Ezekiel 3:12-27
Preparation for Ministry~
the Motivation of God
Pray
Intro
√ Preparation for ministry ~ the message of God
Chapters 1-3 record Ezekiel’s call to ministry…
The vision for the work ~ chapter 1
The message for the work ~ chapters 2-3:11
We pick up our study as we continue through chapter 3 where we find the Lord providing Ezekiel the motivation to take His message to the Jewish people. That motivation is provided by…
The Hand of the Lord
The Word of the Lord
The Inspiration of the Lord
The reality is that Ezekiel needed God’s motivation because he was stunned by the difficulty of the work to which God had called him.
Ap. Motivation
Human nature is such that we find it easy to be motivated to do, or say, things that we enjoy…
…but not so easy to get excited about doing or saying things that we find tiresome, burdensome or uncomfortable.
Ex. Riding vs. yard work
The same is true regarding the things of God.
It’s easy to get excited about the study of prophecy…
…it’s not so easy to get motivated to tell unbelievers about the warnings contained in those prophecies.
I think our friend Ezekiel found himself in such a place, blessed by the revelation of God’s glory…
…but overwhelmed and lacking motivation to take God’s
message to the rebellious people of
Ap. We’ve been called to reach a difficult people!
“Christians” in the South and the Mid-West are much like the Jewish people in Ezekiel’s day…
…many believe they are “Christian” when in fact they Christian in name only.
Many think they’re right with God because they went forward at a camp meeting when they were a teen.
Others are un-teachable and unwilling to examine their pet doctrines against the clear teach of scripture that contradicts their theology.
The end result is that many people today don’t want to hear the “word of the Lord”. Like the Jews to whom Ezekiel was sent the “Christians” in our day, in our community don’t want to hear the Word of God.
The Hand of the Lord (vs. 12-15)
Ezek. 3:12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place!”
Ezek. 3:13 I also heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise.
Ezek. 3:14 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.
Ezek. 3:15 Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
√ The Hand of the Lord
The first thing we notice from Ezekiel’s description is that he moves from what he saw with his eyes…
…to what he heard with his ears.
“…a great thunderous voice” ~ vs. 12
(probably that of the Cherubim ~ Rev. 4:8)
“…the wings of the living creatures” ~ vs. 13
“…the noise of the wheels” ~ vs. 13
I think that is because he moved from a position of looking at the Throne-Chariot of God…
…to a position of being in the Throne-Chariot of God!
Note vs. 12 & 14, where Ezekiel tells us that the Spirit…
“lifted me up” ~ vs. 12
“…lifted me up and took me away” ~ vs. 14
It seems then that God gave Ezekiel a “lift” in His Chariot of Fire!
Ex. Hitching a ride with God!
Quick way to move from where you are to where God wants you!
Philip found that to be true when the Spirit caught him up
and took him from the
…some 20 miles in the blink of an eye!
The purpose in both Ezekiel’s and Philip’s case was to take them to the next place of ministry…
…in that sense they were guided to that next opportunity by the Hand of God.
√ The Heart of God
Vs. 14 is interesting and has confused some folks who aren’t familiar with the language of prophecy…
“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.”
At first pass it may seem like Ezekiel isn’t too happy about hitching a ride in God’s Chariot of Fire.
However, a closer look reveals that Ezekiel is communicating another thought all together!
The words…
“Bitterness” is the Hebrew “mar” means to be “in anguish”…
…while the phrase “the heat of my spirit” means to be “really angry!”
The question then is with whom is Ezekiel anguished and angry!?
God for taking him on a ride? I don’t think so!
Rather, I think the text is communicating that as Ezekiel was carried away by the Spirit in the presence of God that he began to feel what God felt…
…anguish
and anger toward the sin of
the people of
The point is that Ezekiel would then be motivated to take God’s message to God’s people once he…
…saw their sin the way that God saw it and understood how their sin effected them.
Ap. Seeing with God’s eyes
I’m reminded by Ezekiel’s experience that I’m not going to be really motivated to get out of my comfort zone to do anything for God…
…until I see people and their sin the way that He does.
Ex. Witnessing
Most Christians don’t share their faith because they don’t see Hell the way that God does!
If we spent more time in His presence, then like Ezekiel we would have God’s thoughts and feelings rub off on us!
We’d have a greater sense of urgency to reach the lost even though it would mean getting out of our comfort zone.
√ The place of ministry
In vs. 15 we find that the Spirit deposits Ezekiel in the place where God is sending him to minister, seated among the people by the River Chebar.
We’re told that he sits in silence for 7 days because he was astonished by his experience.
That is, the vision and the task to which he had been assigned was so awesome that all he could do was sit in stunned silence!
So, Ezekiel finds motivation for the task to which God had called him by the touch of God’s hand…
…guiding him to see the need of the people.
The Word of the Lord (vs. 16-21)
Ezek. 3:16 Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Ezek. 3:17 “Son of
man, I have made you a watchman for the house of
Ezek. 3:18 When I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
Ezek. 3:19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
Ezek. 3:20 “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
Ezek. 3:21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”
√ The Word of the Lord
After a week of sitting we’re told that God spoke to Ezekiel and gave him some additional motivation to speak the message that God gave him.
