Ezekiel 3:27 Komentář

In this chapter we have the further preparation of the prophet for the work to which God called him. I. His eating the roll that was presented to him in the close of the foregoing chapter (Eze 3:1-3). II. Further instructions and encouragements given him to the same purport with those in the foregoing chapter (Eze 3:4-11). III. The mighty impulse he was under, with which he was carried to those that were to be his hearers (Eze 3:12-15). IV. A further explication of his office and business as a prophet, under the similitude of a watchman (Eze 3:16-21). V. The restraining and restoring of the prophet's liberty of speech, as God pleased (Eze 3:22-27).

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 3 This chapter contains a further account of the prophet's call and mission; of his preparation of him for is work; of, the persons to whom he was sent; of what happened to him upon this; of the nature of his office, and the work of it; and of what followed upon the renewal of his call. His further preparation for prophesying is in Eze 3:1; where he is bid to eat the roll showed him, which he did, and found it in his mouth as honey for sweetness; and then he receives fresh orders to go to the people of Israel, and prophesy to them, Eze 3:4; and, that he might not be discouraged, an account is given beforehand of the people to whom he was sent; of their language, behaviour, and disposition; by which he could not expect success, Eze 3:5; and, for his further encouragement, strength, boldness, resolution, firmness, and presence of mind, are promised him, Eze 3:8; also a revelation of mere things to him; all which he should hear, receive, and speak, whether the people would attend to them or not; which ought to be no discouragement to him, since it was not regarded by the Lord, Eze 3:10; then follows an account of his being lifted up by the Spirit from the earth, when he heard a voice, which is described by the manner and matter of it; and a noise, both of the living creature's wings, and of the wheels he had seen in a former vision, Eze 3:12; and next of his being carried away by the same Spirit; and of the condition he was in, in his own spirit, as he went; and of the strength he received from the Lord; and of the place to which he, was carried; and his state and circumstances, and time of continuance there, Eze 3:14; where, after a time mentioned, he has a fresh call to his office, under the character of a watchman, whose business was to hear Christ's words, and warn the house of Israel from him; and who are distinguished into wicked and righteous; and whom the prophet was to warn at his own peril, Eze 3:16; and the chapter is concluded with a narration of various events which befell the prophet; he is bid by the Lord to go into the plain, which he did, and there saw the glory of the Lord, as he had before seen it at the river Chebar; which so affected him, that he fell upon his face, Eze 3:22; the spirit entered into him, let him on his feet, and spake with him; ordered him what he should do himself, that he should shut himself up in his house, Eze 3:24; informed him what the people would do to him; bind him with bands, that he should not come forth, Eze 3:25; and what Christ would do to him; strike him dumb in judgment to the people, that he might not be a reprover of them, Eze 3:26; but he is told that, when the Lord spoke to him; his mouth should be opened, and he should declare what was said to him, Eze 3:27.

But when I speak with thee,.... Either when I have made an end of speaking to thee, when I have told thee all my mind, and have given thee all the instructions and prophecies thou art to deliver out; or when I shall speak to thee again, and give thee orders to speak: I will open thy mouth; loose thy tongue, cause thee to break silence, and thou shall speak freely and fully all that I command thee; fulness of matter, and freedom of speech, are both from the Lord; liberty and opportunity of speaking are at his pleasure; and when he speaks his servants must prophesy, Amo 3:8; and thou shalt say unto them, thus saith the Lord God; so and so, whatsoever he is pleased to order to be spoken; not that the following words are what were to be said to the people; but they are said to the prophet for his own use, that he might not be uneasy at the unfruitfulness and failure of his ministry: he that heareth, let him hear; if any will hearken to what is sent to them, as few of them will, it is very well: and he that forbeareth, let him forbear; or, "he that ceaseth, let him cease" (y); he that ceaseth from hearing, let him do so, do not mind it, or be discouraged at it: for they are a rebellious house; See Gill on Eze 2:5. The Targum is, "he that receiveth, let him receive instruction; and he that ceaseth, let him cease from sinning, for it is a rebellious people.'' (y) "et qui cessat cesset", Pagninus, Tigurine version, Starckius; "qui desistere volet desistat", Piscator; "qui desistit audire, desistet". So some in Vatablus. Next: Ezekiel Chapter 4

