The Word Made Fresh
1The word of the LORD came to me:
2“Son of man, tell your people that if I bring the sword upon the land, and the people choose someone among them to be their guard, 3and if the guard sees the sword coming and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4then if any of those who hear the trumpet don’t take warning and the enemy comes and takes them away, their fate will be their own fault. 5They heard what was happening and didn’t take warning; their blood will be upon themselves, because if they had taken warning, they would have saved their lives. 6But if the guard sees the sword coming and doesn’t blow the trumpet to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes some of them, they will certainly be taken because of their own foolishness, but I will blame the guard for their bloodshed.
7“So, son of man, I have made you a guard for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you will give them a warning from me. 8If I tell the wicked they will surely die, but you don’t speak up and warn them to turn from their ways, they will die because of their own sins, but I will blame you for their blood. 9But if you warn them to turn away from their wickedness and they refuse to change, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved your life.
10“Now, son of man, say to the people of Israel, you have said that your sins and mistakes are heavy upon you, and that you are failing because of them. Ask them how they might survive. 11Tell them the LORD God says, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. I am pleased when the wicked turn from their wickedness and live. So, turn, turn back from your wickedness. Why will you die, people of Israel?
12“And you, son of man, tell the people that when they sin, they will not be saved by the good works of the righteous among them. And the wickedness of sinners will not make them fail if they turn away from their sins. Even the righteous will not be able to live by their righteousness when they sin. 13Even though I tell the righteous that they will live, if they trust only in their righteousness and then engage in sin, their righteous acts will be forgotten. But because of their sinfulness, they will die.
14“And if I tell the wicked that they will surely die, even so, if they turn from their sin and live lawfully and righteously 15(and if the wicked keep their pledge and give back what they have taken dishonestly and live according to the law, and commit no crimes) they will certainly live and not die. 16None of their sins will be remembered. They will have done what is legal and right, and they will surely live.
17“But your people claim that the way of the LORD is unfair when it is their own ways that are unfair. 18When the good turn away from their goodness and engage in sin, they will die because of it. 19And when the wicked turn from their wickedness and obey the law and do what is right, they shall live. 20But still you claim that the way of the LORD is unfair. House of Israel, I will judge every single one of you according to what you have done.”
21On the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of our exile, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came and told me the city had fallen. 22The LORD’s hand had been on me the evening before he came in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was able to speak.
23The word of the LORD came to me and said: 24“Son of man, the people who live in the devastated places of Israel keep saying, ‘One man, Abraham, was given possession of the entire land. There are many of us; surely the land belongs now to us.’ 25Tell them this is what the LORD God says: You eat meat without first draining the blood; you worship idols; you have shed blood; do you think you should own the land? 26You rely on your swords; you do abominable things; you violate your neighbors’ wives; do you think you should own the land?
27“Tell them the LORD God says this: As I live, it is a certainty that those who dwell in the devastated places in the land shall fall by the sword; and those who are in the open field I will give to the wild animals to be eaten; and those who are in the fortresses and in caves shall die by diseases. 28I will make the land a wasteland, a desert, and their proud strength will be ended. The mountains of Israel will be so empty that no one will be able to pass across it. 29Then, when I have turned the land into a wasteland because of all their sins, they will know that I am the LORD.
30“As for you, son of man, the people who stand by the walls and at the doors of houses talk about you. They say to each other, ‘Come, let’s hear what the word of the LORD says.’ 31So, they come to you and sit before you as my people. They will hear your words, but they will not obey them. Their lips flatter, but their hearts only want to know what they can get. 32To them you are like a troubadour, singing love songs with a beautiful voice and playing an instrument. They hear what you say, but they won’t do it. 33When these calamities come – and they will come! – then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Commentary
1-6: God explains the function of the sentinel; to sound the warning. The sentinel is not responsible for the people’s response.
7-9: Ezekiel is named the sentinel; that’s his job.
10-16: Ezekiel is given the warning he is to sound. The wicked may live if they turn from their sins, and the righteous will die if they turn from their righteousness. If all this sounds familiar, look back at 3:16-21 and 18:21-24.
17-20: These verses hearken back to 18:25-29.
21-22: The news comes that Jerusalem has fallen. Ezekiel had been in a prophetic trance the night before, but has regained his voice just that morning. When the news arrives about Jerusalem, he is able to speak again.
23-29: God tells him to prophesy to the remnant in the torn land of Judah and Israel. Those folks are saying they will inherit the land because God gave it to Abraham. Nothing doing, says God. You lost the land because you worshiped other gods and behaved in ways not in keeping with the Law.
30-33: Meanwhile, the exiles at the river Chebar in Babylon love to gather around Ezekiel and hear the word of the LORD, but they do not obey the word that is given.
Takeaway
Listening to the word of God and obeying the word of God are two very different responses. Hearing and not doing is no better than not hearing. When we read the scriptures, we should take note of our own behavior and identify those areas in our daily lives that need some improvement.