Ezekiel 33:2 Komentář

The prophet has now come off his circuit, which he went as judge, in God's name, to try and pass sentence upon the neighbouring nations, and, having finished with them, and read them all their doom, in the eight chapters foregoing, he now returns to the children of his people, and receives further instructions what to say to them. I. He must let them know what office he was in among them as a prophet, that he was a watchman, and had received a charge concerning them, for which he was accountable (Eze 33:1-9). The substance of this we had before, Eze 3:17, etc. II. He must let them know upon what terms they stand with God, that they are upon their trial, upon their good behaviour, that if a wicked man repent he shall not perish, but that if a righteous man apostatize he shall perish (Eze 33:10-20). III. Here is a particular message sent to those who yet remained in the land of Israel, and (which is very strange) grew secure there, and confident that they should take root there again, to tell them that their hopes would fail them because they persisted in their sins (Eze 33:21-29). IV. Here is a rebuke to those who personally attended Ezekiel's ministry, but were not sincere in their professions of devotion (Eze 33:30-33).

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 33 This chapter treats of the prophet's duty, and the people's sins; contains a vindication of the justice of God; a threatening of destruction to those who remained in the land after the taking of the city; and a detection of the hypocrisy of the prophet's hearers. The duty of a watchman in general is declared, Eze 33:1, an application of this to the prophet, Eze 33:7, the sum of whose business is to warn the wicked man of his wickedness; and the consequence of doing, or not doing it, is expressed, Eze 33:8, an objection of the people, and the prophet's answer to it, Eze 33:10, who is bid to acquaint them, that a righteous man trusting to his righteousness, and sinning, should not live; and that a sinner repenting of his sins should not die, Eze 33:12, the people's charge of inequality in the ways of God is retorted upon them, and removed from the Lord, and proved against them, Eze 33:17, then follows a prophecy, delivered out after the news was brought of the taking of the city, threatening with ruin those that remained in the land, confident of safety, and that for their sins, which are particularly enumerated, Eze 33:21, and the chapter is closed with a discovery of the hypocrisy of those that attended the prophet's ministry, Eze 33:30.

Son of man, speak to the children of thy people,.... The Jews, of whom the prophet was; and designs those who were with him in the captivity; and who, having behaved so ill, the Lord will not own them for his people, but calls them the prophet's people, and the children of them: and say unto them, when I bring the sword upon a land; a foreign enemy with an army to invade it, or any other judgment; for there is no public calamity whatever that comes upon a people, but what is by the order, direction, or permission of the Lord. The Targum is, "those that kill with the sword;'' an army of men that enter into a land sword in hand, with an intent to conquer and destroy: if the people of the land take a man of their coasts: that lives upon their borders, and so is acquainted with all the places where it is most likely an enemy should enter; or a man out of the midst of them, as the Targum; so this phrase sometimes signifies, Gen 47:2, one of their own people, who might be thought to have their good and safety at heart, and might be trusted: and set him for their watchman: on some place of eminence; on the walls, or in a tower of a frontier town, from whence he might descry the enemy coming at a distance.

How are we affected by Ezekiel, the beholder and expositor of the mighty mysteries and visions? By his injunction to the watchmen not to keep silence concerning vice and the sword impending over it, a course that would profit neither themselves nor the sinners, but rather to keep watch and forewarn and thus benefit at any rate those who gave warning, if not both those who spoke and those who heard.

