The Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel. It was for their good but they abused the goodness of God. In fact, after the Lord raised them up as a nation, a “cedar”, they spoke about the sins of those around them in Ezekiel 16:56 “And was not Sodom, your sister, a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride”.

Then, they, the house of Israel became worse than the nations they had driven out of their promised land. But the Lord is faithful and says in Ezekiel 16:60 “And I, I will remember my covenant … and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant”. The Lord will restore them, the house of Israel, and their sisters Sodom and Samaria.

Here is the surprising statement in:

Ezekiel 16:61 “And you will remember your ways, and you will be ashamed when you take your sisters.

Though God forgives us in Isaiah 1:18 “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white like snow” and the Lord will not remember our sins Hebrews 8:12 “For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings, and I will not remember their sins any longer” and no one will condemn us for our sin in Romans 8:1 “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. There may be things we have done that we will remember, things we know we will never do again. 

I Entered Into a Covenant With You

Ezekiel 16:1–10
The Lord reminds in Ezekiel 16:2 “the house of Israel” of their beginnings. They are a “cedar” in Ezekiel 17 (a cedar tree is used to describe the greatness of Assyria in Ezekiel 31:2-10) but that was not where they started.

Ezekiel 16:3 “Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites”

The land of the Canaanites is sometimes translated “a land of trade”. Compare,

Ezekiel 17:4 (LEB) “to the land of Canaan and put it in a city of merchants”

Ezekiel 17:4 (ESV) “to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants”

And these Canaanites were the very people the Lord had driven out as the children of Israel came into their promised land so, “The emphasis on Jerusalem’s Canaanite ancestry would have been insulting to Ezekiel’s Israelite audience”.¹

The house of Israel began through the covenant with Abram, but they struggled to grow as a nation until the Lord brought them out of Egypt and planted them in their own land. 

You Became Exceedingly Beautiful

Ezekiel 16:11–20
Through Ezekiel 16:11-13 the nation of Israel grew as the Lord raised her up “fit to be a queen” and in

Ezekiel 16:14 “And a name went out for you among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect because of my majesty that I bestowed on you,’ declares the Lord Yahweh”.

But rather than trust in the Lord, the nation “trusted in your beauty” in Ezekiel 16:15 and gave themselves to “every one passing by”. Then in Ezekiel 16:17-20 the nation takes everything the Lord had given them, including their children, and “prostituted with them (every on passing by)”.

You Slaughtered My Children

Ezekiel 16:21–30

You Gave Your Gifts to All of Your Lovers

Ezekiel 16:31–40

You Behaved More Corruptly Than They

Ezekiel 16:41–49 

I Will Establish With You An Everlasting Covenant

Ezekiel 16:50–63
The Lord measures the sin of the house of Israel in Ezekiel 16:51 “Samaria did not sin according to even half of your sins … and you made your sister righteous in comparison with all of your detestable things that you did. But then the Lord says he will restore in

Ezekiel 16:55 “And as for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, they will return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters, they will return to their former state, and you and your daughters will return to your former state”.

And the Lord does this because he is faithful in

Ezekiel 16:60 “And I, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant”.

but here, they will remember all they have done and all they have said against those that the Lord will give them in

Ezekiel 16:61 “And you will remember your ways, and you will be ashamed when you take your sisters, both the older and the younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of your covenant”.

He Plucked the Top

Ezekiel 17:1–10

Study Verses

• Ezekiel 16:1–10 I Entered Into a Covenant With You
• Ezekiel 16:11–20 You Became Exceedingly Beautiful
• Ezekiel 16:50–63 I Will Establish With You An Everlasting Covenant

Today’s Reading

• Ezekiel 16:1-64
• Ezekiel 17:1-10

---

References

• 1. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Eze 16:3). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

The people of Israel had a saying, a proverb, in Ezekiel 12:22 ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision has come to nothing.’ but this wasn’t because the Lord’s word was not true. It is because of the false prophets described in Ezekiel 13:2 “who are prophets out of their own imagination”. A prophet is accountable to the Lord and to the people but the Lord says of these in Ezekiel 13:5 “You did not go up into the breaches and repair”. Because these usurped the role of the prophet, sin continued and grew worse in the land until the people lost faith and said “every vision has come to nothing”. And now, the Lord reminds them in Ezekiel 14:13 “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting very unfaithfully, then I will stretch out my hand against it”.