(Verse 27.) But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Let him who hears, hear; and let him who remains quiet, remain quiet; for the house is rebellious. What we read in Ecclesiastes: A time to be silent, and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3), is also supported in prophetic speech: that it is wise to both be silent and speak in due time, and to give food to our fellow servants at the appointed time. Therefore, Isaiah also said to the unbelieving people: I kept silent, will I always be silent? says the Lord (Isaiah 65). Therefore, he who kept his mouth closed for a long time due to the multitude of sins, because he saw that some could be converted, about whom it was said: Let him who has ears to hear, hear; and let him who is at peace with evil, be at peace; and let him cease: therefore, speaking with an open mouth, not by his own will, but by the command of the Lord, he speaks to the people. However, this is what we have set forth: Let him who has ears to hear, hear; and let him who is at peace, be at peace; for which the Septuagint translates: Let him who has ears to hear, hear; and let him who is unbelieving, be unbelieving; the second edition by Aquila translated it as follows: Let him who has ears to hear, be heard; and let him who leaves, be left. And he said: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them that are without, all things are done in parables. (Mark 4:11)

"But when I shall have spoken to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: He who hears, let him hear; and he who is silent, let him be silent, for it is a provoking house." Then, as it were at the end, the mouth of the prophet is opened, when through the preaching of Enoch and Elijah, as the Jews return to the faith, the prophecy of sacred scripture is recognized to have been about Christ. But since we have spoken these things typologically, let us now discuss the same words to your charity in a moral sense. Whence it is added here: But when I shall have spoken to you, you shall open your mouth, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God. Often some desire to hear the word of God, but when they observe others turning away their ear, they themselves also deviate from hearing salvation; and frequently many desire to rest and to be free from all the activities of this world, to succumb no longer to any earthly desires, but when they see others advancing by acting restlessly and being exalted in this world by riches and honors, because they are not yet firm in the way of righteousness, they slip into wicked works by the example of others. For hence it is that the Psalmist, speaking in the figure of the weak, said: "But my feet were almost moved, my steps were nearly poured out, because I was zealous concerning sinners, seeing the peace of sinners." Hence again he says: "While the impious man is proud, the poor man is set on fire." Hence to the prophet Jeremiah it is said by the Lord's voice concerning Judah and Israel: "Have you seen what the turning away Israel has done? She went off by herself upon every high mountain and under every leafy tree, and committed fornication there. And I said when she had done all these things: Return to me, and she did not return." Where it is immediately added how Judah, who seemed to stand, also fell through emulation of her. For he says: "And her treacherous sister Judah saw that because the turning away Israel had committed adultery, I had dismissed her and given her a bill of divorce; and her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went off and committed fornication herself also." Behold, the merciful God is despised and calls out, to those turning away from him he opens a sign of mercy, because he says to the one sinning: "Return to me," and yet she did not return. But because the Israelite people deserted the almighty God, not wishing to return, she received a bill of divorce. She deserted, that is, by sinning, but she received a bill of divorce by remaining in her iniquities without the scourge. For the soul that sins departs. But if prosperity follows her after sin, no discipline, no rebuke of severity recalls her to heart; in the division she made between herself and the Lord, she also received a bill of divorce, so that now, as if abandoned as a stranger, she may do the evil things she wishes, may not feel the scourges of God's zeal, in order that she may descend more deeply to eternal punishments. But her sister Judah, because she saw the Israelite people dismissed in their pleasures, herself also burned into the uncleanness of fornication. For because she observed the adulteress flourishing in her perversity, she herself also did not fear to sin more grievously and to withdraw from union with the Lord, as if from the bed of a lawful husband. Hence it is necessary that we consider all those sinning to be more wretched when we observe them abandoned in their fault without the scourge. For hence it is said through Solomon: "The turning away of the little ones will kill them, and the prosperity of fools will destroy them." For he who is turned away from God and prospers becomes so much nearer to perdition as he is found more estranged from the zeal of discipline. Let it therefore be said: "Let him who hears hear, and let him who rests rest, because it is a provoking house." As if it were openly said: You who have already begun both to hear the words of truth and to rest from wicked action, do not imitate those by whose conduct you see me provoked. However, we can also understand this in another way. For some who hear the word do not truly hear, because they lend their ear to sacred speech but do not tear their heart away from worldly desires. And there are some who, while resting, do not rest at all, because though they are idle from wicked deeds in body, they turn over perverse works in their mind out of love for them. For this is why it is written concerning Judah coming into captivity: Her enemies saw her and mocked her Sabbaths. Indeed, enemies mock the Sabbaths when malign spirits cast wicked thoughts into an idle mind, so that even if it rests from work, it does not rest from delight in evil works. Rightly therefore it is now said: Let him who hears, hear—so that the word may sound in the ear of the body in such a way that it resounds in the ear of the heart. And let him who rests, rest—so that desires for wickedness may be driven from thought, since they are now seen to be driven from action. And lest we follow the examples of the wicked, as we have said, it is added: For it is a rebellious house. But though the wicked are tolerated for a long time, they suddenly fall, and the weak behold their punishments, lest they imitate those whose sins they think go unpunished. Hence here too the desolation of that same Judah is added, which is called a rebellious house, when the Lord immediately says to His prophet: And you, son of man, take a brick for yourself, and place it before you, and draw upon it the city of Jerusalem, and arrange a siege against it.