(Chapter XXXIII, Verse 1 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, speak to the children of your people and say to them: When I bring a sword upon a land and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound (or voice) of the trumpet, and did not pay attention, his blood shall be upon himself: but if he takes heed, he shall save his soul. But if the watchman sees the sword coming, and does not blow the trumpet; and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. And you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore hear from my mouth the word, and proclaim it to them from me. If I say to the wicked, wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Once again, the word of the Lord came to the prophet, who had been silent for some time because neither the prophet nor human frailty can bear a constant and continuous prophecy. And he speaks the same things that are contained in the previous verses. Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel, and you will hear a word from my mouth, and you will warn them from me. If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you have not warned him, nor spoken to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked way and live, the wicked shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. And even if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness and his evil ways, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul. If you carefully consider, you will understand that they are indeed similar, but not the same, as they disagree in many things. And in all Holy Scriptures we must observe this, where there seems to be a similarity in the sentiment, not all things are said in the same way: but many things are either subtracted or added, and there is a reason for the discrepancy between the words of individuals. And meanwhile, before we come to deeper matters, a brief statement must be explained. If a watchman is appointed among the people to announce the coming sword of the Lord's wrath, and if, when he announces it, the people refuse to listen, the watchman will be free, and the one who is oppressed by the sword will bear the guilt of his own blood: but if he hears and saves himself. But if the watchman does not blow the trumpet, and the ignorant people do not observe the approaching sword, the people will indeed die in their iniquity, but I will require the blood of the dying from the hand of the watchman. And in order for the prophet Ezekiel to know that the general dispute concerned him in particular, He said to him, 'And you, son of man, have not been appointed as a watchman for the land and the people of the land, as I have already said, but you have been appointed as a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore, if when I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' you do not speak to warn him, that he may turn from his wicked way to save his life, his blood shall be upon you. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul.' But if you announce and command the wicked to turn away from their worst ways, and they refuse to do so: they will indeed die in their iniquity; but you will deliver your soul from the death brought on by negligence. From these words we learn that a person, no matter how wicked and impious, can be saved from their wickedness if they hear the words of the teacher and repent. The teacher also faces a danger if they refuse to teach, either out of fear or despair of the sinner's fate. The teacher is guilty of shedding the blood of the one who could have been saved and rescued from death if the teacher had not remained silent, and in both cases the free will of the person is preserved, as it is up to the teacher to choose whether to speak or remain silent, and up to the listener to choose whether to listen, act and be saved, or to ignore and perish through their own disdain. And immediately it does not follow that because the prophet predicts, what he predicted will come. For he does not predict so that it may come, but so that it may not come. And because God speaks, it is not necessary for what he threatens to happen, but he threatens so that the one to whom he threatens may be converted to repentance, and what is future does not happen if the words of the Lord are despised. However, we can discuss this passage in three ways: as the land that appoints a watchman for itself, either according to the literal sense, that is, the land of Judea, or according to the spiritual interpretation, the Church, which often chooses a watchman for the last things of its people, namely the one whom the Apostle, writing to the Corinthians, takes as a judge (1 Corinthians 15), or certainly the soul of the believer, which sets its mind and reason above the people and crowd of its thoughts, so that it does not accept all the incentives of thoughts, but judges and discerns what should be followed by itself and what should be avoided. A watchman of the land of Judea, either a king, or a prophet: a watchman of the Church, either a bishop, or a presbyter, because he is chosen by the people, and knowing the reading of the Scriptures, and foreseeing what is to come, he announces to the people and corrects the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is greatly to be feared that we approach this office unworthy and chosen by the people, giving ourselves to neglect and idleness: and what is worse, serving pleasures, the belly, and laziness, we think that we have received honor, not ministry. For indeed the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister (Matthew 20:28); and he washed the disciples' feet (John 13), to show that all filth and vices must be washed and purged from the masters in the disciples. Let us not immediately answer what profit is it to teach, if the hearer is unwilling to do what you have taught? For each one is judged according to his own mind and duty. If you have not spoken, he, if he has disregarded listening. Salomon speaks about negligent magistrates: Hidden wisdom and hidden treasure, what is the use for both? What does this signify in the Gospel (Mark 9) as well, that whoever scandalizes one of the least of the Church, it is expedient for him to be tied around his neck with a millstone of a donkey and be cast into the deep, rather than being placed on a high watchtower where he can harm many.

