Ezekiel 3:4-27
Good morning! We are continuing in our new series on the
book of Ezekiel entitled “Harder than Flint.”
Today’s message is titled “Hardened.”
I get the privilege of sharing from the passage that the series title
comes from. As to where we are in the
book ...
We are still with Ezekiel at the canal
there in Babylon.
This is the place where the word of the
Lord had first come to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel is seeing the appearance of the
likeness of the glory of the Lord.
Winged creatures with multiple faces riding above wheels within wheels
then above them a glowing figure on a dazzling throne. This figure or person had the image or
likeness of a man.
Though he had fallen facedown in the
presence of this wondrous appearing, the Spirit raised Ezekiel to his feet so
that he could hear the message.
Here are the points that Ezekiel was
told. God said:
Then, Ezekiel is given a scroll to
eat. The scroll is covered up with words
of lament and mourning and woe on both sides.
Ezekiel is told that after he eats the scroll, he is to go and speak to
the house of Israel.
Ezekiel eats the scroll and is surprised
to find that the scroll tastes as sweet as honey.
That is all I would like to say as
introduction because it brings us to today’s passage beginning in Ezekiel 3:4.
Let’s pray now and then we can continue with Ezekiel’s experience before the
Spirit of the Lord.
Father God, you are the God of
mysteries. Your ways are beyond our
understanding. And yet, You do not hide
from us. You reveal Yourself to us in
many ways. You reveal Yourself through
Your word. Speak to us from Your Word
now we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
He
[God] then said to me [Ezekiel]: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel
and speak My words to them. You are not being sent to a people of obscure
speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel-- not to many peoples
of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand.
Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.” – Ezekiel
3:4-6
This reminds me a little of Bilbo
Baggins’s birthday speech from the Lord
of the Rings … “I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and
I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” It may be hard to parse the meaning of these
verses without thinking a moment or two.
What does God mean with this introduction of peoples of other nations?
God is saying I am sending you Ezekiel
with My message to a people whom you can communicate with easily. You have the same language. You both are of one people group, one
culture, your idioms, your metaphors, are the same. What could be easier from a raw communication
point of view? You can do this! I am not sending you to do the more difficult
thing. I am not sending you to people
who speak a different language. I am not
sending you to people you can’t understand.
However … even though your words will be clear to the Israelites, they
aren’t going to listen to the message.
Then, we have that last phrase that if
Ezekiel had been sent to people who spoke different languages and came from
different cultures … they would have listened to the message. We can see several examples of this in
scripture. Jonah reluctantly went to
Nineveh and reluctantly preached to them, and they repented in sackcloth and
ashes from the king to their animals.
Elisha and Jeremiah too were received or regarded by foreigners with
respect. In Matthew 11, Jesus spoke woe
to cities in Galilee who had not received Him, while saying that the Gentile
cities of Tyre and Sidon would have received Him had he gone there.
As to being sent to Israel as opposed to
other nations, Ezekiel’s situation seems similar to Jesus’ during His earthly
ministry. Jesus said, “I am not sent
except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) This too is Ezekiel’s
responsibility … to preach to Israel.
In the end, the point is in verse 7, so let
us continue ...
“But
the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not
willing to listen to Me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. But
I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your
forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or
terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.” – Ezekiel 3:7-9
So, the question is not whether or not
they can understand. The problem is
willingness. Are they willing to
listen? They will not listen to Ezekiel
because they are not willing to listen to God.
God repeats His words from chapter 2
again calling the Israelites hardened and obstinate. Sadly, God says that all the
Israelites are in this condition.
Because of Ezekiel’s calling to preach to such a people, God will
strengthen and even harden Ezekiel for his mission.
This reminded me of Ecclesiates 3:1,
“There is a time and season for every activity under heaven.” It is now time for a hardened prophet. Jeremiah the prophet, who is a predecessor to
and contemporary of Ezekiel, is called (and he was) the weeping prophet. Jeremiah was a living picture of God’s heart
breaking as the people were sent into captivity, that they had to be taken from
the Promisedland. Ezekiel is now
ministering among this rebellious people, idol worshippers, ones who want the
message of the false prophets, ones who first told them they would not be taken
out of the land and who are now telling them that their sojourn will not last
long. Ezekiel is hardened by God for
this ministry to and among a people who have both rebelled and hardened
themselves against God.
[In fairness to Jeremiah, it is clear
that God strengthened him for his ministry, too. You can find that in Jeremiah 1:17-19 where
God says He has made Jeremiah “a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze
wall to stand against the whole land.”]