In the Midst of the House of Rebellion

Ezekiel 12:1–13 

I Will Speak a Word and I Will Fulfill It!

Ezekiel 12:14–28
The Lord asks in Ezekiel 12:22 “what is the proverb you people have” but he doesn’t wait for an answer, . The Lord quotes their proverb “‘The days are prolonged, and every vision has come to nothing.’” Then the Lord answers this proverb and tells the prophet to say this in Ezekiel 12:23 “I will put an end to this proverb, and they will not quote it as a proverb again in Israel.” and the Lord goes on and says tell them that “The days are near, and also the word of every vision.”

But now we come to the problem, and the reason that people have taken up this proverb that “every vision comes to nothing”, it is the false prophets in

Ezekiel 12:24 “For there will not be any longer any false vision or flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel”.

Then the Lord tells the prophet to tell them the Lords decree in Ezekiel 12:28 “None of my words will be prolonged any longer that I speak as a word, and it will be fulfilled!” 

To Those Who Are Prophets Out of Their Own Imagination

Ezekiel 13:1–12
The Lord speaks to the false prophets in

Ezekiel 13:2 “Son of man, prophesy to the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and you must say to those who are prophets out of their own imagination, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh!’

and here the charge against them is in

Ezekiel 13:5 “You did not go up into the breaches and repair a wall for the house of Israel to stand firm in the battle on the day of Yahweh”.

It is the place of the prophet to turn the people to the Lord “Those who would advise the people to repentance are the restorers of the breach (Ez 22:30; Ps 106:23, 30) … (and) (Ps 80:12; Is 5:2, 5); by violating it (the law of God), the people stripped themselves of the fence of God’s protection … The false prophets did not try to repair the evil by bringing back the people to the law with good counsels, or by checking the bad with reproofs”.¹

You Disheartened the Heart of the Righteous by Deception

Ezekiel 13:13–23

That I May Take Hold of the House of Israel by Their Heart

Ezekiel 14:1–11 

When a Land Sins Against Me

Ezekiel 14:12–23
We are well aware of the natural cycles that occur in creation around us, day and night, summer and winter, seed time and harvest. We know that these are all established by God’s word. But even people that deny God would not think to fight against these, what the world calls, “laws of nature”.

The Lord has also established this law by his word, in

Ezekiel 14:13 “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting very unfaithfully, then I will stretch out my hand against it, and I will break for it the supply of food, and I will send against it famine, and I will cut it off, both human and animal.

And when the supply of food is broken, people fight for their very lives, so much so that even the most righteous “would only save themselves” in

Ezekiel 14:14 “And if even the three of these men were in the midst of it—Noah, Daniel, and Job—they, through their righteousness, would save only themselves!” declares the Lord Yahweh.

Then the Lord goes on to describe four punishments for a land that sins and none but the most righteous are saved in

Ezekiel 14:21 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “How much more when I send my four punishments—the evil sword, and famine, and a fierce animal, and a plague—to Jerusalem to cut it off, both human and animal!

Study Verses

• Ezekiel 12:14–28 I Will Speak a Word and I Will Fulfill It!
• Ezekiel 13:1–12 To Those Who Are Prophets Out of Their Own Imagination
• Ezekiel 14:12–23 When a Land Sins Against Me

Today’s Reading

• Ezekiel 12:1-28
• Ezekiel 13:1-23
• Ezekiel 14:1-23

---

References

• 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 580). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Ezekiel has a vision of the Lords judgement on those remaining in Jerusalem but first, those that have a heart for the Lord are marked so they will be spared. The rest, those described as, in Ezekiel 11:2 “men who devise mischief, and who are offering bad counsel in this city” and the ones who are saying they can take the land now because in Ezekiel 11:15 “the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ‘They are far from Yahweh, therefore to us this land was given as a possession'”, these will all be destroyed by “the punishers” in Ezekiel 9:1. And after this time of cleansing, come the promise in Ezekiel 11:16–17 “Though I have removed them … yet I was a sanctuary to them (in these other lands) for a little while … And I will assemble you from the peoples … and I will give the land of Israel to you”. 