Do you see how dangerous it is to keep silent? He dies, and rightly dies; he dies in his own wickedness and sin; his own heedlessness kills him. Yes, the one who says “I live, says the Lord,” would like to find a living shepherd. But since he has been heedless, not being warned by the one who was given charge and made a watchman for this very purpose of warning him, he will die justly, and the other will be justly condemned.… It is our business not to keep quiet; it is your business, even if we do keep quiet, to listen to the words of the shepherd from the holy Scriptures.

These words teach that it is God who gives peace to people because of goodness and allows wars to happen because of the wickedness of people who bring disaster on themselves.

Mine is the burden that you just heard about when the prophet Ezekiel was read. It is not enough that the day itself admonishes us to reflect on the burden; in addition such a lesson was read to excite great fear in us, so we will think about what we are carrying. Unless the One who imposed the burden on us carried it with us, we fail.

The prophet, after having addressed several other nations, returns now to his own; previously to which he is told, as on a former occasion, the duty of a watchman, the salvation or ruin of whose soul depends on the manner in which he discharges it. An awful passage indeed; full of important instruction both to such as speak, and to such as hear, the word of God, Eze 33:1-9. The prophet is then directed what answer to make to the cavils of infidelity and impiety; and to vindicate the equity of the Divine government by declaring the general terms of acceptance with God to be (as told before, chap. 18) without respect of persons; so that the ruin of the finally impenitent must be entirely owing to themselves, Eze 33:10-20. The prophet receives the news of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, about a year and four months after it happened, according to the opinion of some, who have been led to this conjecture by the date given to this prophecy in the twenty-first verse, as it stands in our common Version: but some of the manuscripts of this prophet consulted by Dr. Kennicott have in this place the Eleventh year, which is probably the genuine reading. To check the vain confidence of those who expected to hold out by possessing themselves of its other fastnesses, the utter desolation of all Judea is foretold, Eze 33:21-29. Ezekiel is informed that among those that attended his instructions were a great number of hypocrites, against whom he delivers a most awful message. When the Lord is destroying these hypocrites, then shall they know that there hath been a prophet among them, Eze 33:30-33.

Son of man - if the people of the land take a man - The first ten verses of this chapter are the same with Eze 3:17-22; and to what is said there on this most important and awful subject I must refer the reader. Here the People choose the watchman; there, the Lord appoints him. When God chooses, the people should approve.

RENEWAL OF EZEKIEL'S COMMISSION, NOW THAT HE IS AGAIN TO ADDRESS HIS COUNTRYMEN, AND IN A NEW TONE. (Eze. 33:1-33) to the children of thy people--whom he had been forbidden to address from Eze 24:26-27, till Jerusalem was overthrown, and the "escaped" came with tidings of the judgment being completed. So now, in Eze 33:21, the tidings of the fact having arrived, he opens his heretofore closed lips to the Jews. In the interval he had prophesied as to foreign nations. The former part of the chapter, at Eze. 33:2-20, seems to have been imparted to Ezekiel on the evening previous (Eze 33:22), being a preparation for the latter part (Eze 33:23-33) imparted after the tidings had come. This accounts for the first part standing without intimation of the date, which was properly reserved for the latter part, to which the former was the anticipatory introduction [FAIRBAIRN]. watchman-- Eze 33:1-9 exhibit Ezekiel's office as a spiritual watchman; so in Eze 3:16-21; only here the duties of the earthly watchman (compare Sa2 18:24-25; Kg2 9:17) are detailed first, and then the application is made to the spiritual watchman's duty (compare Isa 21:6-10; Hos 9:8; Hab 2:1). "A man of their coasts" is a man specially chosen for the office out of their whole number. So Jdg 18:2, "five men from their coasts"; also the Hebrew of Gen 47:2; implying the care needed in the choice of the watchman, the spiritual as well as the temporal (Act 1:21-22, Act 1:24-26; Ti1 5:22).