The Watchmen of Our City

Once again Ezekiel is given two scenarios. The first one involves a righteous person who turns to wickedness and will die because of the iniquity he has committed (vv. 12-13). The second example is of a wicked person who repents of his sin and does what is just and right (v. 14). He will certainly live because none of the sins he committed will be held against him (v. 16). This does not seem like rocket science, but for God’s hardhearted people this message was difficult to accept.

Though they never say it plainly, it seems God’s people believe that the one who walked in righteousness but then turned to sin should be cut some slack by God. When you see grace as earned, there will always be a problem. We cannot trust in our righteousness and then commit iniquity (v. 13). Apparently, Ezekiel’s crew ignored the word from Isaiah that “all of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment” (Isa 64:6). Trusting in our righteousness means we are confident we have done enough good things to impress God. We may even be deluded enough to think He owes us because of the “righteous” acts we have achieved.

If anyone ever had “righteous points” it was Paul. He was from the right family and had done all of the right things—and with more zeal than any of his peers. But when he totaled his accomplishments and compared them with Jesus, he said,

But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I . . . consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ. (Phil 3:7-8)

Paul resolved, “But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14)—which should lead us to ask, whose righteous acts do you have the most confidence in: yours or Christ’s?

The one who turns to sin and forsakes the righteous path should always have fear before the Lord. No matter how many good things were accomplished prior to his bounding down the path of sin, none of his righteousness will be remembered (v. 13). God is not adding up our righteous points and then deducting wicked points and hoping we have more good than bad in the end. We do not want to be those who confess to be righteous for a season but those who continue on the path of righteousness with our Savior.

Admittedly, the gospel at times can sound too good to be true. That God would reconcile us to Himself and not count our sins against us should always amaze us (2 Cor 5:19). That “He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” should leave us shaking our heads in wonder (2 Cor 5:21). As unbelievable as it sounds, the exchange of our unrighteousness to Christ and His righteousness to us is completely true. But Ezekiel’s peers were struggling to believe what they were hearing.

God told them,

When I tell the wicked person, “You will surely die,” but he repents of his sin and does what is right . . . none of the sins he committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live. (33:14,16)

In reality repentance reveals righteousness. The one who was once wicked now “returns collateral, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity” (v. 15). This person is evidencing faith, not earning it. Turning and doing are good descriptors of genuine repentance. Righteousness is not just professed but practiced.

Ezekiel’s audience just could not fathom the outcome of God’s two illustrations. They believed the first person had earned God’s good treatment and the second person would never deserve God’s favor. The reality is that neither person deserved God’s mercy. Also, if their thinking was correct, then one had better be fortunate enough to start on the righteous path; otherwise there was no hope. To all this God asked, “And yet you think I’m the one being unfair?”

God’s pro-life stance is affirmed again. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but is begging for the wicked person to turn from his way and live (v. 11). God asks His people one more time, “Why will you die, house of Israel?” If we walk in wickedness, we will perish; but if we turn from it, we will live. There is not a person that is too wicked to be covered by the blood of Christ. Paul declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16).

What about us? Are we currently walking the righteous path, or are we turning from it and embracing sin? Do we believe we have earned enough points to impress God with our goodness? Are we doing all we can to encourage others to continue on the righteous path? Do we really believe the blood of Christ can cleanse our deepest sin? One thing is certain, God will judge each person according to his or her ways (v. 20). Let us believe what God says and turn from our sin and live.

Will We Listen to the Word?

Ezekiel 33:23-29

While Ezekiel’s peers are struggling to believe what they are hearing from God, we learn things are not any better in Judah. Those who were living in the ruins in the land of Israel were saying, “Abraham was only one person, yet he received possession of the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession” (v. 24). The difference between them and Abraham, however, was not in number alone but also in faithfulness. He was faithful, they were not. God’s promises work through faith and not apart from it (Duguid, Ezekiel, 388).

Those who remained in Israel certainly were not repentant, and they who lived in the ruins would soon be ruined themselves. Unfortunately, they were self-deceived and believed that just because they remained in the land, they would receive the land. God informed them they could not be more wrong. He said to them,

You eat meat with blood in it, raise your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then receive possession of the land? You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then receive possession of the land? (33:25-26)

In reality the remnant in Israel should have known better. Jeremiah had already told them that those who refused God’s plan of exile but remained in the land were not chosen but condemned. God would send “the sword, famine, and plague against them until they . . . perished from the land [He] gave to them and their ancestors” (Jer 24:10). Those who remained in Judah clearly did not listen to the word of the Lord, and not listening always comes with consequences. Refusing to see things as God sees them is the height of arrogance and insubordination.