Place A Mark on the Foreheads

Ezekiel 9:1–11
We read in Ezekiel 8:18 the Lord saying “so I will act in rage” and now in Ezekiel 9:1 “They have come near, the punishers”. They are described in Ezekiel 9:2 as “Six men coming” but “The executioners … are clearly to be understood as angels, though they are described as men (2)”.¹

These are “those whom God has appointed to watch over the city, the city-guard (2 Kings 11:18),—not earthly, but heavenly watchmen,—who are now to inflict punishment upon the ungodly, as the authorities appointed by God”.²

There is also in Ezekiel 9:2 “one man was in the midst of them, dressed in linen, and the writing case of the scribe was at his side”. So, the six “Together with the man clothed in linen (a heavenly scribe), the group numbers seven, the perfect number. This is the crew God sends against the idolaters in the city of Jerusalem”.³

This one man has a special role, “In the Old Testament it is the priest who is clothed in linen (Exod. 28:39, 42). And only a priest had the prerogative to handle the holy fire of God”.³

And we recognize his role because “His clothing marked his office as distinct from that of the six officers of vengeance … Salvation is peculiarly assigned to Him, and so He bears the “inkhorn” in order to “mark” His elect (Ez 9:4; compare Ex 12:7; Rev 7:3; 9:4; 20:4), and to write their names in His book of life (Rev 13:8)”.⁴

These, in Ezekiel 9:2 “came and stood beside the bronze altar”. This is the place where people came to offer the sacrifice to atone for their sin. There was no approach to God except through this altar. But here, the people have not come for atonement. Now, judgement is sent out in Ezekiel 9:4 “through the midst of the city”.

In many places, the Lord talks about judgement against the nation, but he is also a just judge of every person and in Ezekiel 9:4 the Lord says “you must place a mark on the foreheads of the men who are groaning and lamenting about all of the detestable things that are being done”. Every person that has a heart for God’s righteousness is marked so that in Ezekiel 9:10 the reading would be, “Heb “their way on their head I have placed.” The same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 8:32; Ezek 11:21; 16:43; 22:31”.⁵

Fill the Hollow of Your Hands With Coals of Fire

Ezekiel 10:1–11
After the judgement against the people, there is a second action, a cleansing by fire in Ezekiel 10:2 “fill the hollow of your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and toss them on the city.”

The Glory of Yahweh (the Lord) Went Out

Ezekiel 10:12–22
The place of meeting the Lord was to have been the mercy seat above the ark of the covenant. Here, we see a departure where the glory of the Lord, in Ezekiel 10:18 “went out from the threshold of the temple, and it stood above the cherubim” and then in Ezekiel 10:19 “the cherubim lifted up their wings, and they rose from the earth before my eyes … and the glory of the God of Israel was over them”. 

You Will Know That I Am Yahweh (the Lord)

Ezekiel 11:1–13
Ezekiel is still experiencing a vision and the Lord is showing him more about the twenty-five men in the city of Jerusalem at the Eastern gate in Ezekiel 11:1 “the commanders of the people”. These are “The same as the twenty-five (that is, twenty-four heads of courses, and the high priest) sun-worshippers seen in Ez 8:16”.⁶

It is simple enough for us to understand “mischief” and “bad counsel” in

Ezekiel 11:2 “And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise mischief, and who are offering bad counsel in this city”

but these two statements in Ezekiel 11:3 are lost in translation:

– “the building of houses is not near” is to say the captivity won’t last, which is directly contrary to Jeremiah’s letter to the captives, among whom Ezekiel lived (Je 29:5). “Build ye houses, and dwell in them,” that is, do not fancy, as many persuade you, that your sojourn in Babylon is to be short; it will be for seventy years (Je 25:11, 12; 29:10);⁶

– “the city is the pot, and we are the flesh” is “sneering at Je 1:13, when he compared the city to a caldron with its mouth towards the north … (and these men say of the city) its fortifications will secure us from the flame of war outside; the city must stand for our sakes, just as the pot exists for the safety of the flesh in it”.⁶

But the Lord says in

Ezekiel 11:11 “It (the city) will not be as a pot to you, and so you would be in the midst of it as flesh, for at the border of Israel I will judge you”.