I did read Charles Spurgeon’s
explanation of Ezekiel’s hardening and found it helpful. He wrote that as the Israelites were hardened
against God, so then Ezekiel was to be even more firmly devoted to the Lord and
His message. “If the Israelites are not
ashamed to sin, do not be ashamed to warn them; if they are not ashamed of
their unbelief, do not be ashamed of your faith in the Word of God.”
When a person is willing to live out
their faith in humility, diligently without being ashamed, it can have a
powerful effect. That effect though is
not always that others will turn to God.
Sometimes hardened hearts will react negatively. This is a quote from Thomas Sowell, an
economist. However, the first time I saw
it, it made me think of Jesus among the Pharisees. Similar reactions can also be seen in other
moments of genuine faith lived out. “It
is amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude of
hypocrites.”
The Israelites were a people who thought
they were God’s people but were actually in rebellion against God. I have been reading through the book of Acts,
and you see something similar going on among the Jews during Paul’s
ministry. Whenever Paul would go to a
new city, he would speak in the synagogue if there was one or to smaller groups
of Jews when there was not a large enough group to form a synagogue. Some of the Jews would be receptive to the
message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Ultimately though, the Jews who hardened themselves against the good
news of Jesus would react strongly, sometimes violently, sometimes in a riotous
fashion.
Toward the end of the book of Acts, Paul
returns to Jerusalem, and Jews visiting Jerusalem from other regions catch
sight of Paul in the temple and they begin beating him. Paul is rescued by Roman soldiers and gains
the opportunity to address the crowd from the steps of the Roman barracks. Paul describes briefly his own hostility
toward the followers of Jesus before he saw Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul says something surprising about his
attitude while persecuting Jesus and his followers. Paul says, “I was just as zealous for God as
any of you are today.” Paul would write
later in Romans 10 that the Jews had a kind of zeal for God but without
knowledge. Zeal without understanding is
dangerous.
No matter if we are talking about the
time of Ezekiel or the time of Paul or our own time, when people are hardened
against God, they are not willing to listen to Him or His message. Thankfully, there is hope, for God is the one
who can take a heart of stone and make it into a heart of flesh. Not by might, nor by power, nor by our clever
words, but by God’s Spirit. He enables
us and others to respond to Him and to have new life by His Spirit.
Let us continue with Ezekiel 3:
And
He said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I
speak to you. Go now to your people in
exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says,’
whether they listen or fail to listen.” – Ezekiel 3:10-11
Here we have the title by which God
addresses Ezekiel again and again as many as 100 times. Son of man.
God also addressed Daniel as son of man.
In Hebrew, the word for man is adam, and the word for son is ben, like
Benjamin which means son of my strength or son of my right hand. Ben-adam.
Son of man.
The expression son of man appears in a
couple of different usages. In Psalm
8:4, we find the familiar passage, “What is man that You are mindful of him,
and the son of man that You care for him?”
Clearly son of man is referring to us, to people. Who are we, human beings, men and women, that
God would pay attention to us, that God would care for us?
At the same time, Son of Man has a
Messianic connotation or meaning even in the Old Testament. Psalm 80:17-18 says, “Let your hand rest on
the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you; revive
us, and we will call on your name.” Both
Jewish and Christian scholars agree that the psalmist is pointing toward the
Messiah, for Christian’s that means pointing to Jesus. In addition to God addressing Daniel as son
of man, Daniel sees one like a son of man (7:13-14) “There before me was one
like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient
of Days and was led into his presence.
He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and
peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be
destroyed.” Clearly this Son of Man is
Jesus.
Jesus, of course, speaks of Himself as
the Son of Man throughout the gospels.
So, what is the distinction that a
prophet should be addressed as son of man and the Son of God also called the
Son of Man. We know that Jesus has two
natures. He is God, together with the
Father from eternity. He was also born
as a man, so he has the nature of a human being as well.
I think I Corinthians 15:45-51 weaves
these two distinctive kinds of sons of men together. I am going to read from the New Living
Translation here:
[1Co 15:45-51 NLT] 45 The Scriptures
tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last
Adam--that is, Christ--is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the
natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was
made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.
48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the
heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be
like the heavenly man. 50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that
our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies
cannot inherit what will last forever. 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful
secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!
All who believe in Christ will be given
a new nature, a resurrected heavenly body.
We will inherit the Kingdom of God.
