Eze 3:16-27 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Ezek 3:16-19: 3:16-19 Ezekiel was called to be a watchman , a familiar image for Old Testament prophets (see Isa 56:10 ; Jer 6:17 ; Hos 9:8 ). The watchman was a lookout for the community. He was responsible for providing advance warning of approaching enemies so that the people could take refuge in time. In this case, the enemy they had to fear was not a human invader but God. As difficult as his task was, the blood of those he failed to warn would be on his head if he remained silent.

a3:16-19►

bIsa 56:10►

cJer 6:17►

dHos 9:8►

e3:20-21►

fMatt 13:3-9►

g18-23►

h3:22-23►

i3:24-25►

j3:26-27►

k3:26-27►

l24:27►

‏ Ezekiel 3:16-27

Summary for Ezek 3:16-19: 3:16-19 ^a Ezekiel was called to be a watchman, a familiar image for Old Testament prophets (see Isa 56:10 ^b; Jer 6:17 ^c; Hos 9:8 ^d). The watchman was a lookout for the community. He was responsible for providing advance warning of approaching enemies so that the people could take refuge in time. In this case, the enemy they had to fear was not a human invader but God. As difficult as his task was, the blood of those he failed to warn would be on his head if he remained silent.
Summary for Ezek 3:20-21: 3:20-21 ^e The prophet spoke to two classes of people, the righteous and the wicked. Ezekiel was to express his message indiscriminately, for both the righteous and the wicked would be judged on the basis of their response to his words (cp. Matt 13:3-9 ^f, 18-23 ^g). Those who heeded him would receive life; those who rejected his message would receive death, even if they had previously been righteous. Faith in the Lord’s word through his prophet was the sole criterion that divided those who would live from those who would die.
Summary for Ezek 3:22-23: 3:22-23 ^h The Lord summoned Ezekiel out into the valley, into a wilderness that was away from other people.

• Although this was the second time he had seen the glory of the Lord, it was not something to which Ezekiel had grown accustomed. Its awesome magnificence prostrated him.
Summary for Ezek 3:24-25: 3:24-25 ⁱ Ezekiel was God’s prisoner, shut ... in his house and tied with ropes. It is not clear whether these were literal ropes used to express the hostility of his fellow exiles toward the prophet, or a vivid image of their opposition and his restricted mobility among them. His complete captivity was striking, including the limitation placed on his speech (3:26-27 ^j); it would be a sign to the people.
Summary for Ezek 3:26-27: 3:26-27 ^k Even Ezekiel’s tongue was under arrest, bound to the roof of his mouth except when God freed it to speak his words of judgment. He was not physiologically incapable of speaking, but his communication was so restricted by God that he could only deliver the message of disaster that God gave him; all other speech was prohibited. This made Ezekiel’s role more limited than that of most prophets, who were free to intercede for and mediate between God and his people. Ezekiel could not speak on their behalf because the time for dialogue between God and his people had passed. No further appeal was possible against the coming judgment. Ezekiel’s speech would be restricted until the news of Jerusalem’s fall arrived (24:27 ^l). At that point, with the completion of God’s judgment on his people, the prophet’s tongue would be freed to intercede for them again.