremity of trouble — in the depths of affliction:
would they not the
more readily hear a message from their God? A singular doom
was
awaiting such bright hopes. Surface prospects were indeed favourable, but
the most formidable opposition was thinly veiled. No foe on
earth is so
terrible to face as a depraved human will. As metals, that
have been
repeatedly heated and cooled, cannot easily be made
ductile; so, under
much gracious treatment, the heart of
hardened. It is an unalterable law of Heaven, that kindness
abused becomes
the heaviest curse. Yet no measure of opposition was to
deter the prophet
in fulfilling his duty, or he, too, would experience the
curse of
disobedience. Though he was forewarned how resistant would
be his
auditors, his commission was unmodified, his task
unchanged. If no
advantage should accrue to the house of
accrue to the prophet, as the result of his fidelity —
large advantage would
result to later generations. Difficulty is not the measure
of duty. Service for
God bears fruit in unexpected directions.
IV. SPECIAL
EQUIPMENT IS PROVIDED BY GOD. In our warfare
for God we may find encouragement in the superior resources
of our
Master against all assailants. Truth is mightier than error
all the world over.
Righteousness is mightier than wickedness. We have an ally
in the
conscience of our foe, if all his passions be against us.
Best encouragement
of all, God’s strength is mightier, more durable, than the
might of allied
humanity. The conflict may be long, but final conquest is
sure. Special
equipment, too, is provided for special difficulties. “To
the froward God
will shrew himself froward.” If
his enemies show a brazen face, God will
give his servants a forehead of steel. If they mail
themselves with flints,
God will provide his defenders with breastplates of
adamant. “My grace is
sufficient for thee;” “As thy day thy strength.”
V. THE
TRUE PROPHET IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF GOD’S
UNIVERSAL ARMY. He does not labour
alone, nor contend alone. The
Spirit of God is upon him — fortifies him on every side.
Angels rejoice in
the appointment of human ambassadors. The great forces of
the universe
work along with the servant of God. The living creatures
cooperate with
God’s soldiery. As we go forth to the battle with sin, we
may hear behind
us the rustling of the heavenly wings, and the music of the
heavenly wheals,
and the chorus of sympathizing saints, “Be ye faithful unto
death.” The
battle is not ours, but God’s. The
cause with which we are identified is
most honorable. Our Master is the King of heaven. We act in
alliance with
the noblest spirits in the universe. Complete triumph is
predestined.
God Communicating with Man
(vs. 22-23)
“And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and He said
unto me,
Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will talk with thee.” The text presents
for our notice:
·
THE GRACIOUS PREPARATION OF MAN FOR THE RECEPTION
OF DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS. “And the hand of the Lord was there
upon me.” (We have already
briefly noticed the significance of this
expression in dealing with ch. 1:3.) Ezekiel seems to have been
grieved and saddened in spirit
(vs. 14, 15). Such depression unfitted him
for receiving communications
from God. Therefore “the hand of the Lord,”
the power of the Lord, came upon
him to quicken him for the reception of
the revelation of his will. God
prepares his servants for his service. He
qualifies and enables them to
sustain exalted privileges, to perform arduous
duties, to bear severe trials.
·
AN IMPORTANT CONDITION, FOR MAN, OF THE RECEPTION
OF DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS. “Arise, go forth into the plain, and I
will there talk with thee.”
Ezekiel is thus commanded to depart from Tel-
Abib and his fellow captives, and to go, not to the “plain
extending to the
river, but to a certain valley
between the mountain walls there” — for such
is the signification of the word
which is translated “plain” in the Authorized
Version. Retirement was a
condition of communion and communication
with God. If the prophet would
hear his voice and behold his glory, he
must go into the lonely valley.
“God makes himself known to the mind only
when it has been entirely
withdrawn from worldly influences. We must be
in the valley; but we may be in
the bustling town, and yet in the valley”
(Hengstenberg).
(We have spoken of solitude and quiet as favouring
Divine communications in our
remarks on ch. 1:1: “By the river of
Chebar.”)
·
THE CONDESCENSION OF GOD IN THE BESTOWMENT
UPON MAN OF DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS. With Ezekiel the Lord
communicated in two ways.
1. By speech. “I will there talk with thee.” God made
known his will to his
servant. Spiritually, he thus
communicates with his people still. In infinite
condescension, “the High and
Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose
name is Holy, and who dwells in
the high and holy place,” also makes his
abode in the hearts of his
people (Isaiah 42:15; John 14:23). They
have intimate fellowship with
him (1 John 1:3). He will even visit them
as their Guest, and sup with
them (Revelation 3:20). They are blessedly
conscious of his presence with
them. By his Spirit he speaks unto them.
2. By vision. “Then I arose, and went forth into the
plain: and, behold, the
glory of the Lord stood there,”
etc. The glory of tire Lord which the
prophet beheld was like that
which he saw before, and which he mentions
in ch.