Those in the ruins may have escaped the destruction of the temple, but they would not escape the discipline of the Lord. They would not be delivered. They were doomed (33:27,29).

Why are we so often like those who remained in Israel? Why do we ignore the Lord’s Word? Why do we refuse to see ourselves as He sees us? Why do we think we know better than the Ancient of Days? Why do we think that because of our position in Christ it does not matter what we practice in life? Why do we seek God’s blessings but withhold our obedience? Because they would not listen and receive God’s word, they perished, and so will we if we follow their path. If we ignore God’s Word, we do so at our own peril.

Will We Obey the Word?

Ezekiel 33:30-33

After all that has been covered in Ezekiel up to this point and the previous passage in particular, can you believe these four verses are what comes next? How in the world could there be people in Ezekiel’s group who were still only listening to the word but not obeying it? After hearing all that was happening to those in Judah who refused to do what God said, how was Ezekiel’s audience not lining up to be the first to obey? We are dull and depraved people indeed!

The Lord told Ezekiel His people were drawn to Ezekiel’s sermons much like one seeking to be entertained. They would encourage one another to come and hear the message of the Lord (v. 30). They would gather in crowds, sit in front of Ezekiel, and hear his words, but they would not obey them (v. 31). They would talk about how wonderful the sermons were, but in their hearts they pursued dishonest profit (v. 31). God told Ezekiel, “To them you are like a singer of love songs who has a beautiful voice and plays skillfully on an instrument. They hear your words, but they don’t obey them” (v. 32).

Like Ezekiel’s generation our problem is not access to God’s Word but acting on it. Unlike the crowd who heard Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we should not want just to be amazed by His sermon but also to submit to His authority (Matt 7:28-29). Obedience is not optional. Jesus asks, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46). The ones who refuse to do the will of the Father should not be surprised when they have to depart from the Son (Matt 7:23). It is not the one who just hears Christ’s words who is compared to the wise builder but the one who hears His words and does them (Matt 7:24).

As much as I marvel that any of Ezekiel’s peers would still lack obedience, we should be even more dismayed in our day. We, after all, are reading what they heard proclaimed and so much more. We have both testaments, and the mystery of Christ has been revealed. Their knowledge was but a matchstick compared to our sun.

How then are we approaching God’s Word? Are we treating it as an artistic piece to be placed on the wall but never touched? Are we entertained by it, or are we eating it? Do we receive it with parameters? Are our mouths saying one thing about the Word but our hearts another? In the end, how much of His Word we have heard will not be nearly as important as how much we have lived. When all was said and done, Ezekiel’s peers would know he had not been just some performer but a prophet who had been among them (33:33).

Will We Deliver the Word?

Ezekiel 33:21-22

For seven years Ezekiel has been faithfully delivering the Lord’s message of discipline to His people. In the twelfth year of the exile, in the tenth month, and on the fifth day of the month, a message is delivered to Ezekiel (v. 21). A fugitive from Jerusalem came to him and reported, “The city has been taken” (v. 21). Just as the Lord had told him three years previously (24:26), Ezekiel’s mouth was opened, and he was no longer mute (33:22).

Can you imagine for a moment what it was like for Ezekiel? For seven years he could only share with the people the messages the Lord had given him. He was not allowed to say anything more or anything less. There was no idle chatter. There was not even any small talk with his wife. On top of these burdens, the messages he was allowed to speak all consisted of God’s judgment. As fatigued as we may be of walking through these chapters filled with God’s wrath and discipline, imagine what it was like to preach that sermon series for seven years.

Of all the responses Ezekiel received from the listeners of his messages, repentance and appreciation are not recorded. How many of them dreaded to see Ezekiel come out of his house knowing he had another message of judgment for them? How many of them after seven years no longer even bothered to listen? One day the full story of Ezekiel’s ministry will be told in heaven, but for now it’s enough to know he was one of Israel’s most faithful watchmen. Our full story will be revealed as well. Will we be found faithful in delivering His Word?

Ezekiel’s tongue being set loose means the messages of discipline will now give way to sermons of deliverance. From this point forward in the text, hope and restoration will be proclaimed to those in exile. The midnight of condemnation has passed; the dawn of compassion is breaking.

Reflect and Discuss