1 Moreover He said unto me, "Son of man, eat that thou find; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel."
Ezekiel was to eat the Word of God. We can’t share God’s Word with others unless we have consumed it ourselves. Not literally eating the physical Bible, of course. But reading and studying it until it becomes a part of us.
2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll.
3 And He said unto me, "Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee." Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
God’s Word is sweet to our souls if we love Him, even if the message is bitter.
4 And He said unto me, "Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with My words unto them.
5 "For thou are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;"
Sometimes I think it would be easier to be sent to a foreign land instead of our own country. “A prophet is not without honor, [except] in his own country, and in his own house.” Matthew 13:57 But like most of us, Ezekiel was called to preach to his own people.
6 "Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee."
Foreign missionaries often say it is easier to get people to listen in other countries while our own nation is hard headed and hard of hearing. Ancient Israel was the same.
7 "But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto Me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted."
How would you like God to call you to a work and tell you right off it won’t succeed?
Notice, God is calling those in Judah Israel. The nation named Israel was destroyed about a hundred years before this time. In God’s eyes, though, both Israel and Judah were the same people.
8 "Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads."
You’re going to butt heads.
9 "As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house."
God made Ezekiel harder headed than the rest of Israel.
10 Moreover He said unto me, "Son of man, all My words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears."
Pay attention.
11 "And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord God;' whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear."
Again, Say what I tell you to say, even if they don’t listen to you.Their response to your message isn't your responsibility. Your obedience is.
12 Then 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."
When we follow God, we see and hear His Glory.
13 I 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.
14 So 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.
Sounds like Ezekiel didn’t really want to go, and who can blame him? He knows from the start that his work won’t succeed. He knows he is going to have problems with Israel. But God insists.
15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
Since Ezekiel actually started at the River Chebar, he probably never physically left it, but has just come back to awareness after his vision.
Telabib was a major settlement of Jews in Babylon.
He is astonished at what he has seen and what God has called him to.
16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
After seven days of speechless astonishment…
17 "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me."
God has a specific job for Ezekiel to do. In fact, He has a job for each of us.
18 "When I say unto the wicked, 'Thou shall surely die;' and thou 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 thine hand."
Those who choose wickedness will be wicked no matter what, but if God tells someone to warn them and that someone keeps silent, the wicked person’s trip to hell is the (non)speaker’s fault. He will be punished for his disobedience. Since disobedience of God is a sin, the (non)speaker is in danger of hell himself.
19 "Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou have delivered thy soul."
The way the Called of God saves his own soul is for him to speak what God tells him to whether he thinks the hearer will listen or not.
20 "Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou 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 thine hand."
This scripture clearly teaches that it is possible to backslide; to lose your salvation.
A person who serves God who decides to start sinning will go to hell (die forever). If God’s speaker does not warn him, then he will join the sinner.
21 "Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou have delivered thy soul."
This is obviously not just speaking about physical death. We are all subject to that fate because of Adam’s sin no matter how good of a life we lead.
“But a righteous man will surely live and an obedient man hast delivered thy soul.” We obtain eternal life through obedience to God and eternal death through disobedience. Obeying God means recognizing that we are all sinners deserving of Hell, and that we accept the salvation He provided through Jesus Christ, and QUIT SINNING.
22 And 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 thee."
God wants Ezekiel to change locations so He can give him further instructions.
23 Then 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.
Ezekiel obeyed and saw the vision of God again.
24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spoke with me, and said unto me, "Go, shut thyself within thine house."
God sent him home again.
25 "But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shall not go out among them:"
We have no record of the Jews ever touching Ezekiel, much less tying him up. However there were bands of a sort put on Ezekiel. Whether this is speaking of the restrictions on his ministry because they refused to listen or the physical restrictions God put on him, Ezekiel was most certainly bound.
26 "And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shall be dumb, and shall not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house."
God tied Ezekiel’s tongue so that he could only speak when prophesying. This will keep him out of arguments and keep him from saying things at the wrong time.
I am quite sure Ezekiel was viewed as a nutcase after this. One day he was perfectly normal, the next he only occasionally spoke and then only in prophesy.
27 "But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shall say unto them, 'Thus says the Lord God;' He that hears, let him hear; and he that forbears, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.
Not everyone will listen. In fact, most did not.