Ezekiel 3:16–27 (ESV) —
16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”
22 And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face. 24 But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.
NOTE: I'm not sure I completely understand the context. Ezekiel is called to be a prophet and then rendered mute for 6-7 years. Verse 27 seems to suggest that Ezekiel could only speak immediately after God spoke to him. That would make more sense. And then 7 years later, after the destruction of Jerusalem, he would speak freely again. He is confined to his house. And at least initially, he is bound. I believe it is both literal and figurative. I think literally he was bound at first to show the message, and then figuratively he was bound to his house to show the message (Israel's sin from refusing to listen). Apparently, Jesus' use of the term, "he who has ears to hear, let him hear" is similar to the phrase God gives Ezekiel, "he who will hear, let him hear." I like the second part of the phrase, "he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house." When Jesus used the first part of the phrase, most Jews would have known who he was quoting and what the second part of the phrase said. We have a choice, we can hear and do (which is really what the it means) or we can refuse to listen to God. The option of hearing and not doing is the same as not hearing and the only person deceived is ourselves (James 1:22 (ESV) — But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.)
PONDER:
- How am I at "doing" the word?
- For some, the first step is regularly hearing -- am I regularly in the word of God so that I am available to hear?
PRAYER: Father, when you speak, help me to hear. I want to be a doer of the word. I see my failures in my interactions with others. Give me strength to do the right thing and to behave in a manner consistent with what you have told me in the scriptures.
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