Commissioned • Ezekiel 3:8-21
By Wayne VanHorn
Today, we begin a series of lessons on two men whom God called and commissioned to be His spokesmen, Ezekiel and Daniel. They served during the period known as the Babylonian Captivity, usually dated 586 — 539 B.C.
Ezekiel was around 25 years old when he was taken into exile along with King Jehoiachin and thousands of inhabitants of Judah in 297 B.C. Five years later, Ezekiel saw “visions of God” in an approaching storm (Ezek. 1:1). The visions served to help Ezekiel see the predicament of the unrepentant people of God and the perfection of God’s holiness.
Ezekiel was to be God’s watchman to the “house of Israel,” whom the Lord described as “hardheaded and hardhearted” (3:4-7 CSB).
Have you ever felt called and commissioned of God to do a particular task? Have you seriously considered biblical mandates, like the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 and the call to be Christ’s witnesses in Acts 1:8? (Ezek. 3:8-11)
Prepared (Ezek. 3:8-11). The Lord informed Ezekiel about what he faced. The prophet’s face and forehead were made as hard by divine appointment to prophecy as the people’s faces were hardened by unrepentant sin (3:8). Moreover, God encouraged Ezekiel not to be intimidated by their looks. To His previous description of the people as hardheaded and hardhearted, the Lord added, “they are a rebellious house” (3:9).
Ezekiel’s job would not be easy; yet the Lord prepared him well, referring to Ezekiel as “Son of man,” a description used 93 times in the Hebrew text of the Book of Ezekiel. Why did God address His prophet as “Son of man” so often, but never directly by his name Ezekiel? Perhaps to stress the frailty of humanity, including Ezekiel, in contrast to the overwhelming awesomeness of God Himself (Lamar E. Cooper, Ezekiel, NAC).
Ezekiel’s name means “God is my strength,” appropriate since the prophet was to hear God’s words and ponder them in his heart (3:10). The word of God within the prophet would strengthen and fortify this otherwise frail man.
Ezekiel was instructed to go to his people and to tell them, “Thus saith the Lord” (KJV), a prophetic formula used to introduce divine instructions and thereby give the message the authority of a direct word from God.
The clause, “whether they listen or refuse to listen,” hearkens back to Ezekiel 2:5, where the following words appear, “they will know that a prophet has been among them” (see also 2:7).
Overwhelmed (Ezek. 3:12-15). Ezekiel’s “visions of God” quickly transformed into action. Lead by the Spirit, Ezekiel positioned himself before the exiled Jews in silence for seven days. He was about to confront them in their sins as the Lord had directed him.
The reference to the living creatures’ wings and the wheels refers to Ezekiel’s inaugural vision in Ezekiel 1, in which the four creatures were sensitive to respond to the voice from above the firmament, the voice of God (1:24-25).
God wanted His people to obey His voice just as the four creatures did. When they disobeyed, He sent His prophet to warn them.
The question arises, why was Ezekiel embittered and received by the people with consternation (3:14-15)? Most likely, he was overwhelmed by the undesirable task of confronting the stiff-necked, unrepentant sinners among God’s people with the message of judgment God gave him to proclaim (Lamar E. Cooper, Ezekiel, NAC).
Assigned (Ezek. 3:16-21). These verses deal with prophetic accountability. God’s “watchman” was held accountable for delivering His message in a timely manner (3:17 CSB). Failure to do so carried grave consequences.
First, the unwarned sinner would die in his sin. Secondly, the Lord instructed Ezekiel that if he did not warn the sinner so he could repent, then, “his blood will I require at thine hand” (3:18 CSB). The prophet would be exonerated only after delivering God’s message to repent.
The watchman was to address both the wicked and the righteous whenever either sinned. The wages of their sins would be death. At stake for the watchman was whether he would be responsible for their blood. If he failed to warn the sinners, then he would be responsible. If he warned them, they would be responsible for their own blood (3:18-20 CSB).
When the prophet warned a potential sinner, resulting in their compliance, the prophet-watchman “rescued himself” (3:21 CSB). Understanding the grave consequences of not speaking out for God, how might we, as believers in Christ, be sure to share the Gospel with others?
VanHorn is dean of the School of Christian Studies & the Arts at Mississippi College, Clinton.
