Exegesis:
· The stern tone of this
speech and its brutally direct warning not to shirk professional duties confirm
the reality of vv. 14-15. Ezekiel is a stubborn man, who sits there or seven
days, until Yahweh’s patience has run out.[1]
· This is a quasi-legal pronouncement,
with four hypothetical cases, each spelling out different human responses and
their consequences.[2]
The heavy linguistic borrowing from the Mosaic Torah is not surprising given
Ezekiel’s priestly heritage.[3]
· Watchman: root sopheh, “to look out, to spy, to keep
watch.” In the face of an imminent attack, he would blow his horn (shofar). Ezekiel’s
ministry prior to 586BC consists largely in sounding alarm for his own people,
under attack by Babylonians.[4]
· V18: case 1 involves a
situation in which Yahweh charges the prophet to deliver to the wicked person
the legal death sentence: “You shall surely die!”
· V19: case 2 is
identical to case 1, except that the prophet has dutifully delivered the death
sentence, and his warning has been rejected. Whereas the wicked person dies for
his wickedness, the sentry has absolved himself of responsibility for his
death. He may therefore keep his life.
· V20: case 3 involves a
formerly righteous person (saddiq)
who has turned to practice evil. Yahweh brings about his death by placing an
obstacle, a stumbling block, in his path.[5]
· V21: case 4 describes
the fate of a repentant backslidden person. The salvation of his own life for
having been faithful is sufficient reward.[6]
· There is obvious links
with Jeremiah 6:16-21. Jeremiah commenced his ministry at approximately the time
of Ezekiel’s birth. They may even have known each other.[7]
· V22-27 is the most
complex all narrative in all of Scripture concludes. Ezekiel’s speechless state
lasted more than seven years.[8] This is
where the depth of the prophet’s self-emptying becomes apparent. There is again
an infusion of the divine Spirit.
· Ezekiel is confined to
his house and he will lose his power of free speech.
· He is God’s prisoner:
vividly depicted by the ropes that bind him and his tongue being bound to the
roof of his mouth. His speech is totally restricted to the reproduction of Gods
words of judgment.
· The restriction on the
prophet’s speech will make him unable to function as a mediator for the house
of Israel. He may not intercede for the people. The time for appeals for mercy
is past. The prophet’s role, at least up until the fall of Jerusalem, is
restricted to the delivery of the divine sentence of judgment.[9]
Theological
implications:
· Those who reupdate the covenant
stand under the judgment of God. “The wicked person” is singular: the
accountability of the individual sinner is emphasised.
· The wages of sin is
death. Ezekiel’s task is to deliver to the accused the legal decision that
Yahweh has determined: the death sentence.
· The expression saddiq concerns members of the authentic
covenant community, those who have in the past trusted Yahweh and submitted to
his lordship. They can turn from their righteousness, practice evil, run into the
stumbling block that God places in their paths, and be sentenced to death. This
establishes the seriousness of perseverance in faith.[10]
· The voice of a sentry symbolises
the grace of God reaching out to those under the sentence of death. The
previous evil of the sinner will not be held against him if he repents of the
error of his way. After all, God is on the side of life.
· The privilege of wearing
the prophet’s mantle comes an awesome responsibility for the life and death of
the people in one’s charge. To be negligent in the fulfillment of one’s prophetic
duty is a capital crime.
· The messenger of God is
called not to success but to faithfulness. The prophet’s call is not “to save
souls” (which is God’s affair), but to proclaim the message he receives from
the divine Commissioner. Faithfulness in service is measured not by
effectiveness but by fidelity to the divine charge.[11]
· We see from the account
of Ezekiel’s initiation into the prophetic office that:
1.
The
Lord is present with his messenger.
2.
The
ways of the Lord are often strange and inscrutable. First he calls the prophet
to preach, then he closets him away in his own house and ties his tongue. The messenger’s
role is like that of a puppet on a string. He dare not challenge the ways of God,
or eve call for any explanation, any more than the clay may question the work
of the potter.[12]
3.
At
times the heart of the messenger may not interfere with his mouth. His resolve
must match the determination of the one whose message he is to announce.
4.
The
prophet bears in his own body the signs of his calling.[13]
Bridging:
· Just as not everyone is
called to be a prophet, so not every prophet is called to exercise his ministry
in the way Ezekiel did. That means we will have to be careful in universalising
the principles of Ezekiel’s calling.
· The very strangeness of
Ezekiel’s behaviour tends to make it difficult for us to bridge the gap.
· To those without a
relationship with the living God, the idea of someone giving oneself completely
over to become God’s slave will inevitably seem nonsensical or abhorrent, a
sign of certain mental disorder.[14]
Modern
day:
· Nowadays, we like to
focus on the ”good news” aspect of the gospel. Yet, Ezekiel’s calling, at least
during the first part of his ministry, is to be the bringer of bad news.[15]
· Not all are called to fulfil
the distinctive kind of prophetic ministry to which Ezekiel was called; yet as Christians,
we too have a calling from God.
· God’s message to the
world contains both good news and bad news.
· The first challenge for
us is to present a balanced picture of who God is and who we are in relation to
God.[16]
· We are also called to
bring the news to everyone, without distinction. We tend to sort our friends and
family into “likely prospects” and “hard cases,” focusing our efforts on those
who we think are most likely to listen. But who are you to say that one person
is more likely to listen than another? The Bible is full of “hard cases”, eg.
Paul.[17]
· But to be such a channel
of God’s good and bad news is often a costly, self-denying business. If you say
to God, “Here am I, send me,” frequently he will. Sometimes, God sends his
children to be his witnesses in uncomfortable situations, be it halfway around the world from where you are right now or around the corner in the jungles of the corporate world.
· The self-sacrifice of
Christ: While Ezekiel was confined to his house, Jesus was “despised and
rejected by men” (Isaiah 53:3). While Ezekiel was made dumb, Jesus was “led
like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). While Ezekiel was bound with
ropes, Jesus was nailed to the cross and suffered there not for any
transgressions of his own but for ours.
· Thus, the greater “Son
of Man” fulfilled the ministry of the earlier “son of man,” giving us the good
news of the gospel, which is the antidote to the bad news of our natural state.[18]
[1]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
141.
[2]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
142.
[3]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
143.
[4]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
144.
[5]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
146.
[6]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
147.
[7]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
148.
[8]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
151.
[10]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
149.
[11]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
150.
[12]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
161.
[13]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
162.
