Ezekiel 3:16-27 Israel’s Watchman
Ezekiel is given the job of being Israel’s watchman. He is to warn the people of the danger coming. It is not his job to ensure they heed the warnings, but to give them faithfully.
When I first saw the heading for this section, I saw a picture of a person standing on a high tower. He was diligently looking all around so he could identify trouble BEFORE it got to the door of the house. I don’t have the greatest of eyesight so this wouldn’t be a job I would be well suited for, in the natural world.
There are a few things that are important in this job, besides eyesight. The first is diligence. If the watchman gets ‘bored’ and quits searching the area, trouble could be on him before he could react. The second is integrity. The reports of the watchman HAVE to be accurate. No ‘stretching the truth’ of thinking ‘it’s not important’ allowed. A lying watchman is a danger to those he serves. If in doubt, remember the story of the boy who cried wolf. The third would be insight. The watchman has to determine what the ‘signs’ he sees means. He needs to know when to raise an alarm and when to call for the gates to be opened. He has to be familiar enough with the goings on in his surrounding to ensure that he doesn’t raise the alarm when there is really no danger. My dogs could use a few lessons in this!
The watchman is not the ONLY line of defense. He warns the people of trouble coming but the people have to LISTEN and RESPOND appropriately. A faithful watchman will inspire the people to heed his words and take appropriate action. The hearer has to understand the alarm that is being raised and know the appropriate action to take. You wouldn’t start a ‘water brigade’ to deal with a thief.
God sets Ezekiel up to be the watchman for Israel. This is a CRUCIAL job and one of utmost seriousness. Ezekiel can have no other distractions. In fact, God wants Ezekiel to remain quiet and secluded until he is needed to deliver a warning for Him. God ‘bound him up’ body and mouth in his own home to save him for the time when He would speak through Ezekiel. I wonder if God made Ezekiel mute like he would do with Zacheriah in the Temple before the birth of John the Baptist.
God also told Ezekiel that he was responsible for sharing His warnings. He was SO for sharing God’s warnings that God said, if he failed to warn those God directed him to, THEIR blood would be required of him. He would be guilty of condemning another to hell if he kept God’s warning message to himself. He would bring the weight of their sins upon himself IF he didn’t warn them. The same guilt a watchman who failed to raise the alarm would face.
No matter how hard Ezekiel tried to warn the people, God KNEW that the people would mostly ignore him. Many would not want to hear the truth. Others wouldn’t understand. Still others would think themselves not worthy of God’s intervention. “Surely, He doesn’t mean me! My sins are too great to be forgiven!!!” It is the individual’s choice to obey the Lord; AFTER they have been told. “The ball is in their court.”
Ezekiel was moved around by the Spirit of the Lord on more than one occasion. Twice it was to stand him on his feet so God could have a heart – to – heart with him. When confronted with God’s glory each time, Ezekiel did what one would expect; he fell on his face. God didn’t let him stay there. He wanted Ezekiel’s full attention on Him so he would be sure to understand God’s instructions and the seriousness of his call. God’s Spirit also moved Ezekiel from place to place. Both times, at the end of his encounter with the glory of the Lord, the Spirit moved him to a specific place. And in both places he waited. The first waiting was so Ezekiel could process what had just happened. The second waiting was for God to have a message He wanted delivered. Only then would ‘the cords’ on Ezekiel fall away.
When my ex-husband was in Basic Training in the army, he rarely spoke. It was simply not his personality to make small talk. When he did speak it was always on an important issue. Another recruit once said, “When Reynolds speaks, you BETTER listen because it is IMPORTANT!” This was how Ezekiel would be because of the constraints that God placed on him. Ezekiel wasn’t someone you would see out having fun and hanging out with others. When he became visible and spoke it was a NOTABLE event and the people BETTER listen!
We aren’t ‘bound up in cords’ like Ezekiel was but we are just as responsible to speak when God tells us to. If He tells us to warn someone, we NEED to do it! But I can promise you that He is NOT calling us to ‘stand on a soapbox’ and beat everyone over the head with our interpretation of His word. I’m speaking of the times when He puts in your spirit a specific word for a certain person, group, or time/event. Those messages HAVE to get out! They have life and death consequences attached to them for BOTH the messenger and the recipient.
Father God, You know there have been times when I was afraid to speak. Afraid that I was hearing my own thoughts instead of Yours. Afraid I would ‘mess up’ the delivery of the message. And, yes, afraid of what people might think about me. I don’t want to be afraid any more. I want to KNOW when it is Your Spirit calling me to ‘be the watchman’. I’m going to be listening very closely to Ezekiel to hear what You have to say to me.
