Ezekiel 33:1-33

Everyone has a function to fulfill.  God has place duties upon men and expects them to respond accordingly.  It was Ezekiel’s job to proclaim God’s Word.  God must be faithful to His Word.  The people must respond to God’s Word.  Since God is always faithful, the only possibility of failure is with men not revealing or responding to God’s revelation appropriately.  These are sober warnings to everyone who teaches the Word of God as well as to everyone who hears the Word of God.  We are called to be accurate teachers of the Word of God.  We are also called to be obedient hearers of the Word of God.

THE WATCHMAN MUST WARN: Ezekiel had been called by God to be prophet in Israel.  His job was to reveal God’s Word to the people.  His message was not a popular one but it was an accurate one.  When we are called to speak the Word of God we cannot be concerned with the popularity of our message.  Our only concern must be for the accuracy of our message.  When we see man living in sin our job is to warn of the coming judgment of God upon sin.  Our job is to urge sinners to repent by warning them of God’s judgment.  If they choose to ignore or refuse to believe our warning; they are to blame for their fall.  However, if we, knowing the truth of God’s wrath are too ashamed or timid to warn sinners of God’s wrath; their judgment will be required at our hands.  We are not responsible for man’s response but we are responsible to be faithful proclaimers of God’s Word.

THE FATHER WILL FORGIVE: God longs to be able to forgive men from their sin.  He takes no pleasure in judging men in His wrath. He will judge but He much prefers to forgive.  Ezekiel proclaims the hope of this truth to the people.  If they will hear the Word of God and turn from their sin in repentance; God will forgive them and not remember their past sin against them.  However, if a man has been walking in justice for a period of his life, but then turns from the right way and begins to live in sin; his former righteousness will not spare him from God’s wrath.  We cannot earn the “right to sin” through good deeds.  We are never beyond God’s ability to forgive when we truly repent.  God judges man on the current condition of his heart.  His principle requirement of man is that he repents.

THE REMNANT MUST REPENT: The city of Jerusalem fell just as Ezekiel had prophesied.  When that message arrived it was a validation of all that Ezekiel had spoken.  However, the few people who had survived the destruction believed that they were the ones who would inherit the land even though they were not faithful men.  Ezekiel warns them that their only hope of survival was to repent and that if they would not repent they too would be destroyed.  Those who had been taken into captivity began to understand Ezekiel’s message and they realized that God’s judgment had fallen on them.  When they asked Ezekiel what they could do to be free from God’s wrath; Ezekiel’s message was the same: repent.  As long as we live we have the opportunity and the responsibility to repent and obey the Word of the Lord.