1:28. (We have already remarked on the granting of Divine
visions to man, on ch. 1:1: “I saw visions of God.”) And in our
own times God opens the
spiritual eyes of man, and grants unto him
spiritual visions. Visions of
truth and purity and beauty he exhibits to his
people. He even reveals himself
unto them. Our Lord promised to manifest
himself unto his loving and
obedient disciples (John 14:21). “Blessed
are the pure in heart: for they
shall see God.”
·
THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT
UPON MAN OF DIVINE
COMMUNICATIONS. “And I fell on
my face.”
1. The sight of such glory humbles man with the sense of
his own
immeasurable inferiority.
2. The sight of such glory overwhelms man by quickening
his
consciousness of sin into greater activity.
3. Such humiliation is a condition of hearing the voice of
God.
The Temporary Suspension of the Active
Ministry of the Prophet
(vs. 24-27)
“Then the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet,”
etc. Seclusion
and silence were enjoined upon Ezekiel for a time. Our text
teaches that
the temporary suspension of his active ministry —
I. WAS
COMMANDED BY THE LORD. “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”
(compare ch. 2:2). One would have been
inclined to conclude that, when he was revived by the
Spirit, the prophet
would have been ordered to enter upon active service. But
he was
commanded to seclude himself within his house. This
seclusion was
probably intended as:
1. A season of
meditation for the prophet. Such seasons are requisite for
those whose work for God is public and arduous; and in his
providence
God so orders their lives that such seasons are attainable
by them; e.g..
Moses in the
(Galatians 1:17); Martin Luther in the monastery of
2. As a silent
admonition to the people. God would instruct them by
symbol, that from a rebellious people the prophetic
presence and voice may
be withdrawn. If men will not heed the reproofs of his
servants, the
reprover shall be silent towards them (v. 26).
II. WAS
OCCASIONED BY THE OBSTINACY OF THE PEOPLE IN
WICKEDNESS. “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.” This verse is a difficult one, and we cannot assert
dogmatically what
it means; but it seems to us that it should be taken
metaphorically, and that
it symbolizes the truth that the persistent sins of the
people occasioned the
seclusion and silence of the prophet. Dr. Fairbairn thus paraphrases the
verse under consideration: “Their obstinate and wayward
disposition shall
be felt upon thy spirit like restraining fetters,
repressing the energies of thy
soul in its spiritual labours, so
that thou shalt need to look for thy
encouragement elsewhere than in fellowship with them. The
imposition of
bands must be understood spiritually, of the damping effect
to be produced
upon his soul by the conduct of the people. It is a marked
specimen of the
strong idealism of our prophet, which clothes everything it
handles with the
distinctness of flesh and blood.” The persistent
rebelliousness of the people
occasioned the temporary suspension of the active work of
the prophet.
The unbelief of our Lord’s own countrymen was as bands upon
him,
restraining the exercise of his benevolent power. “And he
did not many
mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” Obstinacy
in wickedness
deprives man of the most precious spiritual possessions.
III. WAS
TO BE RIGIDLY ENFORCED. “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.” This is to be taken
metaphorically. “Because the people would silence the
prophet, God, to
punish them, will close his mouth.” During the time of the
suspension of
his prophetic activity he would be as silent to them as a
dumb man. When
the Lord determines to deprive a people of any blessing
which they have
despised or persistently disregarded, his determination
will certainly be
enforced.
IV. WAS
TO BE ONLY TEMPORARY. “But when I speak with thee, I
will open thy month, and thou shalt
say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
God,” etc. The withdrawal of the messenger of the Lord was
not to be
permanent. The prophet would speak again when God willed
him to do so.
When his seclusion and silence had produced their effect,
he must go forth
and proclaim the word of the Lord. The following
observations are
suggested by this verse:
1. The prophet is
empowered for his work by the Lord. “When I speak with
thee, I will open thy mouth.” Ezekiel received his message
from the Lord,
and was emboldened by him to deliver it.
2. The prophet is
authorized in his work by the Lord. “Thou shalt
say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord God.”
Both the silence and the speech of Ezekiel
were expressly ordered by God. In both he was under the
control of his
Divine Master, remaining silent when so directed by him,
and proclaiming
his word whet, commanded and enabled by him to do so. “This
represents
forcibly the authoritative character and Divine origin of
the utterances of
the Hebrew prophets.”
3. The prophet’s
great concern in his work should be to be faithful to the
Lord. “Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth,
let him hear; and he that
forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.”
Ezekiel was
not responsible for the success of his work with the
people. But fidelity in
executing the commissions which he received from his great
Master was
required of him. For this he was responsible. And still “it
is required in
stewards that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).
CONCLUSION. Our
subject addresses to us solemn admonition as to our
treatment of the Word of the Lord. If we persistently
despise or disregard
that Word, he may withdraw it from us, or place us beyond
the sphere of
the ministry thereof. Neglected privileges may justly and
reasonably be
taken away from those who have neglected them (compare Amos
1:4-12).