Those who are left behind will be removed and destroyed. And in confirmation of this vision, one of the men that was called out in Ezekiel 11:1 “Pelatiah”, it says in in Ezekiel 11:13 “as I was prophesying, Pelatiahu the son of Benaiahu died!” 

I Will Assemble You, I Will Give the Land of Israel to You

Ezekiel 11:14–25
Finally, in Ezekiel 11:14 “And the word of Yahweh (the Lord) came to me saying” and we hear that the people left behind in the land have been saying in Ezekiel 11:15 “the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ‘They are far from Yahweh, therefore to us this land was given as a possession'”. These are saying, we have a windfall at their expense. They are saying the land is ours to possess. But the Lord says no to them and promises restoration to the exiles in

Ezekiel 11:16–17 “Though I have removed them … yet I was a sanctuary to them for a little while … And I will assemble you from the peoples, and I will gather you … and I will give the land of Israel to you.

And at their return, everything will be different. In Ezekiel 11:18 “they will remove all of its vile idols and all of its detestable things” and in Ezekiel 11:19 “I will give to them one heart, and a new spirit … I will give to them a heart of flesh” and in

Ezekiel 11:20 “so that they may walk in my statutes, and they will keep my regulations, and they will do them, and they will be to me a people, and I myself will be to them as God”.

Study Verses

• Ezekiel 9:1–11 Place A Mark on the Foreheads
• Ezekiel 11:1–13 You Will Know That I Am Yahweh (the Lord)
• Ezekiel 11:14–25 I Will Assemble You, I Will Give the Land of Israel to You

Today’s Reading

• Ezekiel 9:1-11
• Ezekiel 10:1-22
• Ezekiel 11:1-25

---

References

• 1. Taylor, J. B. (1969). Ezekiel: an Introduction and commentary (Vol. 22, pp. 102–103). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• 2. Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 9, p. 74). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
• 3. Hamilton, V. P. (1995). Ezekiel. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 568). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
• 4. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 576). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
• 5. Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Eze 9:10). Biblical Studies Press.
• 6. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 578). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Lord speaks to the land, just as he has spoken to the people and says in Ezekiel 6:3 “Look, I am bringing upon you the sword”. This is a cleansing of the land from idol worship. As the exiled leaders gather, it seems to inquire of the Lord through Ezekiel, the Lord exposes the idol worship that has been going on, even among “the elders of the house of Israel”. But as detestable as these things are to the Lord, the final indictment is in Ezekiel 8:17 “they have filled up the land with violence”. 

Mountains of Israel, Hear the Word of the Lord

Ezekiel 6:1–7
The Lord has not only spoken to the people to warn them and to Nebuchadnezzer to raise him up for judgement against the nation, but also to the land itself. This was part of the covenant and “The whole landscape has been defiled by idol-worship. There are pagan altars on the `high places’ (hilltops or platforms) and incense-burning and immoral rites under green trees (pagan symbols of fertility) … The sites where the Baal-gods have been worshipped will be littered with corpses (6:5), and the survivors will be scattered to other countries (6:8)”.¹ but now, the Lord will break idol worship off the land and in

Leviticus 26:34 “Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of its lying desolate, and you shall be in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest, and it shall enjoy its Sabbaths”.

Clap Your Hand Stamp Your Foot Say Alas

Ezekiel 6:8–14

The End Comes on the Four Corners of the Land

Ezekiel 7:1–9

Violence has Grown to a Staff of Wickedness

Ezekiel 7:10–19

The Worst of the Nations Will Take Possession

Ezekiel 7:20–27 

Do You See What They are Doing

Ezekiel 8:1–9
Look at the setting here in Ezekiel 8:1 “I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me. And the hand of the Lord Yahweh fell on me there”. Ezekiel is in his house. The elders of Judah are sitting in front of him. But these are the elders in exile as Ezekiel is and not those left behind in Jerusalem. The reason for this meeting isn’t stated, but “He held a prominent place among the exiles, and was frequently consulted by the elders (8:1; 11:25; 14:1; 20:1). His ministry extended over twenty-three years (29:17), B.C. 595–573, during part of which he was contemporary with Daniel (14:14; 28:3) and Jeremiah, and probably also with Obadiah”.² and “it is more than likely that the elders, having come to question him about a matter, even perhaps about the state of affairs in Jerusalem, were sitting with him awaiting his reply”.³

