Ezekiel 3:16-27

content/bible_journal/ezekiel_3:16-27.md

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+title = "Ezekiel 3:16–27"
+date = "2023-03-09"
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+
+### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel3.16-27)
+
+After a week of being overwhelmed by the vision he had seen, the Lord speaks to
+Ezekiel again to give him a warning and a charge. Whenever the word of the Lord
+comes to Ezekiel, he is to speak it to the people so that they are warned of
+the judgement that will come because of their sinful ways. The warning to
+Ezekiel is that he is like a watchman over a city, and if he does not warn the
+people of the danger he sees, he is culpable for the destruction that occurs.
+If, after he warns them, the people do not listen and they perish, Ezekiel is
+not guilty, because he did what he was supposed to do. Two scenarios are given,
+showcasing a wicked person and a righteous person hearing Ezekiel's message. In
+both cases Ezekiel's duty is clear and the person who sins is the one who is
+judged.
+
+The Lord then commands Ezekiel to have a face-to-face conversation in the
+valley nearby. Ezekiel again sees the glory of the Lord that he had seen
+previously, and again falls on his face. But the Lord lifts him up in order to
+tell him how his prophetic ministry shall go. Ezekiel will become a mute
+hermit, shut up in his house, only able to speak the words the Lord gives him.
+He will be unable to reprove the people beyond telling them the prophecies that
+God has declared against them. Apparently, he can't even go out among the
+people to tell them the message he has been given.
+
+Let this be a reminder that God's ways are higher than our ways. Most of us
+would think God would want Ezekiel to tell as many people as possible the
+things He has to say to them. Indeed, that is the strategy employed at other
+times and places, such as when Jesus sent out the twelve and seventy-two to
+proclaim the kingdom of God. This time, it seems, God's purpose is not to
+change anyone's mind with the message, but to be a proof of His holiness and
+sovereignty to future generations. The people eventually notice that Ezekiel
+doesn't come of out of his house, and he only speaks when he has a word from
+the Lord to tell them. Eventually, everyone realizes that he is a true prophet
+of God when the things he predicts come true. But of course, that means the
+judgements have fallen already.
+
+* * *
+
+Let us be faithful to the calling You have given us, and may Your Name be
+glorified.