Ezekiel 3:16

Ezekiel 3:16 says, And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  After seven days passed, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel.  We need to wait for God to give us His word to proclaim to those we witness to, but we can always be sure that He will.  I believe that preachers in particular must wait for God to give them the words to say to their congregation.   

Verse seventeen adds, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.  Ezekiel was told he had been made a watchman unto the people of Israel and that he was to proclaim the words that God gave him to them.  We as Christians today should be watchmen over the world giving the message of salvation first and then the message of obeying God’s word afterwards.   

Verse eighteen continues, 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.  Ezekiel was told that if he didn't proclaim the words that God gave him to the people, then he was held accountable for their fate.  This does not mean that he would be punished in their place, but he would be held accountable for not obeying God and proclaiming His word to them. We likewise have a responsibility to proclaim God’s word to sinners and to Christians who have fallen out of God’s will today, and if they don’t listen, their fate is from their refusing to do so, but if we don’t do as God directs us to do, we will one day have to answer for our failure.  We will always be saved if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, but that doesn’t mean that we are freed from the responsibility to obey God’s calling to witness for Him. 

Verse nineteen states, 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.  Ezekiel was then told if he warned the wicked and they did not respond that they would die in their iniquity, but that Ezekiel would have delivered his soul by obeying God.  I don't believe that this means that Ezekiel could deliver himself from punishment for his sins, but that he would not be held accountable for anyone else dying in their iniquity.  We cannot save others, but we must proclaim the gospel to them.  We cannot save ourselves, but we must be obedient ot God after we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  We cannot be saved by works, but we can be held accountable if don’t do what God has called us to do.   

Verse twenty adds, 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.  God told Ezekiel that if a man who thought himself to be a righteous man turned from his righteousness and sinned, and God allowed His word to be a stumbling block to them, and they died without Ezekiel giving them warning of their need to repent that their blood would be on his hands.  I don’t believe that anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will ever lose their salvation, but many people who profess to be Christians have never done so.  I believe that we should try to point them to Jesus Christ, but we should do this out of love and not out of anger or even disrespect for the person.   

Verse twenty-one continues, 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.  Again, I believe that a righteous man here refers to someone who thinks themself to be righteous, but it is a self-righteousness.  God told Ezekiel that if he warned them and they repented that he would be delivered from his iniquity.  God added if Ezekiel did this, he would have delivered his soul.  I don’t think we can ever be saved by witnessing to others, but if we do and they repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ, both will be rewarded spiritually. 

Ezekiel 3:12

Ezekiel 3:12 says, 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.  Matthew Henry says this was a week after Ezekiel's first vision and that they both likely occurred on the Sabbath.  Whenever it occurred, Ezekiel said the Spirit took him up, and he heard a great voice saying. “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place.”  As followers of Christ, we should always be lifted up by the Holy Spirit and give praise to God.   

Verse thirteen adds, 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.  Ezekiel said he also heard the wings of the living creatures and the noise of the wheels that sounded like a great rushing noise, I believe would be accurate.  Matthew Henry says the things referred to in this verse and the last imply that the angels gathered to celebrate the inauguration of Ezekiel as a prophet.  I don’t know if the angels gather today to celebrate when someone is called to preach, or even to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, but I believe they might.   

Verse fourteen continues, 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.  Ezekiel said that the when Spirit lifted him up again and took him away, he went with bitterness at having to leave, but the hand of God was strong upon him. I can't imagine how sad it would be to be taken from the presence of the angels and have to return to prophesy to people that he had already been told were not going to listen.  Still, after being given a glimpse of glory, it was time for Ezekiel to get to work.  We may never have the opportunity of seeing what heaven will be like in this lifetime, but even if we were to get a glimpse, it would be time to get back to work doing what God has called us to do after we did.   

Verse fifteen concludes, Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.  Ezekiel said he then returned to the Israelites who were in captivity and sat among them for seven days, being amazed at what he had seen in his visions and also to listen to the people that he was to prophesy to. Matthew Henry says he was also waiting for God to give him the words to say.   We will always encounter other people in the world, and we need to witness to them, but we always need to rely on the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say.   

Ezekiel 3:4

Ezekiel 3:4 says, And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.  God then commissioned Ezekiel to go to the people of Israel and to speak His word to them.  We as followers of Christ have been commissioned to go to the whole world and speak God’s word to them.  We are to start where we are and then to reach out to all the world, and if we cannot go, then we should help support those who can.   

Verse five adds, For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;  In Ezekiel's case, God said He wasn’t sending Ezekiel to other nations, but to the people of Israel, who spoke the same language that Ezekiel did.  I believe we are first called on to share the gospel with our neighbors, but some people are called to go to other countries where they don’t speak the same language and to share the gospel with them.   

Verse six continues, 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.  God adds that even though He wasn’t sending Ezekiel to a strange land whose people spoke a hard language that Ezekiel didn’t understand, that had He done so, the people would have listened to him.  If God does call you to go to another country where they don’t speak the same language as you, I believe He will equip you to do so effectively.   

Verse seven concludes. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.  God said that even though strangers would have listened to and obeyed Ezekiel’s words that the people of Isreal would not.  When we witness to those closest to us, they may not accept the gospel, even if those from other countries might.  God said that the people of Israel, those who were His chosen people, were an impudent and hard-hearted people.  As followers of Christ, we need to never become an impudent and hard-hearted people who won’t obey God’s word, but if we do, I believe that God will send someone to call us to repent and return to obeying Him.   

Veres eight states. Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.  God said that He was making Ezekial more powerful that those who wouldn’t listen to him.  God will give us the spiritual strength to do whatever He calls us to do, and we should never be afraid to obey His word and do what He has called us to do.  The people that we witness to may be physically stronger or more powerful than us in the world’s view, but if God is with us, they will never defeat us.   

Verse nine adds, 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.  God once more told Ezekiel that He has made him stronger than anyone who stood against him.  God basically told Ezekiel he was being sent to a group of people who would not listen to Him, but He also told Ezekiel to not be afraid of those he was to witness to, because God had made him stronger than them.  Wherever God sends us to witness to people, we should never be afraid to do so because God will always be with us, and He is more powerful than any opposition that we may encounter, and we already know that we have everlasting life with Him, no matter what happens in this world.   

Verse ten continues, 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.  Ezekiel said God told him to receive His word and heed it completely.  Before we are witness to people today, we need to have God’s word implanted in our heart.   

Verse eleven concludes, 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.  God told Ezekiel to go and proclaim His word to the people of Israel who were in captivity at this time whether they listened to him or not.  We are called on to witness to the world wherever God sends us whether they listen to us or not.