God made him accountable for the Message that He gave him to preach.
Notice in verses 18-21 that God makes it very clear to Ezekiel that his job is to…
Speak the message to the people.
It’s then their responsibility as to how they respond to that message.
But, God also makes it clear that if Ezekiel doesn’t speak the message to the people…
…then he will be held accountable for their blood!
√ Watchman
In vs. 17 God tells him that he has been appointed a watchman for the house of
That’s a common title used by God of His prophets.
Isaiah, Jeremiah and Hosea were also called “watchman”.
Watchman were guards who were stationed in positions of oversight…
On top of a wall
In a tower
On a hill
…for the purpose of gaining a long distant view of any potential danger to the people.
Ex. Warn of approaching enemies
Gave the people outside the city walls time to get inside the city, once inside they would then have time to secure the gates and man the defenses.
Failure of duty carried a heavy penalty!
In the same way God called Ezekiel to warn the people of
That way the wicked person would have time to repent and live.
The righteous person would be encouraged to continue in the will of God.
If either the wicked or the righteous chose to ignore Ezekiel, and either continue in, or begin living in sin…
…then they would suffer for their insolence.
But, if Ezekiel chose not to warn them of approaching judgment…
…then God would hold him responsible for their deaths.
That’s motivation!
I think the point we’re to take away from this is that God is serious about giving people an opportunity to save themselves from judgment through repentance!
We’ve seen all through our study of the Scripture that God does not delight in the death of anyone…
…even the wicked!
He warned
He warned
He warned
In fact, chapters 4-32 is filled with warnings to the
peoples of
…giving all of them an opportunity to turn away from death unto life!
Ap. We’re watchman in the End Times
I have had people become upset with me, and even leave the church, because I talk about the “End Times” so often.
I do so because Jesus and the apostles did so…
…and that was 2,000 years ago!
While we don’t know the day or the hour when the Lord will bring forth His wrath upon the planet…
…it would be foolish to assume that it won’t be in our life time and chose not to warn people of the impending destruction.
So, the word of the Lord motivates us to speak the message that God has given us.
The Inspiration of the Lord (vs. 22-27)
Ezek. 3:22 Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you.”
Ezek. 3:23 So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.
Ezek. 3:24 Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
Ezek. 3:25 And you, O son of man, surely they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them.
Ezek. 3:26 I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and not be one to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house.
Ezek. 3:27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
√ The Inspiration of the Lord
This is kind of a strange text, and might even seem to be contradictory at first pass.
Vs. 24 ~ God tells him to go home
Vs. 26 ~ God makes him mute
Vs. 27 ~ God opens his mouth
So, does God want him to speak or not!?
It’s obvious that God does want him to speak (that’s what He tells him to do all through the book ~ just proclaimed him to be a watchman)…
…so, what is God doing here then?
Simply revealing the 3rd way that God motivated Ezekiel, by means of divine inspiration.
√ To speak or not to speak
The idea of verses 25-27 is that from this point forward Ezekiel would only speak to the people what God gave him to say.
When Ezekiel was silent (vs. 26) it was because God wasn’t speaking.
When Ezekiel spoke (vs. 27) it would be because God had told him to.
The idea is that Ezekiel was not free to speak to the people of
Rather, as a servant of the Lord he would from that day forward be under the direct command of the Lord.
That doesn’t mean God took over his mouth and disconnected his freedom to choose!
Rather, I think the understanding is that now that Ezekiel is in the service of the Lord…
…he was operating under the inspiration of God’s Spirit Who is well able to influence a person’s mouth!
Ex. Jeremiah – once chose to keep silent when God told him to speak!
Jer. 20:9 And I can’t stop! If I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am weary of holding it in!
So, while each of us retains our freedom to chose whether or not to obey God…
…I think our text in Ezekiel and Jeremiah’s experience remind us that God knows how to motivate us to speak (or to remain silent).
Ap. To speak or not to speak
I think this is one of the most difficult areas for many Christians.
We find it easy to say what we ought not to say!
We find it hard to say what we ought to speak!
James makes a good case for this in the 3rd chapter of his epistle!
“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.” ~ James 3:8-9
Our only hope is to surrender our tongue to the Holy Spirit, to let Him tell us when to…
…be silent, and when to speak.
Close
√ Chose life
Have you noticed that all through these first 3 chapters that God has consistently presented both Ezekiel and the people to whom he’s been called to minister with a…
…choice?
To hear or to ignore
To turn from evil, or to continue in evil
To speak or not to speak
Note how chapter 3 ends…
“He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.” ~ vs. 27b
God holds each person responsible for the choices they make in life.
√ The motivation for ministry
Ezekiel was motivated by…
The Hand of the Lord
The Word of the Lord
The Inspiration of the Lord
…but I believe the best motivation is love!
Ex. Jesus’ love for me
Jesus’ love for me motivates me to obey Him in whatever He might ask me to do…
…and to share that love with others.