Eating the Scroll
Study note
God told Ezekiel to eat the scroll, meaning he was to fully take in God's message and make it part of himself. Even though the scroll contained words of sorrow, it tasted as sweet as honey. This showed that God's word is always good, even when the message is hard. The prophet Jeremiah had a similar experience, saying God's words were his joy.
1 God told me, "Son of man, eat this scroll that you see, and then go deliver my message to the people of Israel." Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2 I opened my mouth, and he placed the scroll inside it. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3 He said, "Son of man, fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you." I swallowed it down, and to my surprise, it tasted as sweet as honey. 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.
Sent to a Stubborn People
Study note
God pointed out something surprising: Ezekiel was not being sent to a foreign nation that spoke a different language. He was being sent to his own people, Israel. Yet God said that even foreign nations would have listened, but Israel would refuse. God promised to make Ezekiel's resolve as hard as diamond, so he could stand firm against their stubbornness.
4 Then he told me, "Son of man, go to the Israelites now and deliver my words to them." And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
5 "I am not sending you to some foreign people who speak a language you cannot figure out. Your mission is to Israel itself." For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;
6 "I am not sending you to faraway nations whose languages would make no sense to you. Honestly, if I had sent you to those people, they would have listened!" 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.
7 "But Israel will refuse to listen to you because they refuse to listen to me. Every one of them is as stubborn and hard-hearted as can be." 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.
8 "So I am going to make you every bit as tough and determined as they are." Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
9 "I will make your resolve as hard as diamond -- even harder than flint. Do not let their hostile faces intimidate you, no matter how rebellious they get." 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.
10 He also told me, "Son of man, absorb every word I tell you. Let it sink deep into your heart and mind." 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.
11 "Now go to your fellow exiles. Share my message with them. Say, 'The Lord God has spoken,' regardless of whether they accept it or turn away." And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
Ezekiel Goes to the Exiles
Study note
The Spirit lifted Ezekiel up, and he heard a great rushing sound behind him as the glory of the Lord moved. He was carried to Tel-abib, a settlement of Jewish exiles by the Chebar River. Ezekiel sat among them for seven days, overwhelmed by what he had experienced. Tel-abib was one of several communities where the exiled Jews lived in Babylon.
12 Then the Spirit picked me up, and behind me I heard a thunderous rumbling as the glory of the Lord lifted from its resting place. A voice declared, "Praise the glory of the Lord!" 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.
13 I could hear the creatures' wings brushing together and the wheels turning beside them. Together it all made a great roar. 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 The Spirit picked me up and carried me away. I left feeling bitter and frustrated, but the Lord's strong hand was firmly on me. 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.
15 I arrived at Tel-abib, where the other exiles lived beside the Chebar River. For seven straight days I sat among them, completely stunned by everything I had experienced. Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
Ezekiel Appointed as Watchman
Study note
After seven days, God gave Ezekiel his mission as a watchman. In ancient cities, a watchman stood on the walls to warn of approaching danger. If the watchman saw an enemy and blew the warning trumpet, anyone who ignored the warning was responsible for their own death. But if the watchman failed to warn them, their blood would be on the watchman's hands. God applied this same principle to Ezekiel's role as a prophet.
16 When those seven days were up, the Lord spoke to me again. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
17 "Son of man, I am appointing you as a lookout for Israel. Whenever I give you a message, you must pass the warning along to them." 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.
18 "If I tell you that a wicked person is headed toward death and you stay silent -- if you do not warn them to change course and save their life -- that person will die in their sin. But I will hold you accountable for their blood." When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest 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.
19 "On the other hand, if you deliver the warning and the wicked person still refuses to change, they will die for their own sin. But you will be in the clear." 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 hast delivered thy soul.
20 "The same applies when a good person stops doing what is right and turns to sin. If I allow something to trip them up and they die, their earlier good deeds will not count in their favor. If you failed to warn them, they will die in their sin -- and I will hold you accountable." Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
21 "But if you warn a righteous person not to sin and they listen, they will live because they took the warning seriously. And you will have done your job." Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
Ezekiel Is Restricted
Study note
God told Ezekiel to go to the plain, where he again saw the glory of the Lord and fell face-down. The Spirit then gave Ezekiel unusual instructions: he was to stay inside his house, he would be tied with ropes, and God would make him unable to speak except when God had a specific message to deliver. This dramatic silence would last for years and was itself a sign to the people that they had rejected God's word.
22 I felt the Lord's hand come over me. He said, "Get up and head out to the valley. I have something to say to you there." 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.
23 So I stood up and went to the valley. The glory of the Lord was there, exactly as I had seen it by the Chebar River. I immediately fell face-down. 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.
24 The Spirit entered me and pulled me to my feet. He said to me, "Go home and shut yourself inside your house." Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.
25 "Son of man, people will tie you up with ropes so you cannot go outside and mingle with them." But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:
26 "I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, leaving you unable to speak. You will not be able to confront these rebels." And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.
27 "But whenever I am ready to speak through you, I will unlock your mouth. Then you will tell them, 'The Lord God says this.' If anyone is willing to hear it, good. If anyone refuses, that is their choice. They are a rebellious people." But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.