November 2-8
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Just to give some context on where we’re at in the biblical timeline here…we just finished reading in Jeremiah and Lamentations where Babylon attacked during King Zedekiah’s reign. Babylon emptied Jerusalem and set it on fire at this point in the timeline.
Before that, Babylon had attacked Jerusalem earlier. The Babylonians won and took a bunch of Jerusalem’s elite into Babylon; we will be reading about one of these exiles, Daniel, in the future. He followed the Law of Moses instead of eating the King’s food. Babylon put King Zedekiah in as a puppet king.
Ezekiel was called as a prophet to the first wave of exiles. We have gone back in time before everything we just read about Jeremiah.
Ezekiel’s mission was going to be arduous and unfruitful. He was called to preach to hard-hearted people that were not going to repent, and he was warned of how hard his mission would be.
Chapter 33 really expounds on the principle of a watchman. Ezekiel has been called to be a watchman on the tower. He is placed up high where he can see afar off, and it is his job to see the enemy coming and warn everyone down below that can’t see. If the watchman doesn’t warn the people, their blood is on his hands. He didn’t do his job. They weren’t able to prepare.
On the flip side, there is personal accountability as well. If you ignore the watchman sounding the alarm, then you have no one to blame but yourself.
There are some really beautiful literary elements that we read here.
Ezekiel 33:10-11
10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
In other words, the Lord tells Ezekiel that the people are going to say, “We are rotting away because our sins and transgressions are upon us. How can we live?” The Lord then tells Ezekiel to respond, “I don’t want you to die. I don’t like it so do something about it! Turn away from evil. Why do you insist on dying?”
I think it can be easy to de-personalize God sometimes. It’s easy to not jump into the meat of what He’s trying to express to us and His people. It’s easy to not feel the gravity. It’s easy to pass over and not hear the pleading of a tender parent.
The analogy of the watchman can help us better understand what the Lord (and consequently, Ezekiel) are feeling.
Place yourself in the story. There are city walls, and you are placed upon a great tower so that you can see far into the distance. Everyone knows there is an enemy that lies in wait to attack, and so a beautiful system is set up in which everyone can be warned of impending trouble. The people continue on in their lives without having to worry about a surprise attack. The watchman is there and will warn them.
Imagine being the watchman. You look out one day to see a mass army coming towards the city. They are armed and prepared and on their way. You sound the alarm. You are ringing a giant bell (or however the warning system worked) over and over and over to alert everyone. You want every single person in the city to hear and know what is coming.
You finally stop ringing the bell, and you look down, confident that the people will be springing into action to avoid the coming bloodbath. You are taken aback to find people going about their day as if there is no enemy approaching. You try to ring the bell a couple more times, but still, there is no response. You climb down the tower and start trying to talk to people directly. Maybe they don’t remember what the bell is for. Maybe you just need to remind them. Maybe they don’t understand that there really is an army headed their way. Maybe they think you were just overreacting to an odd shadow on the horizon.
You start yelling to the crowds around you, “There is an army coming. They’re armed and prepared. They want to conquer and take you as slaves. They will be here.”
Some people ignore you completely. It’s as if they can’t hear you. Some people have the gall to get angry at you for interrupting their day.
Why won’t anyone listen? Do they want to die? Surely they care enough to not let their children die, right?
Wrong. They’re not listening.
Now let’s take a step back from being in the story. There is plenty of emotion here, but why does it matter to us? We feel for Ezekiel and what he has been called to do. We feel for the Lord and all that He’s done for His children, only to watch them reject Him and then call Him unfair. We see the love that was involved in this process of trying to reach people who didn’t want to listen.
But what does this story teach us? What do we need to learn?
I suppose that depends on whether you’re the watchman or the citizen.
If you are the watchman, there is value in loving the citizens. There is value in calling out to them even when they refuse to listen. It brings you closer to God. It helps you understand Him as you practice doing His work. If you are the citizen, the Lord is reaching out constantly. He doesn’t want you to die, but He will not vaporize enemies and put you in a bubble. The point of mortality was to come here and grow in wisdom. You can’t learn those lessons in a bubble. Please listen to Him and the warnings of His watchmen.
I testify that the Lord is ever reaching out. The battle with evil is very real to Him. He is feeling all the feelings because He loves us. His omnipotence does not get rid of those feelings. His wisdom does not make Him cold. We are His purpose. I testify that listening to His counsels are a gift.