The Lord responds in Ezekiel 8:1 “the hand of the Lord Yahweh fell on me there” and in Ezekiel 8:3 “the Spirit lifted me between earth and heaven, and it brought me to Jerusalem in visions of God to the doorway of the inner gate … there was the seat of the image of jealousy”. And the Lord said in Ezekiel 8:6 “Do you see what they are doing … so as to drive me from my sanctuary”. This seems to be historic context that Ezekiel would have already known because “While idolatry abounds throughout Israel’s history only one person (Manasseh) had the audacity to place an idol in the temple (see 2 Kings 21:7). Second Kings 23:6, however, tells us that Josiah (who is pre-Ezekiel) destroyed this idol”.⁴

But now the Lord is revealing hidden things, in Ezekiel 8:7-8 “he brought me to the doorway of the courtyard … A hole in the wall … And he said … dig now through the wall … and look! There was a doorway”. 

You Will See Again Greater Detestable Things

Ezekiel 8:10–18
The Lord showed Ezekiel the things that were happening in Israel behind closed doors, each more detestable than the last as he repeats “you will see again greater detestable things”.

This began with “the idol that provokes to jealousy” back in Ezekiel 8:3 and turns to what people are doing. And we find in Ezekiel 8:10 a meeting place for all of the leaders that was adorned with images but “These engravings were prohibited in the Mosaic law (Deut 4:16–18)”.⁵

And in this room were the elders in Ezekiel 8:11 there are “seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel” each of them involved with “his censer in his hand”. This “number of elders signifies the upper level of leadership in Israel (compare Moses’ selection of 70 elders in Num 11:24 and the presence of 70 elders in Exod 24:1)”.⁶

And it goes on to describe each doing their own rituals to their own idol in Ezekiel 8:12 “in the dark, each in the inner rooms of his idol, for they are saying, ‘Yahweh is not seeing us; Yahweh has abandoned the land.’ ” but the Lord is seeing.

The Lord takes him to another location, in Ezekiel 8:14 “to the doorway of the gate of the house of Yahweh that is toward the north, and look! There were the women sitting weeping for Tammuz”. Which doesn’t register with any meaning for us. However, it is said that Tammuz is “the divine representation of the life cycle of crops and therefore a vegetation deity (Langdon 1914: 114). It was held that the god died with the plants and rose again when they reappeared the next season; the cult … was found with assorted names given for the Tammuz deity from Egypt (Osiris) through Palestine (Eshmun) into Greece (Adonis)”.⁷

Then, there are in Ezekiel 8:16 “about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of Yahweh and their faces toward the east, and they were bowing down toward the east before the sun”. In their culture, “Turning their backs shows great disrespect to Yahweh”.⁸

The Lord had said in Deut 4:19 “do not lift your eyes toward heaven and observe the sun”. But “Sun-worship came from the Persians, who made the sun the eye of their god Ormuzd. It existed as early as Job (Job 31:26; compare De 4:19)”.⁹

Now we come to the last thing, and the Lord reveals in Ezekiel 8:17 “Was it too small a thing for the house of Judah to do the detestable things that they did here? For they have filled up the land with violence”. All of their idol worship was bad enough, but on top of that is the violence which is here repeated from Ezekiel 7:11 “Violence has grown to become a staff of wickedness”.

Study Verses

• Ezekiel 6:1–7 Mountains of Israel, Hear the Word of the Lord
• Ezekiel 8:1–9 Do You See What They are Doing
• Ezekiel 8:10–18 You Will See Again Greater Detestable Things

Today’s Reading

• Ezekiel 6:1-14
• Ezekiel 7:1-27
• Ezekiel 8:1-18

---

References

• 1. Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., p. 326). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
• 2. Easton, M. G. (1893). In Easton’s Bible dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.
• 3. Taylor, J. B. (1969). Ezekiel: an Introduction and commentary (Vol. 22, p. 97). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• 4. Hamilton, V. P. (1995). Ezekiel. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 567). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
• 5. Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Eze 8:7–10). Biblical Studies Press.
• 6. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Eze 8:11). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
• 7. Handy, L. K. (1992). Tammuz (Deity). In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 6, p. 318). New York: Doubleday.
• 8. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Eze 8:16). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
• 9. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 575). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