This chapter contains more particular instructions to the prophet. It begins with repeating his appointment to his office, Eze 3:1-3. Ezekiel is then informed that his commission is, at this time, to the house of Israel exclusively, Eze 3:4-6; that his countrymen would pay little regard to him, Eze 3:7; that he must persevere in his duty notwithstanding such great discouragement; and he is endued with extraordinary courage and intrepidity to enable him fearlessly to declare to a disobedient and gainsaying people the whole counsel of God, Eze 3:8-11. The prophet is afterwards carried by the spirit that animated the cherubim and wheels, and by which he received the gift of prophecy, to a colony of his brethren in the neighborhood, where he remained seven days overwhelmed with astonishment, Eze 3:12-15. He is then warned of the awful importance of being faithful in his office, Eze 3:16-21; commanded to go forth into the plain that he may have a visible manifestation of the Divine Presence, Eze 3:22; and is again favored with a vision of that most magnificent set of symbols described in the first chapter, by which the glorious majesty of the God of Israel was in some measure represented, Eze 3:23. See also Isa 6:1-13; Dan 10:5-19; and Rev 1:10-16; Rev 4:1-11, for other manifestations of the Divine glory, in all of which some of the imagery is very similar. The prophet receives directions relative to his future conduct, Eze 3:24-27.

I will open thy mouth - When it is necessary to address them again, thou shalt sum up what thou hast said in this one speech: Thus saith the Lord, "He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear." Let him who feels obedience to the voice of God his interest, be steadfast. Let him who disregards the Divine monition go in his own way, and abide the consequences.

EZEKIEL EATS THE ROLL. IS COMMISSIONED TO GO TO THEM OF THE CAPTIVITY AND GOES TO TEL-ABIB BY THE CHEBAR: AGAIN BEHOLDS THE SHEKINAH GLORY: IS TOLD TO RETIRE TO HIS HOUSE, AND ONLY SPEAK WHEN GOD OPENS HIS MOUTH. (Eze. 3:1-27) eat . . . and . . . speak--God's messenger must first inwardly appropriate God's truth himself, before he "speaks" it to others (see on Eze 2:8). Symbolic actions were, when possible and proper, performed outwardly; otherwise, internally and in spiritual vision, the action so narrated making the naked statement more intuitive and impressive by presenting the subject in a concentrated, embodied form.

when I speak . . . I will open thy mouth--opposed to the silence imposed on the prophet, to punish the people (Eze 3:26). After the interval of silence has awakened their attention to the cause of it, namely, their sins, they may then hearken to the prophecies which they would not do before. He that heareth, let him hear . . . forbear--that is, thou hast done thy part, whether they hear or forbear. He who shall forbear to hear, it shall be at his own peril; he who hears, it shall be to his own eternal good (compare Rev 22:11). Next: Ezekiel Chapter 4