Ezekiel’s Muteness

Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry was to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. An interesting fact about Ezekiel’s ministry was that God muted him for twelve years. Ezekiel was only allowed to speak when he was uttering an authentic word from God.

Ezekiel was taken to Babylon in the first Jewish deportation in 597 B.C., but the city of Jerusalem did not actually fall to King Nebuchadnezzar’s armies until twelve years later, and for the entire twelve years in between the initial deportation and Jerusalem’s ultimate collapse Ezekiel was silenced.

When word of Jerusalem’s fall arrived in Babylon, Ezekiel’s muteness finally came to an end. “In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, ‘The city has been struck down.’ Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and He had opened my mouth…so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute” (Ezekiel 33:21-22).

Ezekiel’s muteness began in Chapter 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. 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.”

Prophecy of removal of muteness came in Ezekiel 24:25-27

25 ‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and [a]that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: 26 that on that day one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears? 27 On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute.

Fulfilment of removal of muteness came in Ezekiel 33:21-22.

In Ezekiel 3:27, the Lord made Ezekiel speechless with one condition. When Lord speaks to Ezekiel and has a message to convey to people, his muteness was gone for some time. He shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD’ and the appropriate message. After that he will again be muted. Ezekiel was speechless for 12 years. He was unable to communicate with anyone, including family members unless the Lord speaks. His daily regimen included speaking to God, listening to God, and passing along any messages from God to the populace. Ezekiel was God’s watchmen with God’s voice.

Ezekiel lost his own voice but discovered God’s voice. There are 122 instances of “Thus says the Lord GOD ” throughout Ezekiel, but only two of them occur before 3:27, in 2:4 and 3:11. Ezekiel 3:27 experience was turning point in Ezekiel’s ministry. Everything he said after 3:27 was “Thus says the Lord God”. God used Ezekiel’s mouth as His own mouth. What a privilege for Ezekiel, that Lord GOD spoke through Ezekiel 122 times. All these times its “Thus says the Lord God”. The Hebrew word for “Lord God” is Jehovah Elohim. The Bible’s first mention of Lord God is found in Genesis 2:4: ” Lord God made the earth and the heavens.” Ezekiel was appointed as the spokesman for the Creator God, who created the vast cosmos.

When we consider the context of Book of Ezekiel, we see that the Creator God, desired to destroy Jerusalem. A Creator God wants to destroy means, He is acting against His nature. He therefore desired the destruction of Jerusalem in order to rebuild a better and new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem was the new heavens and the new earth in the millennium. Ezekiel since he was messenger of the Creator God, he got a glimpse of Lord God’s new Jerusalem and millennium.

Although Ezekiel’s voice was silenced in front of the world, his spiritual voice and vision were fully functioning. Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel were the three prophets who simultaneously prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem. Daniel and Jeremiah briefly stated that Israel will experience restoration after the captivity, but Ezekiel elaborated on the how and the nature of God’s restoration and hope by announcing it even into the end times.

God first deals with Ezekiel’s speech. After his speech is controlled by God, he then serves as the mouthpiece of God. A prophet’s speech is controlled by God. Is God in charge of your voice? Your speech is guided/directed by God?

Ezekiel’s speech was controlled by God and the way he spoke was directed by God.

Thus says the Lord God – is given to those whose voice is first controlled by God. Is there any wrong talk when you speak? Do check