Ezekiel 3. Last week in Ezekiel I taught on our mission to speak the truth of God s word in love

Transcription

1 Last week in Ezekiel I taught n ur missin t speak the truth f Gd s wrd in lve We re studying Ezekiel s cmmissining in chapters 1-3 In secnd half f chapter 2 and the first half f chapter 3 the Lrd cmmanded Ezekiel t g and speak t the rebellius peple f Israel in exile in Babyln The Lrd tld Ezekiel t be bedient t this calling regardless f whether Israel listened t him r nt He warned Ezekiel that Israel wuld respnd harshly t his prphecies Nevertheless, Ezekiel was t speak bldly, withut hlding back the truth And he was t keep himself abve reprach, beying all the Lrd tld him In these things, Ezekiel becmes an example fr all Gd s peple Thugh we aren t prphets, we still have a call t reach a lst and dying wrld with the truth And thugh we haven t received a visin f Gd n His thrne, we have received smething even mre precius We have the full cunsel f the Wrd f Gd and we have the Spirit f Gd living in us S by way f Ezekiel s example, we t are called t speak the truth in lve even thugh we knw the wrld wn t apprve Nw we re ready t cnclude this sectin f Ezekiel cnsidering the persnal cst f speaking the truth fr Gd As we begin let s remember Jesus wrds abut the persnal cst f fllwing Him 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 2! f! 16 Luke 14:27 Whever des nt carry his wn crss and cme after Me cannt be My disciple. Luke 14:28 Fr which ne f yu, when he wants t build a twer, des nt first sit dwn and calculate the cst t see if he has enugh t cmplete it? Luke 14:29 Otherwise, when he has laid a fundatin and is nt able t finish, all wh bserve it begin t ridicule him, Luke 14:30 saying, This man began t build and was nt able t finish. Fllwing Jesus as His disciple brings a persnal cst We must pick up ur wn crss, as Jesus said, which means t be prepared t sacrifice everything, even ur wn lives, in service t Him And t illustrate what He means, Jesus asks wh wuld undertake the effrt and cst t build a twer befre determining if he had enugh funds t cmplete the prject? Wuld yu begin t build a pl in yur backyard withut asking fr an estimate first? Hw flish wuld that be? Yu culd end up with a pit in the grund and n pl when yu ran ut f mney S why wuld yu embark n fllwing Jesus withut at least cnsidering what it will cst t d s? If we re nt willing t lk flish in frnt ur neighbrs when we cnstruct a pl Then why risk humiliatin befre the Living Gd when we agree t serve Him? We must appreciate the csts s that we will be prepared t accept them That s the challenge facing Ezekiel this mrning He s received a call frm Gd, ne that will bring significant csts S let s see hw Ezekiel respnds t this burden 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 3! f! 16 Ezek. 3:12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sund behind me, Blessed be the glry f the Lrd in His place. Ezek. 3:13 And I heard the sund f the wings f the living beings tuching ne anther and the sund f the wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sund. Ezek. 3:14 S the Spirit lifted me up and tk me away; and I went embittered in the rage f my spirit, and the hand f the Lrd was strng n me. Ezek. 3:15 Then I came t the exiles wh lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib, and I sat there seven days where they were living, causing cnsternatin amng them. Ezekiel says that as the Lrd stpped speaking t Him, he was lifted up by the Spirit He s taken away frm the thrne f Gd and transprted back t the exiles in Babyln He s transprted by the Spirit And he hears the cherubim making great nise as they mve behind him It appears Ezekiel can n lnger see these creatures, but merely hears them mving behind him Amidst the great sunds f rumbling, Ezekiel hears a vice declare Blessed be the glry f the Lrd in His place The mentin f Gd s glry reminds us that these sunds and visins are manifestatins f the Shechinah glry f Gd The wrd Shechinah means dwelling, and refers t the presence f Gd dwelling amng men The Shechinah glry makes frequent appearances in the Old Testament, mst cmmnly in the Hly f Hlies f the tabernacle This is Ezekiel s first