CHAPTER 3

(595 B.C.)

EZEKIEL EATS THE ROLL

¹Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, eat that you find; eat this roll, and go speak unto the House of Israel. (Eat that you find, is a reminder that the True Prophet does not choose his message [Acts 4:20], but delivers what is given unto him by the Lord. As well, the word eat signifies that he was to be thoroughly acquainted with its contents in order to deliver this message to Israel.)

²So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll. (This implies that the Lord helped Ezekiel to understand what was written. Actually, he did not literally eat a Book or Roll, as all of this is given in a Vision [1:1].)

³And He said unto me, Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this roll that I give you. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. (The Word of God is ever sweet to a spiritual palate; however, it is bitter to the flesh [3:14]; for the Word of the Lord judges the nature and activities of the flesh, and announces the Wrath of God which is coming upon it.)

HIS SECOND COMMISSION: TO SPEAK GODS MESSAGES TO ISRAEL

⁴And He said unto me, Son of man, go, get you unto the House of Israel, and speak with My Words unto them. (Ezekiels Ministry begins here. Its character should be compared with that of Jeremiahs. His Ministry was begun at least while God was still in relationship with Israel, and while He yet spoke of them as My People.)

⁵For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the House of Israel (as Ezekiel was sent to Israel, likewise, Christ was sent to Israel. As Israel would not hear him, Israel would not hear Christ! In both cases, they went to their doom!);

⁶Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words you can not understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have hearkened unto you. (The Divine statement, Surely they would hearken unto you, throws a shaft of light across the darkness of the heathen world, and actually, in shadow, proclaims the coming Gentile Church.)

⁷But the House of Israel will not hearken unto you; for they will not hearken unto Me: for all the House of Israel are impudent and hardhearted. (The word impudent means to be contemptuous, and in this sense holding the Word of God in contempt and exhibiting a cocky boldness. The word hardhearted means unfeeling and pitiless.)

⁸Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. (As the rebellion is deep, the Lord gives Ezekiel a powerful anointing that he may be able to continue to minister despite their obstinacy.)

⁹As an adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. (The word adamant could be translated diamond, which is the hardest substance known to man. The phrase, Neither be dismayed at their looks, proclaims the fact that the Prophet had a natural tendency to shrink back from their threats, revilings, and their scowls of hatred. Irrespective, he was to deliver the Message, even though they be a rebellious house.)

¹⁰Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, all My Words that I shall speak unto you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. (The stress is laid on the word all. The Prophet was not to pick and choose out of the Message, but was to deliver all the counsel of God [Acts 20:27].)

¹¹And go, get you to them of the captivity, unto the children of your people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus says the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. (And go, get you to them of the captivity, refers to his Message being directed to this group. Due to the Northern Kingdom having been taken captive well over a hundred years previous, and some from the Southern Kingdom now being taken captive, the total number in captivity would have been quite large.

Ezekiels responsibility was to deliver the Message, rather than their response to it.)

EZEKIEL VISITS THE EXILES BY THE RIVER CHEBAR

¹²Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the Glory of the LORD from His place. (The exclamation, Blessed be the Glory of the LORD from His place, probably means that the Glory awakens Praise wherever it goes, and so could make even Babylonia Gods place.

Then the Spirit took me up, refers to the Holy Spirit, Who energized the Cherubim and the wheels, and then took hold of Ezekiel to energize him.)

¹³I heard also the noise of the wings of the Living Creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing. (All of this which Ezekiel has been observing, such as the Cherubim, etc., he now becomes a part of!)

¹⁴So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the Hand of the LORD was strong upon me. (The phrase, And I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, refers to the wrath or anger of the Prophet respecting the sins of the people and their opposition and rebellion against God.)

¹⁵Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, who dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. (All that is known of Tel-abib is said here. It is by the river of Chebar. And I sat where they sat, refers to Ezekiel beginning his Ministry in silence.)

¹⁶And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying (Ezekiel did not move until the Lord said so!),

COMMISSIONED TO BE A WATCHMAN TO ISRAEL

¹⁷Son of man, I have made you a watchman unto the House of Israel: therefore hear the Word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me. (In the ancient world, watchmen walked the walls in order to spot any hostile action against the city. They were also there to give word to the king of any person approaching the city wall [II Sam. 18:24-27; II Ki. 9:17-20]. Ezekiel was to be a watchman.)

¹⁸When I say unto the wicked, You shall surely die; and you give him not warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at your hand. (This Passage tells us that ignorance of the Gospel does not save one. As well, the Preacher is to warn the wicked, and in no uncertain terms. If the wicked arent warned, meaning that the Preacher preaches a false message, while the wicked person will die in his sin, still, his blood will be required at the hand of the false preacher.

In fact, every single Preacher in the world should read this Text every day.)

¹⁹Yet if you warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. (But you have delivered your soul, means that the judgment passed on the Prophet does not depend on the results of his Ministry, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear, but rather that he has delivered his soul, i.e., has done his duty as a watchman. Therefore, the implication is that the Prophet will lose his soul if he does not faithfully deliver the Word of God.)

²⁰Again, When a righteous man does turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because you have not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at your hand. (This Passage lays to rest the unscriptural doctrine of Unconditional Eternal Security. As well, the Preacher is not only to preach to the lost, but he is to also warn the righteous who turns from his righteousness. If the Preacher doesnt do so, once again, even though that person will be lost, the Lord says, I will require at your hand that individuals blood.

How many modern Preachers are faithfully warning the wicked? the righteous?)

²¹Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also you have delivered your soul. (This tells us that the righteous must be constantly warned, or else many, if not most, righteous will be turned aside. This puts a tremendous responsibility on the Preacher of the Gospel. God help us if we fail in that responsibility!)

GODS HAND ON EZEKIEL; VISION OF GODS GLORY

²²And the Hand of the LORD was there upon me; and He said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with you. (To hear the Word from His Mouth, the servant of the Lord must be willing to withdraw into the plain or low place, for it is there that the Master speaks with the servant and afresh reveals Himself in His Glory to him, and where he receives a fresh enduement of Spiritual Power. [In the Hebrew, the expression, the plain, means a low place reached with difficulty through obstacles.]

²³Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the Glory of the LORD stood there, as the Glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face. (And I fell on my face, is spoken of Ezekiel six times [Vs. 23; 1:28; 9:8; 11:13; 43:3; 44:4]. Once again, this tells us that it is Scriptural for people to be slain in the Spirit.)

²⁴Then the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spoke with me, and said unto me, Go, shut yourself within your house. (Then the Spirit entered into me, refers to the Holy Spirit, Who will lead us into all Truth [Jn. 16:7-15].)

²⁵But you, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon you, and shall bind you with them, and you shall not go out among them (when under the control of the Holy Spirit [a control which indeed must be freely given], the lips are taught when to be dumb and when to speak):

²⁶And I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth, that you shall be dumb, and shall not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. (For they are a rebellious house, implied that his subjects were far more rebellious than he realized, and he must have the absolute leading of the Spirit in all action of Ministry. As well, the Lord had other things He wanted to do with the Prophet before he began his preaching Ministry, as the next two Chapters will affirm.)

²⁷But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; He who hears, let him hear; and he who forbears, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house. (These Passages proclaim the manner of operation regarding the imparting of the Word to the hearer by the Holy Spirit. It is done by the messenger proclaiming the Message, and the subject hearing what is proclaimed [Rom. 10:17].)