The Solemn Responsibility Of God's Prophets (Ezekiel 3:17-21)

We have looked at the Lord Jesus Christ, the center of all Bible prophecy, and His mission of redemption. The bulk of prophecy focuses upon Him as well as the future of the nation of Israel. The Scriptures describe Israel's unstable relationship with GOD in a series of rebuttals and condemnation for their unfaithfulness to Him and His commandments. We also read in the Scriptures that God desires HIs chosen people come back to Him in a state of repentance and renewal of obedience and love towards Him and one another. There are periods of national and individual spiritual revival, but also periods in Israel's history where God's plea to His people falls on deaf ears and hard hearts.

Despite the warnings from HIs prophets along with His personal intervention, there was little change in the conduct of the Israelites as the years passed. There were periods of reprieve under the reign of godly kings such as David, Hezekiah, and Josiah, but also periods of rank and defiant unbelief combined with a false formalism of worship during the times of Ahaz and Manasseh. God will not be mocked, however, and will bring about events to honor His Holy character and name. He did so by allowing the kingdoms of both Israel in the north and Judah in the south to fall into enemy hands as punishment for their wickedness. Any nation that forgets God is bound for destruction, within and without. By the way, America is no exception.

The Bible focuses a great deal of attention to the fate of the southern kingdom of Judah, which began to decline in power and authority around the year 605 B.C., when the first wave of its citizens was sent to Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II. This first group of exiles included Daniel, then a young man who was to serve as an aid to the Babylonian king and be one of the great prophets of the Old Testament. One of the other men whom God had called to His service was a priest named Ezekiel. His time of ministry took place during the early years of the Babylonian Exile (593-570 B.C.). His visions from God showed the decline, fall, and restoration of the people of Israel. His older contemporary, Jeremiah, witnessed this when the kingdom of Judah finally fell in 586 B.C. and the nation was no more.

The time in Bible History known as the "exilic period" started in 605 B.C. when the armies of Nebuchadnezzar defeated the army of Egypt, led by Pharoah Necho at the Battle of Carchemish. This victory secured the kingdom of Babylon as a major player on the world stage. Babylon established Judah as a "vassal" kingdom, which meant that Judah had to pay annual monetary tribute to them or face severe consequences if they dared to disobey. After the death of the godly king Josiah, ironically at the hands of Necho, Josiah's descendants turned back to the ways of their idolatrous ancestors, disregarding God and persecuting the prophets (Jeremiah 7:26, 36). King Jehoiakim (608-597) degraded the spiritual life of the nation (Jeremiah 7:1-15) and proved to be nothing more than a petty tyrant (Jeremiah 22:13-15). He foolishly decided to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, but died before the Babylonians could take action against him.

The next ruler, Jehoiachin, reigned for only three months before he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:8-17; Jeremiah 22:24-30; Ezekiel 19:5-9). Nebuchadnezzar pillaged Jerusalem and took thousands of notable citizens back with him to Babylon. It was at this time when Ezekiel began his ministry among the exiles (Ezekiel 1:1). Like Isaiah before him, Ezekiel witnessed as vision of the glory of God and His angelic host, who are at His bidding. They are described as glorious beings with their appearance conveying the holy magnificence of the LORD. The wheels he describes are symbolic of God's war machine as He exercises righteous judgment upon a stubborn people. This vision of God's glory is known as a "Theophany", specifically an image of the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ. Upon witnessing this vision, Ezekiel falls on his face in awe and wonder. Here is where he gets his prophetic calling from the LORD. He is to preach to the people, although they will respond with stubbornness and reluctance to heed God's Word (Are we any different?)

Ezekiel's responsibilities as a prophet are given in Chapter 3, vv.17-21. These words apply to anyone whom God has entrusted with the spiritual well-being and care of the people. They read as follows:

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore, hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from me: 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 life, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 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. 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. Nevertheless, if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall truly live because he took warning; also, you will have delivered your soul." (NKJV)