Ezekiel 33 Devotional
By Pastor Lawrence

Using the same analogy of a watchman standing guard over a city that was previously mentioned in the third chapter of Ezekiel, God once again compares the role of the prophet to a voice loudly crying out to warn the people of the real danger that they were in. If the prophet did his job faithfully and the people listened in faith then their lives would be spared, but if they refused to listen to his heartfelt warning, he would not be responsible for their bloodshed. There is really nothing new here in terms of what is being conveyed in the first half of the chapter, but it is being repeated nonetheless, for it seems that the people were still casting the blame upon God accusing Him of injustice for the needless death of their fellow men, when God had been warning them all these years of certain judgment if they did not repent.

Even when a fugitive from Jerusalem gives a report to Ezekiel informing him of the destruction of the city, he conveys the proud and misguided expectations of the remaining inhabitants in the land thinking that they had a right to the land of Promise and that God somehow owed it to them. But Ezekiel once again playing the role of the watchman points out a multitude of their sins and warns them of the consequences foretelling their destruction through sword, pestilence. But still they do not heed his warnings. Strangely, instead of being unnerved by his message, they are untroubled altogether. In fact, they are actually entertained by his warnings enjoying them almost as a work of art as if he were some bawdy singer wooing them with the cadence and timbre of his mellifluous voice.

As much as it is a blessing to receive the word of God in faith, it is very dangerous to be indifferent to it, or, even worse, to sit in judgment upon it. Every time we read or hear God’s Word casually or inattentively we harden our hearts toward our Maker, we actually close the doors to the gospel itself, and we show ourselves to be fools. Christ has given us the very words of life, how then could we turn back toward the darkness? Therefore, let us listen carefully, heeding God’s Word and turning away from all our wicked ways that we might live!