Ezekiel: God's Call to be a Watchman

Tonight we are going to be talking God’s call for Ezekiel to be a watchman. By watchman, I mean someone who functions as a guard or lookout to warn people of coming danger.

Why do I want to talk about this?

As Christians - whether you go to public school, Christian school, or home-school; whether you are just entering middle school or are getting ready to leave high school; or whether you’re young and just entering your teens, or old, getting in your sixties, and signing up for senior discounts - you don’t have to go far to find somebody who doesn’t act the way we act, think the way we think, and who doesn’t believe the things we believe.

In fact, there are people out there who are pretty hostile towards people like us, who believe what we believe - and there always has been and always will be.

So - as Christians who are commanded to go out, testify to, and proclaim the gospel, the message of Jesus - we can be pretty intimidated.

But what I’m hoping to show you guys is there is no reason to be intimidated.

Israel, Babylonian Exile, and Ezekiel

Israel

God’s chosen people to be his ambassadors (Gen 12:1-3; Deut 7:6-8; Isa 49:6).

Originally one kingdom, but split into two: Israel (North) and Judah (South) (1 Kin 12:1-20).

Israel was God’s chosen people to be his ambassadors (i.e., to represent God, be a light to the world, and spread his blessing). Israel was originally one kingdom, but it split into two: Israel and Judah.

The Babylonian Exile

Both Israel and Judah were unfaithful to God, and because of this, God sent other nations against them as punishment (2 Kin 17:1-8; 24:1-4).

The nation that overtook Judah was Babylonia, and its king was Nebuchadnezzar II.

Both Israel and Judah were unfaithful to God, and because of this, God sent other nations against them as punishment. The nation that overtook Judah was Babylonia, and its king was Nebuchadnezzar II.

Jeremiah 2:4–5 (ESV)

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

Jeremiah 2:26–28 (ESV)

“As a thief is shamed when caught, so the house of Israel shall be shamed: they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets, who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us!’ But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for as many as your cities are your gods, O Judah.

Here we can see the current state of Judah. It is a place that is filled with idolatry and injustice at every level, even by the priests and the prophets.

Ezekiel (יְחֶזְקֵאל)

Prophet who was taken into exile and ministered while in exile (2 Kin 24:10-17; Ezek 1:1-3).

Called as a prophet to warn Judah of its destruction for its sin (Ezek 2:3; 4:1-3).

Despite Ezekiel’s warnings, the people refused to listen.

Ezekiel was a prophet who was taken into exile by the Babylonians in the first deportation, and he ministered while in exile. He was called as a prophet to warn the nation of Judah of its destruction for its sin, so that its people may repent and turn back to God. Despite his warnings to the people of Judah, they refused to listen.

Ezekiel 3:17–21 (ESV)

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If 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, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

So, here we have Ezekiel, who - in this passage - is being called by God to be a prophet. The Israelites (which makes up the nations of Israel and Judah) have been living completely apart from God. They’ve said, “We don’t need God.” They’ve made idols for themselves and encouraged a life of sin and godlessness. On top of that, they’ve pleaded innocent. When confronted, they said, “We’ve done nothing wrong.” So, not only has there been sin and evil running rampant - completely unrestrained - there’s also a complete lack of any show of repentance. Now, this has been happening for a long time, around 100 years.

God is sending this message for two primary reasons: 1) to show the people that they are not innocent and 2) so that the people may repent and turn back to God.

Because of this, God is punishing the nation. And he’s sending Ezekiel to proclaim this message for two primary reasons: 1) to show the people that they are not innocent and 2) so that the people may finally repent and turn back to God.

Ezekiel 33:11 (ESV)

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel may not get the response he wants (Ezek 3:19).

However, Ezekiel isn’t necessarily going to get the response he desires (Ezek 3:19). There is a strong possibility - in fact, it’s the likelihood - that there will be people that Ezekiel warns of their wickedness who do not turn from it.

This may come across as discouraging. Ezekiel wants people to turn back to God, but he’s going to have a hard time finding people who will actually listen to him. But Ezekiel doesn’t have to rely on his own power of persuasion to convince the people around him. If he did, it would create 1) more pressure because the responsibility becomes him having to convince people and 2) more discouragement because when people don’t listen, it’s his fault. But that’s not the case. Ezekiel’s call is not based on how persuasive, creative, or compelling his speech is. It’s based on faith.

Take a look at Moses.

Exodus 4:10 (ESV)

But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”

God called Moses to communicate his message to Pharoah, so that Pharoah would free the Hebrews from Egypt. But Moses did not believe that he would be able to convince Pharoah to let them go, despite the miraculous signs that God would do to affirm his message.

Take another example in the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 1:4–7 (ESV)

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Neither Moses nor Jeremiah were confident in their ability to convince the people around them of the message that God told them to proclaim. But what they didn’t realize was that God’s desire for them wasn’t to be effective communicators; it was to be faithful servants.

As some of you may already know, I graduated from Lancaster Bible College. And at LBC, we would have chapels every week with different chapel speakers. Now, chapel was a controversial issue because there are a lot of differing thoughts and opinions at LBC. So, likewise, there were a lot of differing thoughts and opinions from chapel speakers. So, chapel would raise fruitful discussions and sometimes arguments among both students and professors. Now while some criticisms towards certain chapel speakers may have been valid, there were others that weren’t so valid.

For example, we had one of our professors speak for chapel one week. Now, this guy has a brilliant mind and is arguably in the top five list of smartest people I personally know. And he delivered a fantastic message. But, a few of my close friends were complaining about him being our chapel speaker. And when I asked why they didn’t like him speaking, they just said that he has a really boring voice.

Most people often have this expectation from pastors, teachers, themselves or anyone that communicates a biblical message to act like effective salesmen. However, God’s call to Ezekiel isn’t to be a salesman; it’s to be a watchman.

Watchmen vs Salesmen

Salesman: It’s all up to you.

Salesman: it’s all up to you to close the deal. You have to have the creative pitch, the convincing argument, and the strategist approach to persuade the other person to buy into your message. And if you don’t seal the deal and get them to sign up, it’s all on you.

Watchman: What a watchman is responsible for is being faithful to deliver the message.

Watchman: The thing a watchman is responsible for isn’t getting people to sign up. It’s our hope that they do. But the thing that a watchman is responsible for is being faithful to deliver the message.

I hope that you’ve taken or are going to take an American History class at some point, so you hopefully you remember a man named Paul Revere. Now, Paul Revere is mainly famous for one thing: his famous midnight ride. And his mission on that ride was to warn the people that the British are coming.

Now, whether those people listen is not Paul Revere’s responsibility. It’s his responsibility to make the message heard. This is what makes him a watchman. A watchman stands guard and warns the people of the danger that’s coming for them. This is Ezekiel’s call. But it’z not only Ezekiel’s; it’s every one of ours. I realize that there are a lot of differences between Ezekiel’s context and our world today, but God’s message still connects.

God’s desire is for his people to be in right relationship with him.

God punished Israel for their sin. This doesn’t make God an mean or angry God. It doesn’t make him mean in the OT and nice in the NT. God is showing that his desire is for his people to be in right relationship with him. Think about this in light of Jesus. Why else would Jesus become a man, suffer, be crucified, die, raise from the dead, and ascend to Heaven? It’s so that each person’s sins could be forgiven, can be faithful servants, and be in right relationship with God.

We are watchmen. And this is the message that we are called to go and tell the world about. We don’t have to be timid or afraid because we don’t know if we’ll say the right thing, or say it in the right way, or in the most strategic or affective way. But we have to be faithful. And we can have we can have faith in the fact that all God requires of us is faith.