Ezekiel 33:6

Ezekiel 33:6 says, But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.  God said that the watchman bore a big responsibility.  If he had warned the people and they were taken away captive, they would bear all the responsibility, but if the watchman did not warn them, he would bear some responsibility for their defeat.  I believe that every person is responsible for their own accepting or rejecting God’s gift of salvation, but if God has given us a chance to witness to someone and we don’t, then He is not going to hold us blameless.   

Verse seven adds, So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.  Ezekiel was told that he had been set as a watchman over Israel and that he was to receive God’s word and warn them of their coming defeat.  We as Christians are called to be watchmen to the lost people of the world and are to share the word that God gives us with them.  This starts with sharing the gospel.   

Verse eight continues, When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.  God said that the wicked of Isreal would die in their iniquity, but He would hold Ezekiel responsible for their failure to accept His word if he didn't proclaim it to them.  I don’t believe that we will be held blameless if God gives us an opportunity to share the gospel and we don’t and the person we should have witnessed to dies unsaved.  This should give us an urgency to always do so.   

Verse nine concludes, Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.  God said that if Ezekiel warned the people and they didn’t listen that they would die in their iniquity but that he would have delivered his soul.  I don’t believe that if we witness to people today and they don’t believe that this brings us salvation, but it does show our obedience to God as His followers, and we will bear no responsibility for failing to warn them. 

Ezekiel 33:1

Ezekiel 33:1 says, Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Ezekiel didn’t specify the exact day that God’s word came to Him this time, but he still knew that it was God’s word, just as we should always know when God is speaking to us.   

Verse two adds, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:  Now, Ezekiel was to speak to the people of Israel.  He had prophesied against other nations in the previous eight chapters, but he was now to speak to the people of Israel and let them know who he was, and that was a prophet of God.  He was to let them know of the coming danger to them.  We as Christians today are to let lost people know of the coming danger if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord and we are also to tell saved people of the danger of coming under the power of sin once more.  Like Ezekiel, we are to be watchmen on the wall.   

Verse three continues, If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;  God said if the watchman saw trouble coming to the land that he was to blow the trumpet to sound the alarm.  As followers of Christ today, we are to sound the alarm of God’s coming destruction, to our fellow believers, but especially to the unsaved of the world.   

Verse four states, Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.  God also said that if the trumpet sounded warning people of the coming destruction and they did not heed it that they would be taken away captive and it would be their own fault.  We as Christians are to sound the alarm of God’s coming destruction, and if we do not heed it, the responsibility of our coming everlasting punishment will be our own.  Of course, everyone is always responsible for their own belief or disbelief in God’s salvation plan, but we as Christians have a responsibility to share the gospel and warn people of God’s coming judgment.   

Verse five adds, He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.  God once again states that the responsibility for heeding the warning of the watchman rests with each individual. Those who hear and take action will be spared, and those who don’t will have their blood on their own hands.  When we share the gospel with people today, those who accept God’s gift of salvation will be spared everlasting punishment, and those who don’t will go away to everlasting punishment, but it will be their own disbelief that sends them away.   

Ezekiel 32:28

Ezekiel 32:28 says, Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.  God said that Edom was going to be broken in the land of the uncircumcised and be buried with them or those who were not a part of His kingdom, like the Scythians had according to Matthew Henry.  If we do not put our faith in Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter if we are buried with honor or not.  If we don't, we, like all non-believers, will one day go down into the pit of hell.  

Verse twenty-nine adds, There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.  The people of Edom would be buried without honor, just as the Scythians had been before them.  Everyone who does not accept God’s gift of salvation will one day end up outside His kingdom, and there will be no honor for them there.   

Verse thirty continues, There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.  God gave another example of a nation that had once been powerful but was now buried without honor.  This is the fate of all today who do not put their faith in Jesus Christ.   

Verse thirty-one states, Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord God.  God said when the Pharaoh saw what had happened to all these other nations, and he would be comforted by the fact that Egypt was not the first great nation to fall.  He was no better or worse than them.  Of course, just the fact that someone who we thought was powerful fails today doesn't mean that we should be comforted if we do also.  The only way to be comforted forever is by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.   

 Verse thirty-two adds, For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.  God said that he was the One Who had caused the fall of Egypt, just as He had all these other nations, and that the Egyptians would be buried with all non-believers.   This is never going to change.  Anyone who doesn’t accept God’s gift of salvation will be carried down into hell with all other non-believers. 

Ezekiel 32:22

Ezekiel 32:22 says, Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:  God then began to give some examples of great nations that were now in the pit of hell because they had not believed in Him, starting with Asshur, or Assyria.  Matthew Henry points out that even though Israel and Judah were nearly utterly destroyed at this time, they were not mentioned among those who would greet the Pharaoh and the Egyptians in hell.  As followers of Christ, even if we are destroyed here on earth, we will never be in hell with those who do not accept Him.   

Verse twenty-three adds, Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.  God said all of the people of Assyria had fallen and were now in the pit of hell.  Since Assyria was a strong and powerful nation, when it fell, it caused the other nations to be terrified.  They would be wondering if Assyria had fallen, then what was to keep them from falling as well?  If less powerful nations, or even individuals, see those nations or people who they thought were too powerful to fail do so, they may fear for their own safety.   

Verse twenty-four continues, There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.  God next spoke about Elam, which had also been seen as too powerful to fall but had also fallen.  It was now likewise destroyed and but a memory.  There have been many nations that rose in power and then fell, and all will one day fall when Jesus Chrit returns in judgment.   

Verse twenty-five concludes, They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.  God said that even though Elam had caused terror in the world at one time that they were now gone down into the pit with the uncircumcised, or those who were not a part of God’s people.   

Verse twenty-six states, There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.  God continued list people or nations that had been great at one time but had fallen.  They had conquered the Medes and lived as their rulers for some time according to Matthew Henry.  Nations rise and fall, but God is never going to fall.   

Verse twenty-seven adds, And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.  God said that these people would not even be remembered with honor as the strong and mighty who had fallen were, but they would still end up in the same place one day, and that was the pit of hell.   It really doesn’t matter if a nation or a person is remembered with honor or not.  If they have not put their faith in God, they will end up in the same place one day.