expsure t the Shechinah glry f Gd, which is irnic because he was training t be a priest A priest wuld have been amng a privileged few in Israel t regularly cme near the glry f Gd in the Hly Place As exile, Ezekiel will never serve as a priest in the tabernacle Yet nw he receives an even greater appreciatin f Gd s glry while in Babyln 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 4! f! 16 Remember, yu may have yur eye n a certain ministry r missin, but Gd may redirect yu Redirectin in ministry isn t a sign f failure r reasn t put it means Gd has smething better waiting fr yu Then in v.14, we have Ezekiel s first reactin t everything he s heard and seen It says he was embittered in the rage f his spirit As a result f his remarkable encunter with Gd, Ezekiel is wrestling with tw cnflicting emtins inside himself He has bitterness and he has a rage in his Spirit In Hebrew, the wrd rage culd be translated literally as heat Yu culd say he felt heat in his spirit And wh culd blame him he s had an audience with the Living Gd He s seen the glry f Gd and the awesme majesty f His cherubim and f there thrne Have yu ever had the pprtunity t meet a childhd her r favrite musician r celebrity? When peple finally meet smene they idlize, they usually walk away frm that encunter feeling flushed, exhilarated, jubilant In part, I think that s what Ezekiel must have been feeling Only we need t magnify the effect by abut a millin fld Ezekiel s spirit is ht having cme s clse t the glry f Gd Yet n the ther hand, he s als embittered He s prbably feeling bitterness because he knws hw little regard his cuntrymen have fr the glry f Gd He s just experienced the sweetness f the wrd f the Lrd and the awesmeness f His majesty And nw back amng his peple in Tel Aviv, Ezekiel sees n full display the depravity and idlatry and indifference f Israel fr this great Gd Wh has made them His peple 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 5! f! 16 Therefre, he knws the terrible things that must cme against them fr their sin And he s grws bitter It reminds us that prphecy is a duble-edged swrd On the ne hand it s sweet t knw Gd s purpses in advance That s why the scrll was sweet in Ezekiel s muth Jhn has a similar experience later in Revelatin 10 Rev. 10:9 S I went t the angel, telling him t give me the little bk. And he said t me, Take it and eat it; it will make yur stmach bitter, but in yur muth it will be sweet as hney. Rev. 10:10 I tk the little bk ut f the angel s hand and ate it, and in my muth it was sweet as hney; and when I had eaten it, my stmach was made bitter. Like Ezekiel, Jhn fund the wrd f prphecy sweet in his muth But when the cntent f Gd s wrd hit hme, it left him bitter It s nt Gd s wrd that causes us t feel bitter; Gd s wrd is always sweet as we said But we becme bitter as we understand that the wrd f Gd brings wrath against sinful hearts in the day f judgment S it s Israel s hard heart that leaves the prphet feeling bitter In an instant, Ezekiel realizes that the hearts f his Israel are t hard t be turned even by the severe warnings f Gd And s the utcme will be disaster, which is a bitter thught indeed S yu may identify with Ezekiel in his bitterness and rage in his spirit Having cme t knw the grace f Gd in Jesus Christ, yu want everyne t understand and appreciate what yu understand abut Gd Yu ll feel excitement t share the Lrd and His wrd Yu burn with desire in yur spirit fr everyne t give Christ the glry He deserves 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 6! f! 16 We feel like ne f thse disciples n the rad t Emmaus after encuntering Jesus Luke 24:31 Then their eyes were pened and they recgnized Him; and He vanished frm their sight. Luke 24:32 They said t ne anther, Were nt ur hearts burning within us while He was speaking t us n the rad, while He was explaining the Scriptures t us? Luke 24:33 And they gt up that very hur and returned t Jerusalem, and fund gathered tgether the eleven and thse wh were with them, Luke 24:34 saying, The Lrd has really risen and has appeared t Simn. That s the right respnse t a revelatin f the hly Gd That s the heat Ezekiel felt in his spirit But at the same time we