Called to Be God’s Watchmen (Ezekiel 33)

Scripture reading – Ezekiel 33                                               

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* Please note that words and phrases in brackets are the author’s amplification.

As we come to Ezekiel 33 in our chronological study of the Scriptures, the focus shifts from God’s judgment on Egypt and the nations (Ezekiel 29-32) to the prophet Ezekiel and his calling to serve the LORD as His watchman. His work was not enviable, for he was to deliver to the people in Babylonian captivity a message they despised. Ezekiel’s task was to remind the nation of its past, discern the times, and declare God’s judgment if the people persisted in their sins.

Ezekiel 33 

The Watchman’s Call and Commission (Ezekiel 33:1-9) 

Ezekiel, living as a captive in Babylon, far from his native Jerusalem, was called by God to convey His Word “to the children of [his] people” (33:2). He was one of God’s watchmen, whose duty was to warn the Jews that the sword of God’s judgment was in the land. Regrettably, many watchmen failed to issue the warning (“blow the trumpet”), leaving the people unprotected and unprepared.

 A Case of Culpability (Ezekiel 33:3-6)

Ezekiel was told that when a faithful watchman sounded a warning and the people refused to heed the trumpet’s call, the people’s blood was on their heads, and the watchman was free of their blood. Yet if a watchman failed the nation by not warning the people, their blood would be on the watchman’s head (Ezekiel 33:3-6).

Ezekiel’s Commission to Serve as God’s Watchman (Ezekiel 33:7-9)

The LORD reminded Ezekiel that he was called and commissioned to be a “watchman unto the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 33:7). It was his task to hear the LORD’s words and warn the nation (Ezekiel 33:7). When the LORD commanded Ezekiel to warn the wicked and say, “Thou shalt surely die,” their blood would be on the prophet’s hands if he failed (Ezekiel 33:8). However, if Ezekiel was a faithful prophet and the wicked refused to heed his warning, he would be delivered from the guilt of their blood when they perished (Ezekiel 33:9).

Ezekiel’s Appeal to Israel to Repent (Ezekiel 33:10-20) 

Understanding the burden of serving as the LORD’s watchman, Ezekiel was reminded that his mission was to call his people to repentance and to assure them that the LORD would extend His compassion to sinners (Ezekiel 33:10-11).

Lest anyone believe that salvation by grace through faith is a doctrine limited to the New Testament, or that the Old Testament saints placed their faith in works to merit God’s favor, the LORD declared to Ezekiel: “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression” (Ezekiel 33:12).

“Righteous [good] works do not save; they never have and never will (Ephesians 2:8-9). Only the LORD can redeem and save a sinner from the consequences of sin! Thus, we read that those who trust in their righteousness “shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it” (Ezekiel 33:13).

Yet the wicked who repent of their sins, turn to the LORD, and prove their faith by walking in His will “shall surely live; he shall not die” (Ezekiel 33:15; James 2:18). Indeed, the sinner who repents is promised that “none of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live” (Ezekiel 33:16).

Tragically, some refused to believe they were wicked enough to be cut off and even accused God of injustice. They said, “The way of the Lord is not equal” (Ezekiel 33:17). God is just, and Ezekiel warned the people that those who persist in sin will be judged. However, when the wicked repent of their sins and turn to God, they will live (Ezekiel 33:18-20). In the end, every person will be judged according to their works (2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Peter 1:17).

The News of Jerusalem’s Destruction (Ezekiel 33:21-26)

The year was 585 BC, “the twelfth year of [the] captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month” (Ezekiel 33:21). A messenger from Jerusalem arrived in Babylon. Having escaped the besieged city, he brought the dreaded news Ezekiel had prophesied would come to pass: “The city is smitten” (Ezekiel 33:21c). 

Ezekiel described that the evening before the messenger arrived, “the hand of the LORD was upon” him (Ezekiel 33:23). The LORD put His words in Ezekiel’s mouth and revealed the cause of God’s judgment. In their pride, the children of Israel boasted of their Abrahamic lineage and claimed that the land of Israel was their inheritance (Ezekiel 33:23-24). Yet their sins brought God’s judgment because they had defiled the land with their wickedness (Ezekiel 32:25-26).

The Consequences of Israel’s Sins (Ezekiel 33:27-29)

The fall of Jerusalem was only the beginning of sorrow for those who survived the city’s destruction. Those who fled the city would be slain. Others would be killed by wild beasts in the fields (Ezekiel 33:27a). Some sought shelter in caves, only to perish from disease (Ezekiel 33:27b). Thus, Jerusalem’s pride in her strength had come to an end. The land was left desolate (Ezekiel 33:28). All this was to the end that the people would know that judgment had come upon them “because of all their abominations which they [had] committed” (Ezekiel 33:29).

Ezekiel: A Persecuted Prophet (Ezekiel 33:30-33)

One would think that the fulfillment of all Ezekiel prophesied would command the people’s respect in captivity, but it did not. Instead, the LORD warned His prophet, “The children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother” (Ezekiel 30:30).

Some whispered against Ezekiel, while others feigned interest in hearing the LORD’s word through His prophet, yet they were hypocrites (Ezekiel 33:30). With their mouths, they claimed to love the LORD, but “their heart goeth after their covetousness” (Ezekiel 33:31). Like the hypocrites they were, they complimented the prophet on his voice and heard his words, yet they refused to obey (Ezekiel 33:32).