Today's Reading:

Ezekiel 33
Ezekiel 34
Ezekiel 35
Ezekiel 36

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​God told Ezekiel that he had influence with the people, and they would sit before him and listen with interest, yet they did not put his words into practice. Their hearts were not committed. The role of Ezekiel was placed here to show that he was a true prophet. What he had prophesied before had come true. But there was a hard truth: that restoration is impossible without obedience and turning the heart. Ezekiel could warn, and his authority could be confirmed, but that does not produce repentance itself. Ezekiel was the watchman, but each individual is responsible for their own actions and repentance. 

Jesus even echoed this kind of warning several times in the New Testament when He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8). Why do you think Jesus returned so often to this simple but searching invitation?

 

So far in the book of Ezekiel, chapters 1-24 were on the judgment of Judah, chapters 25-32 were the oracles against other nations, and chapter 33 was about individual responsibility. God told Ezekiel to “speak to your people,” about the watchmen’s rules for the coming judgment day. God had first appointed Ezekiel the watchman over Israel in 3:16-21. Now the people were to appoint a watchman on the city walls whose job it was to blow the shofar (horn trumpet), to warn of coming danger. If he fails to blow the trumpet, the blood is on his hands. The watchman was to faithfully warn, whether they repented or not. This repeated section was to stress the individual’s responsibility. God was giving Ezekiel the job to do again after the oracles from chapters 25-32. After the fall of Jerusalem, the exiles finally admitted their guilt for their sins and were wasting away because of them. Earlier the people had denied responsibility and blamed their fathers (Ezekiel 18) or trusted false prophets. Now they understood the disasters were because of their own sin. God had Ezekiel quote their own words so He could answer them. Sin was real, but repentance could still happen. 

God was not happy about the wicked dying. The number one goal was heart change with a change in actions. Your past, whether good or bad, is not your final standing in front of God. This was the same teaching from chapter 18. Now that Jerusalem had fallen, the people wondered how they could live; was there hope? This was assurance that hope and life were possible still, but only through true heart repentance. A fugitive escaped and told Ezekiel of the fall of Jerusalem. He could now speak freely again after being mute by God. The people still in the ruined land of Judah thought that since they had survived the destruction and exile, then they must be the favored remnant. God rejected this thought and listed their sins. Then He swore that those who remained would also be destroyed. The people had defiled their neighbor’s wife (moral and ritual unfaithfulness). This showed that the remnant still in Judah had not changed after the fall of Jerusalem. Due to their sins, they had no claim to the land as an inheritance. The land had previously “vomited out” the Canaanites for similar sexual sins (Leviticus 18:24-28).

Ezekiel was now to prophesy against the “shepherds” (all failed leaders) because they did not take care of the flock. God holds the shepherds accountable for the flock. God declared that He Himself would look for the scattered flock and take care of them. He would bring them out from the nations into restoration. He would pasture them, tend them, and make them lie down in pastures (hello, Psalm 23). The “sleek and strong” (the self-serving leaders) would be judged because they had fattened themselves and oppressed the weak, scattering the flock. Not only had their leadership failed; look where the people were now: scattered, injured, and food for animals. Now God Himself would shepherd them. The big promise followed: “One shepherd, My servant David.” With that came the “covenant of peace”: “You are My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, and I am your God.”

Chapter 35 was similar to chapter 25, where Edom took vengeance on Judah. Edom claimed the land of Israel for themselves and then boasted and rejoiced over Judah’s fall. God would clear the land of rivals who claimed it so that Israel could be restored to the land and spiritually restored to Him. God was sending His wrath because Israel had suffered the scorn of the other nations. Jerusalem had just been destroyed by God, and now He said that Edom and others would fall due to them mocking the exiles. Edom claimed that Judah called themselves people of the Lord, yet they had to leave His land. In reality, Israel had to leave because they sinned and hurt His name, were judged by Him, and now they would get the land back also because other nations had hurt His name. Edom was profaning God’s holy name. God explained that Israel did not get the land back because they were good, but that they got it back for His reputation. His people would be brought back, cleansed, and would get a new heart and a new spirit in them. Ezekiel 34 was about the failed shepherds; chapter 35 was about removing Edom and the rival land claimers off the land, and then chapter 36 was about the physical return to the land. Just returning the people to the land was not enough. God must deal with the internal unclean hearts. Everything was done to vindicate God’s holy name. He has always loved us; therefore, seek Him for growth and revival.

Today's Discussion question:

Jesus even echoed this statement several times in the New Testament when he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8. Why do you think Jesus returned so often to this simple but searching invitation?

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