may als feel a grwing bitterness The clser yu get t the glry f Gd, the mre intlerant and even bitter yu will becme tward sin and thse wh apprve it The better we knw Gd, the mre we respnd t sin as He des After yu experience the awesme majesty f Gd, and yu ll recil at the vanity f human beings If yu understand the righteus judgment f Gd, then yu ll shudder cntemplating the destiny f the unrepentant sinner Once yu knw the wisdm f Gd in His wrd, yu ll lse patience fr the flishness f human wisdm Once yu have the perfectin and hliness f Gd living in yu, yu begin t hate sin, especially yur wn Even mre, we can feel sadness when we see hw the wrld just desn t get it We see unbelievers wh sin with impunity, withut regard fr their eternal future Yet we knw judgment is nly a heartbeat away And ur hearts hurt t see ur fellw believers wasting their time n earth caught up in sinful r selfish pursuits 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 7! f! 16 We want them t live ut their faith s they may receive a full reward When we see these things, we may feel angry, bitter and even vengeful That s the bitterness Ezekiel feels He knws his peple are turning their back n the glry f the Lrd And he knws what s cming fr them We culd label this bitter feeling as righteus anger, but if it s ging t remain righteus, we have t put it t wrk in the right way We can t let ur resentment ver anther s sin leads us t judge them harshly r t refrain frm serving them with the truth Have yu ever felt that instinct t refrain frm sharing the Gspel because yu dn t feel smene deserves t be saved? Yu re s bitter against them that yu secretly lk frward t them receiving Gd s wrath, s yu withhld the gd news As if we have cntrl ver their salvatin in any case we dn t read Jnah again Nw I dubt mst f us wuld admit t thinking this way abut smene else, but I suspect we all knw the feeling Obviusly, it s an unlving, sinful respnse and it s exactly the ppsite f what Jesus did He experienced the ugliness f humanity in a way nne f us will ever knw, thankfully The wrld spit in the face f Gd Himself it s hard t d wrse than that And yet He shwed n bitterness tward that sin Rather He said, Frgive them Father, fr they knw nt what they d We need t adpt that same thught frgive them Father because they dn t knw what they re ding 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 8! f! 16 Mrever, that was yu and I lived befre the Gspel came int ur hearts Or at least that s wh we wuld have becme apart frm the grace f Gd S hw can we lk dwn ur nses at smene else wh is dead in the sins and needs t knw the lve f Gd? That s why we ve been given the indwelling f His Spirit s that we can knw Gd and ffer that t thers That s the challenge Ezekiel faces at this pint t share the glry f Gd that tuched him with an undeserving peple wh will likely reject it S let s see hw he gets started with that missin In v.15 it says Ezekiel came back t sit amng the exiles in Tel Aviv And he sits there fr a week amng them causing cnsternatin amng them The Septuagint translates this verse this way: Ezek. 3:15 Then I passed thrugh the air and came int the captivity, and went rund them that dwelt by the river f Chbar wh were there; and I sat there seven days, cnversant in the midst f them. The LXX translatin says Ezekiel was cnversing as he sat amng the peple and the NASB says he was causing cnsternatin I suspect he was explaining what he saw and heard during his encunter with the Lrd S he s trying t cmmunicate t these peple, but he s getting ahead f the Lrd Because at this pint, Ezekiel has nt been given a specific message t deliver t the peple Gd has nt yet said Thus saith the Lrd t Ezekiel S what is Ezekiel sharing? He can nly be sharing his persnal experience seeing the glry f Gd 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 9! f! 16 And by what he shared, he cnfuses the peple r at least he s freaking them ut (as we wuld say tday) He s causing cnsternatin and astnishment, because he s speaking abut mysterius and frightening things Obviusly, this isn t ging t fix a rebellius heart S after seven days f this ging n, the Lrd is ready t begin giving Ezekiel a wrd fr the peple Ezek. 