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Ezekiel as Watchman
v. 12. Then the Spirit took me up, so that he would at once be placed into a position where he might perform the work of his calling, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, a tumultuous noise, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place, going forth, from His throne, into all the world, manifested even in the great disasters which would strike the rebellious Jews.
v. 13. I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, literally, "kissed each other," the one toward her sister, said of the gentle touch of the ends of the wings, and the noise of the wheels over against them and a noise of a great rushing, the vision of chapter 1 thus being brought into the closest relation to the commission of Ezekiel.
v. 14. So the Spirit lifted me up, placing him into a state of ecstasy, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, in deep sadness on account of the calamities of which he was required to be the unwelcome messenger; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me, holding him firmly in this strange conflict within him.
v. 15. Then I came to them of the captivity, the main colony of the Jewish exiles, at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, joining them in their misery, and remained there astonished among them seven days, almost motionless, staring down before him, as one almost paralyzed with grief and horror.
v. 16. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, the usual period of preparation for acts of special worship, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
v. 17. Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, the seer on the watch-tower applying the revelations which are made to him for the weal and woe of the people entrusted to him. Therefore hear the word at My mouth, the message of commandment and threatened judgment, and give them warning from Me, by a continual appeal to the divine instructions received.
v. 18. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, namely, paying the penalty for open transgressions of the holy will of God, and thou givest him not warning- nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in an urgent attempt to save him from his wickedness and its results, to save his life, which would otherwise be threatened with eternal perdition, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, being obliged, indeed, to pay the penalty of his sins; but his blood will I require at thine hand, as having caused the slaughter of an immortal soul by his negligence.
v. 19. Yet if thou warn the wicked, performing the solemn duty laid upon him as watchman, unpleasant though this may be, and he turn not from his wickedness, the inner evil condition of his heart, nor from his wicked way, the outward manifestation of his evil heart, he shall die in his iniquity, on account of his deliberate, habitual wickedness, but thou hast delivered thy soul, having done his duty in sounding the warning in time.
v. 20. Again, when a righteous man, one who has always lived an upright and honest life, doth turn from his righteousness and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die, for he has sunk to the level of the wicked; because thou hast not given him warning, to keep him from the path of sin, he shall die in his sin, whose guilt will certainly be charged to him, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered, will no longer count in his favor; but his blood will I require at thine hand, the watchman again being charged with negligence for failing to prevent the apostasy.
v. 21. Nevertheless, if thou warn the righteous man that the righteous sin not, not yielding to any temptation which might come in his way, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live because he is warned, he has heeded the warning in time; also thou hast delivered thy soul, in performing the solemn duty included in his prophetical commission. God, indeed, tempts no one to sin, Jam_1:13, but He permits even the believers to he surrounded with conditions which put their faith to a test, as in the case of Job. Thus was the great and solemn commission transmitted to Ezekiel.
v. 22. And the hand of the Lord was there upon me, symbolizing the fact that His power and authority was transferred to the prophet for his special sphere of labor; and He said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, down from the height on which Tel-abib was situated to the valley below, and I will there talk with thee.
v. 23. Then I arose and went forth into the plain, whose solitude was favorable to the Lord's plan; and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar, 1:1; and I fell on my face, once more overcome by the majesty of the vision.
v. 24. Then the Spirit, as in the other instance, entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house, the purpose of this seclusion becoming evident from the connection, shut out from social intercourse, but not as if imprisoned.
v. 25. But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, the Lord Himself putting the restraint of a strange ecstasy upon him, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them, this very fact being intended to arrest their attention,
v. 26. and I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, before the very eyes of the rebellious people, that thou shalt be dumb and shalt not be to them a reprover, lest the words of his reproof might win the self-hardened sinners back; for they are a rebellious house, confirming themselves in their apostasy and obstinacy.
v. 27. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, in revealing the judgment of God upon his countrymen, 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, and therefore would have only themselves to blame for the calamity which would surely strike them. Every pastor, as the Lord's watchman in the midst of his congregation, has a tremendous responsibility resting upon him, both in calling sinners to repentance and in warning the believers against the ways of unrighteousness. One negligent in this duty is a murderer of souls.