Ezekiel 4:1

Ezekiel 4:1 says, Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: Ezekiel was told to take a tile and to draw or engrave a picture of the city of Jerusalem on it.  Matthew Henry said this represented the way that God had once engraved the people of Israel on His hand before they rebelled against Him.  I believe our vision should be of the cross and the empty tomb, and when we accept the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us there, our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.   Once your name is written there, it can never be removed.   

Verse two adds, And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.  God told Ezekiel that once he had etched to city of Jerusalem on the tile that he was to portray it being under siege on all sides.  This represented the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, who besieged it from all sides and were resolute in not leaving until they had captured it.  We have Satan besieging us from all sides as followers of Christ today, but we have the all-powerful God to protect us.  

Verse three continues, Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.  Ezekiel continued to speak about how God had told him to represent Jerusalem under siege.  This iron wall between Ezekiel and Jerusalem further represented the city being under siege by the Chaldeans and their iron will in capturing it.  God told Ezekiel that this would be a sign to the people of Isreal about what was going to happen.  Satan may be resolute in keeping people from God, but there is no barrier that can do so.  Jesus Christ puts up an iron wall between Satan and his forces of evil that he cannot penetrate if we have accepted Him as our personal Savior and Lord, but we need to be warned that he will continually try to do so.   

Ezekiel 3:22

Ezekiel 3:22 says, 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.  Ezekiel said that the hand of God was on him then and told him to go to the plain where God would speak with him.  When we meet God, it will because He reaches out to us.   

Verse twenty-three adds, 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.  Ezekiel said when he went where God told him to goi that he saw the glory of God there and fell on his face.  I believe that we sometimes lose sight of the glory of God and start to treat Him like just another person, but we should always spiritually fall on our face before Him.  We should never lose sight of the glory of God and of our own unworthiness. 

Verse twenty-two continues, 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.  Ezekiel said the Spirit of God entered him, lifted him to his feet and then told him to go and shut himself in his house.  This is not what we would expect God to tell a prophet to do, but in order to be successful, Ezekiel needed to obey the commands from God. As sinners, we must heed God's call to us, humble ourselves before Him, be filled with His spirit when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and then go where He sends us.   

Verse twenty-five states, 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:  Ezekiel was told to put bands on and bind himself.  Matthew Henry said this was like a prisoner being bound. He was also told not to go out among the people.  These may seem like strange orders for a prophet, but the first thing a prophet must do is to obey God, no matter how strange His command might be.  This is still true for Christians today.  We must obey God’s commands to us, even when we don’t understand them.  I would also add that we should be bound to Jesus Christ and a prisoner to His will.   

Verse twenty-six adds, 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.  God then told Ezekiel he was to be made unable to talk so that he couldn't reprove people of Israel for their sins, since they were a rebellious people.  Again, this seems a strange order for a prophet, but if a person was a true prophet, they had no choice but to obey God, even if this meant that they were going to be physically afflicted.  We have the opposite order.  We are to go into the world and proclaim the gospel to everyone, but when we do, it should be under the direction of the Holy Spirit.   

Verse twenty-seven continues, 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.  Ezekiel was then told that when he went to prophesy that God would give him the words to say and he was to tell them that what he spoke was what God said.  God also said that some would believe and some wouldn’t because they were a rebellious people. When we go out to witness to people today, we need ensure that what we a proclaiming is the word of God.  Some people will believe and some will not, but we will have done what God commands of us. 

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 for 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.