3:16 At the end f seven days the wrd f the Lrd came t me, saying, Ezek. 3:17 Sn f man, I have appinted yu a watchman t the huse f Israel; whenever yu hear a wrd frm My muth, warn them frm Me. Ezek. 3:18 When I say t the wicked, Yu will surely die, and yu d nt warn him r speak ut t warn the wicked frm his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his bld I will require at yur hand. Ezek. 3:19 Yet if yu have warned the wicked and he des nt turn frm his wickedness r frm his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but yu have delivered yurself. Ezek. 3:20 Again, when a righteus man turns away frm his righteusness and cmmits iniquity, and I place an bstacle befre him, he will die; since yu have nt warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteus deeds which he has dne shall nt be remembered; but his bld I will require at yur hand. Ezek. 3:21 Hwever, if yu have warned the righteus man that the righteus shuld nt sin and he des nt sin, he shall surely live because he tk warning; and yu have delivered yurself. Nw after the seven days Ezekiel receives his first wrd frm the Lrd Ntice this time there is n visin, n creatures darting abut, ding wheelies and the like It s just the wrd f the Lrd And thugh we dn t knw hw this cmmunicatin tk place, Ezekiel is cnfident he heard frm the Lrd First in v.17 the Lrd tells Ezekiel he will serve as a watchman fr Israel A watchman was a guard wh walked alng the tp f the walls f a city He kept a lkut fr threats headed tward the city The jb f a watchman was NOT t fight the threat 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 10! f! 16 His jb was t issue a warning t the peple s they culd respnd prperly in defense f the city S Ezekiel s jb is t warn the peple f Israel s they may act accrdingly Ezekiel isn t suppsed t act n his wn r try t take matters int his wn hands He will simply relay the warnings Gd gives him Nw f curse being a gd watchman requires that we relay ur infrmatin cmpletely, accurately and in a timely fashin What wuld we think f a watchman wh nly gave us half the stry a partial warning? Or a watchman that slept n duty? We wuldn t think that watchman was ding his jb at all Furthermre, it s in the watchman s wn best interest t speak accurately, because if he fails t warn the peple, he dies t S a pr watchman puts his wn life at risk as well as thse f the city when he fails at his task And s it wuld be fr Ezekiel t, the Lrd says In v.18 the Lrd warns Ezekiel that whenever Gd issues a warning t the wicked, Ezekiel will be held respnsible fr what he des next If he fails t deliver the message t the wicked as the Lrd cmmands, then bth the wicked and the watchman will die Cnversely, the Lrds says in v.19 that if Ezekiel is bedient, he will be preserved regardless f what the wicked d with his warning Here again, the pint is that a watchman is nly accuntable fr giving the warning, nt whether his warning is heeded And just t shw that the Lrd is evenhanded and is nt a respecter r persns, He tells Ezekiel in vs that this prcess will wrk the same way fr the righteus wh fall int sin If a righteus man falls int sin, then Gd will warn that man t change his ways 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 11! f 16! If he heeds the warnings, he will live lnger n earth If he fails t heed the warning, he will be cnsigned t an early death Gd will place a stumbling blck befre him t cause his death But regardless f the man s respnse, if Ezekiel is bedient, he will nt be caught up in the punishment On the ther hand, if Ezekiel fails t warn the righteus man, Ezekiel will die with him T be clear, in bth cases the judgment Gd is talking abut is an earthly judgment f a physical nature The Lrd isn t speaking abut eternal judgment f the sul A persn s eternal judgment is determined by faith alne, nt by their wrks whether gd r bad Ntice that even thugh the Lrd made a distinctin between the wicked (unbelievers) and the righteus (believers) in His instructins Still bth grups suffered the same fate if they failed t heed the warning: an early death That tells us the Lrd is talking abut cnsequences fr disbeying the Old Cvenant, nt eternal cnsequences fr failing