We will be Sons and Daughters of God in the same way as Jesus, because
of what Jesus has done for us. Praise
the Lord!
Then
the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the
glory of the LORD rose from the place where it was standing. It was the sound
of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound
of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound. The Spirit then lifted me up
and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with
the strong hand of the LORD on me. I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv
near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for
seven days--deeply distressed. – Ezekiel 3:12-15
The
scroll had been sweet, but now Ezekiel goes in bitterness and anger. Why?
God’s righteous anger has been aroused at the rebellion of the people
whom he saved and set apart for Himself, teaching them the way that they should
go, but then seeing them turn away and reject Him, choosing for themselves
things which do not give life, in clear view of the Giver of Life, they chose
death. (Isaiah 13: 9, 13; Jeremiah 4:8,
26; Ezekiel 7:3) Ezekiel is experiencing this anger, too. Not God’s anger toward Ezekiel. God’s anger toward the detestable conduct of
the Israelites.
This
place Tel Aviv is only mentioned once here in Ezekiel 3. In Hebrew (as used of the modern Tel Aviv in
Israel on the Mediterranean coast), it means hill of grain. In the Babylonian language though, it means
hill of the flood. The people are living
along a river or irrigation canal as exiles.
They wouldn’t have been given the choicest land. It is likely a place susceptible to flooding
or perhaps a ruined site following a larger than usual flood.
Ezekiel
sits distressed for seven days. Why was
Ezekiel distressed? Up until studying
this passage for the message today, I thought he was distressed because of his
great vision and interaction with God.
It must have been overwhelming to say the least. We already mentioned that he was touched with
feelings of anger and judgment and woe that would continue to come upon the
Israelites. For those seven days, he is
also sitting among the exiles, all of them apostate, all of them rejecting
God. Seeing them and knowing what he
knows now, this also must have been distressing.
At
the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, I have made
you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them
warning from Me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you
do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to
save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you
accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do
not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their
sin; but you will have saved yourself.” – Ezekiel 3:16-19
There is a priestly parallel to this
seven days pause. Remember, Ezekiel was destined to begin his service as a
priest at age 30, but he has been exiled far from the temple he no doubt
loved. Leviticus 8:33 explains that the
ordination time of a new priest is seven days.
Ezekiel was called by God here in Babylon, then set apart for seven
days, and God’s Word comes to him again explaining his job. Ezekiel is to be a watchman for the people of
Israel.
What is a watchman? In ancient times, cities would have walls
around them. At night, the gates of a
city would be closed for protection.
During the day, a watchman would be up on the wall looking for
messengers or other noteworthy developments.
During the night, a watchman would be up on the wall looking and
listening for any danger or attack which might come upon the city. Being a watchman at night was often dull and
monotonous. The Jews had 3 watches to a
night. The Romans had 4. It was broken up so that the watchmen could
stay alert for the 3-5 hours they must be on duty. The safety of all the inhabitants of the city
depends on the watchmen doing their job.
Prophets were known as spiritual
watchmen for the people. In Jeremiah
(6:17), God speaks of many whom he has placed as watchmen over the people of
Israel. The prophets Hosea (9:8) and
Habakkuk (2:1) are also declared watchmen.
Here, God explains Ezekiel’s role as watchman. He must speak words of warning. Not indiscriminately, but under the Lord’s
direction. The message would have a
specific redemptive purpose. Ezekiel was
to “speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their
life.”
Ezekiel’s commission will be repeated
and clarified twice more in chapters 18 and 33.
His role as watchman is not so much to focus on warning of the
destruction of Israel but to teach that God holds each individual accountable
for their own behavior.
“Again,
when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put
a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they
will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be
remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn
the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live
because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.” – Ezekiel 3:20-21
I mentioned Paul’s ministry as told in
the book of Acts earlier. These passages
reminded me of Acts 20:20-21, 26-27 …
You
know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you
but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both
Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our
Lord Jesus. ... Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the
blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will
of God. – Acts 20:20-21, 26-27 NIV
Paul took his call from God to carry
Jesus’ name before the Gentiles with the same depth of conviction and
responsibility as Ezekiel is given here.
Some folks have misinterpreted this
passage saying that it shows it is possible to lose your salvation. It is important to observe that the
righteousness we have in Christ is different than the righteous acts described
here. Through faith, we are granted
Jesus’ righteousness before God. It’s
not something that we do or earn. As we
are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), we also live by grace. If we do not continue in God’s grace, but
seek to justify ourselves through doing good deeds or following the Law, then
we do not lose our salvation, but we will feel far from God. As explained in Galatians 5:4, “You who are
trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have
fallen away from grace.”