We live under a new covenant through Jesus Christ but there is still a great lesson for us from Ezekiel 3:1 “Eat this scroll, and go, speak”. We must first learn of the Lord as it says in 1 Peter 2:2 “like newborn infants long for the unadulterated spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation” until we are ready to speak for him in Ephesians 4:13 “until we all reach the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to a measure of the maturity of the fullness of Christ”. And, there is armor for us that includes “the preparation of the good news of peace” in Ephesians 6:10-19. There is also though, an urgency even now in our generation to speak as watchmen as it says in Jude 23 “and save others by snatching them from the fire, and have mercy on others with fear, hating even the tunic stained by the flesh”. This command in Ezekiel 3:17 “When you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me”, I believe is also true today for us today who are born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. We must tell them even if they don’t listen. 

Speak to the House of Israel

Ezekiel 3:1–7
The word of God is not naturally in us. We must learn as it says in

Ephesians 4:20–24 “But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard about him, and you were taught by him … be renewed in the spirit of your mind … and put on the new man (in accordance with God), who is created in righteousness and holiness from the truth”.

In Ezekiel’s day, there weren’t the same writings we have today. Jesus Christ had not come yet. The Holy Spirit had not been poured out yet. So, the Lord had to give his words to Ezekiel as it says in

Ezekiel 3:1 ‘And he said to me, “Son of man, what you find, eat! Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”’

First, Ezekiel had to be prepared by filling himself with God’s word. He was called as a prophet. “The first time the word “prophet” appears in the OT it is used of Abraham as a man of prayer (Gn 20:7; cf. Jer 7:10; 11:14; 14:11), that is, a person brought into communion with God. Amos claimed such an experience of fellowship for prophets (Am 3:7, literally “He opens his fellowship to his servants the prophets”); Jeremiah uses the same word when he claims that true prophets stand in the “council” (or “counsel” or “fellowship”) of the Lord (Jer 23:18, 22)”.¹ 

The Hand of Yahweh Was Strong on Me

Ezekiel 3:8–15
The Lord holds us accountable for what we do and not for what others do. But we are human, we are emotional beings, we are social beings and we want to be accepted by others. So, the Lord prepared Ezekiel by hardening his face and forehead in Ezekiel 3:8-9 “your forehead hard … like a diamond, harder than flint”.

Now that Ezekiel is prepared to face the people, in

Ezekiel 3:10-11 ‘And he said to me, “Son of man, all of my words that I shall speak to you, receive into your heart and hear with your ears 11 and come, go to the exiles, to the children of your people, and you must speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh!’”.

The Lord calls Ezekiel “son of man”, a term also used of Jesus to describe one who understands our feelings, our weaknesses who is able to be a mediator between us and God. Then the Lord says receive everything I say. And, finally the Lord says tell “your people”. In Deuteronomy 26:17 they were to be the Lords people but here in Ezekiel 3:9 “they are a rebellious house”.

After Ezekiel has this vision and understands what the Lord had for him to say, he could not speak for seven days in Ezekiel 3:15. 

I Have Appointed You as a Watchman

Ezekiel 3:16–27
But the Lord isn’t finished with Ezekiel. There is an accountability that comes with being the spokesman for the Lord and he says in

Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me”.

If Ezekiel does not warn them, in Ezekiel 3:18 “from your hand I will seek his blood”. This is not simply a message to the nation, but it is an accountability to watch, to notice and to speak personally, individually, to the “wicked … turn from wickedness” and “when the righteous … does injustice … warn him”.

You Will Carry Their Guilt

Ezekiel 4:1–8

Thus Shall the Israelites Eat Their Unclean Food

Ezekiel 4:9–17

I Will Execute Judgment in the Midst of You

Ezekiel 5:1–9

Because You Have Defiled My Sanctuary

Ezekiel 5:10–17

Study Verses

• Ezekiel 3:1–7 Speak to the House of Israel
• Ezekiel 3:8–15 The Hand of Yahweh Was Strong on Me
• Ezekiel 3:16–27 I Have Appointed You as a Watchman

Today’s Reading

• Ezekiel 3:1-27
• Ezekiel 4:1-17
• Ezekiel 5:1-17

---

References

• 1. Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Prophet, Prophetess. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1782). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.