A Watchman

At the beginning of this scene, the Lord established Ezekiel as a “watchman” for the Israelites. “Ezekiel had already been commissioned as a ‘watchman’ (Ezek. 3:17), but God renewed this commission because Ezekiel’s message was being changed to one of future cleansing of the people and hope for their return to Jerusalem.”¹ A watchman was someone who watched over others or guarded.

Reviewing Ezekiel chapters 3 and 18 provides helpful background for this chapter, as Ezekiel wrote about similar concepts (often with the same words).

In verse 6, we read the first of half a dozen words Ezekiel used to describe Israel’s sinfulness that caused such judgment. Together, they convey the depravity that led to Jerusalem’s judgment. The city’s demise came about as a result of sin, iniquity, evil, guilt, punishment, rebellion, transgressions, missing God’s holy standard, injustice, unrighteousness, and deviating from the right to do wrong.

Read Ezekiel 33:1-6.

• When the Lord brought judgment against a people, they chose a man as their watchman.
• His job was to blow the trumpet and warn the people of God’s sword coming against the land, the “coming judgment for sin.”²
• The trumpet call would serve as a warning.
• The call was to actively listen to someone.
• Those who chose not to heed the warning would have only themselves to blame.
• If the watchman did not blow the trumpet in warning, he would be held accountable if someone died for their sin.

Why do you think God provided a watchman for the people?

How might God call us to be a watchman to one or more people in our life?

Read Ezekiel 33:7-9.

• The Lord made Ezekiel watchman for Israel and called him to hear God’s words of warning.
• God gave Ezekiel the job of speaking out to convince the wicked to turn away from their sinful ways.
• When the wicked died for their sin, God would hold Ezekiel responsible if he did not speak out in warning.
• If Ezekiel warned the people, those who died for their sin would be responsible for their own demise.
• This echoes the individual responsibility God described in Ezekiel chapters 3 and 18.

How might Ezekiel have reacted to his God-given role of watchman?

 Read Ezekiel 33:10-11.

• God told Ezekiel to remind Israel they said their sins weighed them down and they were wasting away, or rotting and decomposing in exile.³
• When they asked how they could live, God told Ezekiel what to say.
• The Lord declared he took no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
• God’s desire was that they would turn from their evil ways, repent, and live.
• We hear the Lord’s lament, “Why will you choose to die, Israel?”
• Peter expressed God’s perspective this way,

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Why does God want all his people to live?

What do these verses reveal about God’s character?

 Read Ezekiel 33:12-16.

• In these verses, God once again described his philosophy of individual righteousness and responsibility.
• In Ezekiel chapter 18, God “punishes the guilty in the hope of restoring the relationship and forgiving the transgressors who repent.”⁴
• If a righteous man disobeys the Lord, his “righteousness” alone will not save him.
• If an unrighteous man turns from his wicked ways, his prior “wickedness” won’t cause him to fall.
• If a so-called righteous person trusted in his righteousness alone and chose to do evil, assuming he would be saved on his merit alone, God would not honor that.
• Harsh as it sounds, the principle holds throughout Scripture.

“But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners” (Romans 4:5, NLT).

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

• If a wicked man has been declared dead in his sin, and turns away from evil to do what is just and right, he will live. His repentance must be followed through with action.
• In chapter 18, God included confession as part of repentance and turning away from sin.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10 NASB).

How would you paraphrase God’s philosophy of individual responsibility?

How would you explain the balance of God’s justice and mercy to a friend who’s an unbeliever?

How do you envision the role of confession in the Christian community today?

Read Ezekiel 33:17-20.

• God accused Israel of claiming the Lord was unjust because they judged their fellow man.
• The Lord declared he would do the judging, according to what he saw in their intentions and how they lived their lives.
• Those who are wicked and repent, turning away from unrighteousness, will live.
• God’s repeated message emphasizes his mercy to those who will hear.
• In the same way, the repeated message also emphasizes God’s judgment for those who place their trust solely in outward deeds of “righteousness.”

Why might God have repeated his teaching on individual righteousness nearly word for word from chapter 18?

From my observations, this is the third time the Lord and Ezekiel discussed these concepts (chapter 3, 18, and 33). Effective teachers reword and present important ideas more than once to make sure those who listen remember. In this first half of the chapter, God clearly reveals his mercy as well as his justice. Next week we’ll finish reading the chapter, where Ezekiel emphasized God’s judgment, although God also offered a reassuring thought to his prophet.

 

1. Warren Baker, D.R.E. The Complete Word Study Old Testament. King James Version. AMG Publishers, 1994, p. 2046
2. Warren Baker, D.R.E., Eugene Carpenter, Ph.D. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 283
3. Ibid., 662
4. Ibid., 927