t believe Whether yu were a believer r unbeliever in Israel, yu were still bund t the terms f the Old Cvenant S Gd s peple must heed His warnings r else the Lrd wuld end their lives prematurely as punishment What happened t them after they died depended n their heart each persn The unbelieving (wicked) experience the secnd death While believing (righteus) g int eternal life But ntice als in v.20 that in the case f the righteus, their righteus deeds will nt be remembered either 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 12! f! 16 S a believer wh fell int sin and ignred Gd s warnings nt nly died sner, but als risked lsing eternal reward S nw we understand the persnal cst fr Ezekiel serving the Living Gd as a watchman He culd nt lk away frm the appraching danger r fail t speak it t Israel Nr was Ezekiel suppsed t wrry abut the utcme nce he spke the wrd He must bey the Lrd and leave the result t the Lrd Which means he had t cnfrm his behavir and lifestyle t ensure bedience t this calling Sitting amng the exiles cnversing abut his visins wasn t a part f Ezekiel s jb descriptin He had been talking t much and it wasn t helping the situatin Ezekiel was t speak nly when the Lrd cmmanded, And he als was t remain silent when the Lrd wasn t speaking thrugh him That may nt seem like much f a cst fr this man, but let the implicatins f this requirement sink in fr a mment Ezekiel is n lnger free t interact with his cuntrymen in the way he preferred He was cnstrained by Gd t a very specific and very restrictive lifestyle, ne that made him a mre effective prphet But it als came a great persnal cst We see the full extent f this burden in the last passage frm this chapter Ezek. 3:22 The hand f the Lrd was n me there, and He said t me, Get up, g ut t the plain, and there I will speak t yu. Ezek. 3:23 S I gt up and went ut t the plain; and behld, the glry f the Lrd was standing there, like the glry which I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell n my face. Ezek. 3:24 The Spirit then entered me and made me stand n my feet, and He spke with me and said t me, G, shut yurself up in yur huse Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 13! f! 16 Ezek. 3:25 As fr yu, sn f man, they will put rpes n yu and bind yu with them s that yu cannt g ut amng them. Ezek. 3:26 Mrever, I will make yur tngue stick t the rf f yur muth s that yu will be mute and cannt be a man wh rebukes them, fr they are a rebellius huse. Ezek. 3:27 But when I speak t yu, I will pen yur muth and yu will say t them, Thus says the Lrd Gd. He wh hears, let him hear; and he wh refuses, let him refuse; fr they are a rebellius huse. These are the final instructins the Lrd gives Ezekiel in preparatin t receive his first prphecy which begins in chapter 4 Ezekiel says the hand f the Lrd was n him there by the river Earlier in v.14 he als said that the hand f the Lrd was strng n him He is being cmfrted, strengthened, and prepared fr his missin, because he will need the Lrd s strength Next, he s tld t g away frm the camp t receive the wrd f the Lrd Why des the Lrd send Ezekiel away t receive the wrd? After all, the Lrd is already speaking t Ezekiel here nw? I think the answer relates t what s happened already and t what will fllw in this chapter Earlier, Ezekiel sat fr a week in Tel Aviv in cnversatin with the exiles He prbably tld them bad things were cming, that the Lrd was preparing judgment, and that they needed t repent He shared his wn thughts, his wn wisdm, nt Gd s wisdm S nw that the Lrd is ready fr Ezekiel t begin speaking t the peple, He desn t want His wrds t be cnfused as just mre cnversatin T crrect this prblem, the Lrd des tw things First, he directs Ezekiel t get ut f twn fr a while He will receive his instructins frm a nearby plain r uninhabited area 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 14! f! 16 Then when Ezekiel returns t the peple, they will see him as ne cming with a message frm Gd Rather than merely smene sputing ff his wn pinins The Lrd cmmnly takes His prphets away befre bringing them back with a wrd Mses went t Midian and later he climbed Mt Sinai multiple times s that he culd t the peple with a wrd frm