Ezekiel Chapter 3
1 He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel."
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the scroll.
3 He said to me, "Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you." Then I ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 He said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.
5 For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;
6 not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words you can't understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you, for they will not listen to me; for all the house of Israel are obstinate and hard-hearted.
8 Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads.
9 I have made your forehead as a diamond, harder than flint. Don't be afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house."
10 Moreover he said to me, "Son of man, receive in your heart and hear with your ears all my words that I speak to you.
11 Go to them of the captivity, to the children of your people, and speak to them, and tell them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says,' whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse.
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing, saying, "Blessed be the LORD's glory from his place."
13 I heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, even the noise of a great rushing.
14 So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the LORD's hand was strong on me.
15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel Aviv, that lived by the river Chebar, and to where they lived; and I sat there overwhelmed amongst them seven days.
16 At the end of seven days, the LORD's word came to me, saying,
17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me.
18 When I tell the wicked, 'You will surely die;' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; that wicked man will die in his iniquity; but I will require his blood at your hand.
19 Yet if you warn the wicked, and he doesn't turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul."
20 "Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he will die. Because you have not given him warning, he will die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered; but I will require his blood at your hand.
21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man, that the righteous not sin, and he does not sin, he will surely live, because he took warning; and you have delivered your soul."
22 the LORD's hand was there on me; and he said to me, "Arise, go out into the plain, and I will talk with you there."
23 Then I arose, and went out into the plain, and behold, the LORD's glory stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar. Then I fell on my face.
24 Then the Spirit entered into me, and set me on my feet. He spoke with me, and said to me, "Go, shut yourself inside your house.
25 But you, son of man, behold, they will put ropes on you, and will bind you with them, and you will not go out amongst them.
26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, that you will be mute, and will not be able to correct them; for they are a rebellious house.
27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall tell them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says.' He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house."
Footnotes
- Verse 7 (obstinate)
- Literally, have a hard forehead
Version: World English Bible
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Ezekiel Chapter 3 Guide
This roll he was commanded to eat. The writing on the roll was a roll of lamentations and mourning and woe. The prophet declared that having eaten the roll, he found it in his mouth "as honey for sweetness," and by this declaration reveals that whereas the ministry he was about to exercise would be difficult, yet he himself was in perfect accord with the purpose of God and found delight in His will. It may be also that he already recognized that beyond the reprobation with which he would have to deal, restoration was in the purpose of God.
After eating the roll the prophet still heard the voice speaking to him, announcing what his equipment for the fulfilment of his mission would be, warning him of the difficulties awaiting him, in that the house of Israel would not hearken, having become hard of forehead, and stiff of heart, promising him that he would be strengthened for his work by similar hardness of face and of forehead, and charging him to be loyal to the word of the Lord. Then in an interval he was lifted up by the Spirit, and heard a great ascription of praise to the glory of Jehovah, and again was made conscious of the activity of Deity by the symbolism of the wings of the living creatures and the noise of the wheels. In bitterness and heat of spirit he came to the midst of the captives, where he sat "astonished" for seven days.
The word of Jehovah then came to him again, laying on him his responsibilities anew. He was reminded of the source of the message, and told that his first responsibility was hearing, and his second, speech; and, moreover, that if he failed the blood of the unwarned would be required at his hands. Once again he was called into the plain, where he saw the glory of Jehovah, as he had seen it by the river. The Spirit strengthening him, a double charge was laid on him, the first of which was silence, and the second, speech.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Ezekiel Chapter 3 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- The preparation of the prophet for his work. -- (1-11)
- His office, as that of a watchman. -- (12-2)
- The restraining and restoring his speech. -- (22-27)
Verses 1-11
Ezekiel was to receive the truths of God as the food for his soul, and to feed upon them by faith, and he would be strengthened. Gracious souls can receive those truths of God with delight, which speak terror to the wicked. He must speak all that, and that only, which God spake to him. How can we better speak God's mind than with his words? If disappointed as to his people, he must not be offended. The Ninevites were wrought upon by Jonah's preaching, when Israel was unhumbled and unreformed. We must leave this unto the Divine sovereignty, and say, Lord, thy judgments are a great deep. They will not regard the word of the prophet, for they will not regard the rod of God. Christ promises to strengthen him. He must continue earnest in preaching, whatever the success might be.
Verses 12-21
This mission made the holy angels rejoice. All this was to convince Ezekiel, that the God who sent him had power to bear him out in his work. He was overwhelmed with grief for the sins and miseries of his people, and overpowered by the glory of the vision he had seen. And however retirement, meditation, and communion with God may be sweet, the servant of the Lord must prepare to serve his generation. The Lord told the prophet he had appointed him a watchman to the house of Israel. If we warn the wicked, we are not chargeable with their ruin. Though such passages refer to the national covenant made with Israel, they are equally to be applied to the final state of all men under every dispensation. We are not only to encourage and comfort those who appear to be righteous, but they are to be warned, for many have grown high-minded and secure, have fallen, and even died in their sins. Surely then the hearers of the gospel should desire warnings, and even reproofs.
Verses 22-27
Let us own ourselves for ever indebted to the mediation of Christ, for the blessed intercourse between God and man; and a true believer will say, I am never less alone than when thus alone. When the Lord opened Ezekiel's mouth, he was to deliver his message boldly, to place life and death, the blessing and the curse, before the people, and leave them to their choice.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.