At the same time, I John 3:6 explains,
“No one who lives in him [Jesus] keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin
has either seen him or known him.” A
person may stop sinning for a time, but if they have not truly put their faith
in Jesus and been regenerated, they may go back sinning. A person who is “in Christ” should continue
to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2), not remaining
as they were or becoming more sinful.
That just does not fit with the working of God’s Spirit.
The
hand of the LORD was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go out to the
plain, and there I will speak to you.” So I got up and went out to the plain.
And the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the
Kebar River, and I fell facedown. Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to
my feet. – Ezekiel 3:22-24
This is the third encounter that Ezekiel
has had with God. First, he was by the
river or canal where he saw the likeness of the glory of God. Then, he was among the people at Tel Aviv
where the word of the Lord came to him.
At the end of his second encounter, he is told to go out to the plain to
yet another location. Here he is away
from the people. The likeness of the
glory of God appears to him now on the plain.
God’s glory is not fixed to one location. It can go anywhere, and in part it can be
seen everywhere. As Psalm 19 says, “The
heavens [themselves] declare the glory of God.”
The glory of the Lord is going to keep
appearing throughout Ezekiel. What is
the glory of God? Well, it appears in
many ways. I found the observations of
J. Vernon McGee to be helpful in describing the glory of God. For one, he explained that it can impact all
five senses.
The glory of God has size. It fills the expanse, even the
incomprehensible size of the universe and beyond (Psalm 8:1). God’s glory is also beautiful (Isaiah 28:1). His glory is also described as an adornment,
and accompaniment displaying his greatness.
(Isaiah 63:1) God’s glory is majestic.
It is bright and precious and pure.
The glory of the Lord displays the honor and dignity of our King. In immediate proximity, it can be
overwhelming as we see Ezekiel fall facedown again. God’s Spirit raises Ezekiel to his feet.
He
spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. And you, son of
man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out
among the people. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so
that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious
people. But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to
them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ Whoever will listen let them
listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious
people.” – Ezekiel 3:24-27
Ezekiel has a different kind of ministry
than any other prophet. He not only
speaks God’s Word to people, but he more than any other prophet acts out God’s
communication with physical examples, like a visual parable.
Perhaps strangely and maybe for
Ezekiel’s benefit, his first act is to be shut up in his house and for a time
to be unable to speak. I say for his
benefit so that he will not speak of his own initiative or understanding but
rather he will wait for the message of the Lord.
It is not clear who bound Ezekiel or
why. There are various thoughts among
commentators. We do see both the binding
and Ezekiel’s silence connected to being unable to rebuke the people. Why?
Because the people are rebellious.
Perhaps, it aligns with what Jesus said in Matthew 7:6, “Do not give
dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may
trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” At this time, God may be continuing to
prepare Ezekiel and set him apart in the eyes of the people so that he can
complete his ministry without being torn to pieces.
In these verses, we see the
rebelliousness of the people mentioned twice.
Their rebelliousness is a critical issue and will be mentioned 16 times
in the course of the book.
Our passage concludes with an expression
very similar to what Jesus said repeatedly in the gospels, “Whoever has ears,
let them hear.”
Whoever will listen let them listen, and
whoever will refuse let them refuse.
It is a wonder to me that God grants us
such a fearful amount of independence.
It is up to us whether or not to listen, whether or not to “have ears to
hear.” May each of us seek to be humble
and attentive to the words of God.
Without His instruction and direction, we too would be rebellious ones,
hardened, obstinate, and stubborn. Seek
the Lord every day.
Let us pray.
Father God, help each one here to be
firmly fixed in You. May we not be
ashamed to warn others even if they are not ashamed of their sin. May we not be ashamed of our faith in Your
Word. May we not be ashamed to speak out
in order to save life. We trust Your
promise that anyone who believes in You will never be put to shame. (Romans
10:11) Thank You Jesus, Amen.
- I am sending you to the Israelites.
- They are a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me.
- In fact, they have been in rebellion for generations up to the present day.
- These rebellious people are both obstinate (hard) and stubborn (firm).
- Whether or not they listen, the people will know a prophet has been among them. (God will make Ezekiel that prophet.)
- Do not be afraid of them. Not their words (or threats), not real dangers nor painful things in spite of the risks in the face of their rebellious attitude.
- You are to speak My words to them.
- You are to listen to what I (God) say to you.
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