the Lrd The Lrd sent Ams frm the suthern kingdm t the nrthern kingdm t bring the wrd f the Lrd t a evil king He drve Jhn the Baptist int the wilderness and then brught him back t declare the time fr Messiah was at hand The Lrd led Saul int Arabia befre bringing him back t the church as the apstle Paul He even sent Jesus int Egypt as a child and later sent Him int the wilderness, s that He culd return t begin His ministry S the Lrd separates His prphets frm amng the peple t mark the delivery f smething new and special The Lrd sends Ezekiel t a plain And there he encunters the Shechinah glry f Gd and hears a wrd frm the Lrd Nw his wrds and the wrd f the Lrd can be distinguished Secndly, the Lrd makes sure Ezekiel wn t create this same cnfusin in the future In v.24 the Lrd tells Ezekiel t live under huse arrest He was t stay in his hme and nt spend time amng the peple This prbably accmplished tw things First, Ezekiel was n lnger in a psitin t lead a nrmal life, t interact with the peple f Israel and t speak f his wn accrd Frm this pint frward, the nly time the peple hear Ezekiel speak will be when the Lrd speaks thrugh him 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 15! f! 16 Ntice in v.27 the Lrd says that nly when the Lrd speaks t Ezekiel may he then pen his muth and speak t the peple This will ensure that the peple recgnize that everything Ezekiel says frm this pint frward is frm the Lrd They will sn cme t understand that when Ezekiel speaks, they shuld listen But there is a secnd reasn fr this islatin The Lrd is prtecting Ezekiel frm the peple and even frm himself The peple f Israel were immersed in sinful practices f ne kind r anther S that if Ezekiel lived amng them in a nrmal fashin, it wuld be very difficult fr him t fully separate himself frm their practices Assciating t clsely with them wuld likely cmprmise his walk and his witness Remember the Lrd tld Ezekiel he must live accrding t the wrd he wuld share with Israel Since Israel is s crrupt, there was n safe harbr frm sin amng them except t remain in ne s wn huse In v.25 the Lrd says that Israel will put rpes n him and bind him s that he cannt g ut amng them There is n evidence in the recrd f Ezekiel that this event happens t Ezekiel literally S it s best understd as figurative speech The Lrd is saying that the sins f the peple have frced Gd t bind up Ezekiel in his hme The evil f Israel has tied Ezekiel s hands, s t speak, leaving Ezekiel with n ptin except t islate himself t prevent defilement S the Lrd s instructin prtects Ezekiel frm the sin f the peple Finally, this islatin will prtect Ezekiel frm himself 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 16! f! 16 The Lrd says in v.26 He is ging t make Ezekiel mute shuld Ezekiel decide t speak n his wn again Ezekiel has already shwn a prpensity t talk withut permissin, s we can assume he will be tempted t speak again in the future Especially when he knws the full measure f what s cming fr Israel He may try t rebuke Israel when the Lrd has n intentin f issuing a warning Then at the end f v.26 the Lrd says he will nt allw Ezekiel s tngue t rebuke a man, because they are rebellius Gd knew that Israel was rebellius, s rebellius in fact that it was unreasnable t expect Ezekiel t remain silent n his wn Even the mst heartless persn wuld have wanted t warn Israel f the things Gd was prepared t bring upn them S Gd knew that Ezekiel wuld have cmpassin n Israel and might be tempted t warn them n his wn apart frm the cmmn f Gd Such cmpassin wuld be misplaced if it wasn t perating in the cunsel f Gd s will S Gd said He places Ezekiel in his hme and prevents him frm speaking t ensure that Ezekiel s wrds are Gd s wrds nly In the end, Ezekiel was called t be a watchman, a faithful deliverer f Gd s warnings t Israel And he was t let the chips fall where they will The Lrd ends saying let him wh hears, hear, and let him wh refuses, refuse The utcme is nt ur respnsibility we are merely the messenger This was just the cst Ezekiel paid t be a prphet f Gd he had t islate himself frm Gd s peple What des serving Gd cst yu? It will always cst smething 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.