Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we explore the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through Twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers, and one exile. I’m Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization dedicated to sharing the story of Israel’s people, both ancient and modern. I’m also the author of the Bible Fiber book, a 52-week study of the Twelve Minor Prophets, available on Amazon.
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This week, we’re examining Ezekiel 33, a pivot point in the book. For the first 24 chapters, Ezekiel announced judgement on the house of Israel. Then, for eight chapters, he pronounced judgement on Israel’s neighbors. Chapter 33 picks up where Chapter 24 left off, making it seem like the OAN was an odd insertion. However, including the oracles against foreign nations served multiple purposes within Ezekiel’s prophetic message. First, it showed God’s sovereignty over all nations. Second, it provided a sense of cosmic justice, assuring the exiled Israelites that their oppressors would also face judgment and would not be an obstacle to Israel’s future restoration. Most importantly, however, the OAN set the stage for the hope-filled portion of Ezekiel’s message, which comprises the last third of the book.
Watchman metaphor
The chapter begins with Ezekiel’s recommissioning as the watchman over Jerusalem’s walls (33:1-6). Earlier, in Chapter 3, Yahweh had likened Ezekiel’s role as prophet to that of a watchman tasked with warning the people of oncoming trouble. Although the sections mirror each other, the difference in their timing is significant. In Chapter 3, Ezekiel’s prophecies seemed unimaginable to his audience, who believed Jerusalem would never fall. However, by the time we reach Chapter 33, Ezekiel’s prophecies had come true.
God explained the watchman’s responsibilities and the extent of his accountability. If the watchman failed to spot the approaching enemy and sound the alarm, God would hold him responsible for the lives lost (33:6). Ezekiel had fulfilled his calling as a vigilant watchman, maintaining his post on Jerusalem’s metaphorical walls for seven uninterrupted years. Ezekiel delivered his message repeatedly, creatively, and at great personal sacrifice. Yet, despite Ezekiel’s unwavering vigilance, the people refused to heed his warnings, choosing instead to listen to the false prophets who assured them they did not need to worry. Tragically, when Jerusalem’s destruction came, the nation paid the price for ignoring Ezekiel’s calls to repentance.
According to God’s explanation, the watchman is absolved of guilt when the citizens ignore the warning blasts of his trumpet. Ezekiel was not negligent, as illustrated by God’s words: “If any who hear the sound of the trumpet do not take warning and the sword comes and takes them away, their blood shall be upon their own heads” (Ezekiel 33:4). This is the second instance in the Book of Ezekiel, where God presents hypothetical scenarios about the watchman’s obligations and the consequences (Ezekiel 3:16-21). The metaphor highlights the duty of the prophet to deliver God’s messages and warnings to the people. A prophet speaks out against wrongdoing and provides guidance, regardless of whether the people choose to listen.
With the collapse of Jerusalem, the exiles felt the weight of their sin. As they grasped the consequences of their actions, they questioned how they could continue living (33:10). Until now, the people had not accepted responsibility for their exile. The recognition of their own guilt was a positive development. However, instead of seeking to reform their ways, they remained trapped in despair.
The people must have been questioning God’s system of justice because Ezekiel countered accusations of divine unfairness or partiality. God said, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (33:11). The nation’s punishment resulted from God’s justice; it was not a sadistic impulse like the pagan deities. In his kindness, he commissioned a watchman and gave him ample time to sound the alarm. If the people had responded to the prophets, God would have canceled his wrath.
In the Old Testament, God often exhorted the Israelites to repent and choose life. When Moses called them to “choose life,” he knew that the choice was not a onetime decision but an ongoing commitment to live according to the covenant and devote themselves to the worship of their one true God. In the Gospels, Jesus called everyone to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 4:17). Joining the kingdom of God is an ongoing commitment to live under the lordship of Christ and to participate in the redemption of the world. Kingdom language is a new iteration of the classic call of Moses and the prophets to choose life. Both demand repentance as the first step, rejecting worldly ways and fully surrendering to God.
After the watchman metaphor, Ezekiel returned to the radical concept of personal responsibility that he introduced in Chapter 18. Once again, he explained that divine judgment was based on present behavior rather than past deeds. One’s former righteousness could not save them if they turn to wickedness, nor would former wickedness condemn those who repented and reformed. If a wicked person “turns from their sin and do what is lawful and right,” they choose the path of life (33:14). If a righteous person turns away from the covenant and does evil, they choose death.
As in Chapter 18, Ezekiel’s theology of individual accountability would have profound implications for Jewish and later Christian understanding of sin and salvation (18:21-32). Chapter 33 must have recapitulated earlier lessons because the exiles still accused God of arbitrarily dispensing rewards and punishments (33:17). In Chapter 18, they had blamed the sins of their ancestors for their current hardship. By Chapter 33, their mindset had changed, and they at least owned their sin problem. However, the only way to authenticate sincere repentance is through obedience.
Back in Jerusalem
Although Ezekiel mostly focused on the exiles, he also addressed the attitude of those who remained in Jerusalem. After 586 BCE, the majority of Jerusalem’s citizenry either escaped to Egypt or got deported to Babylon. According to 2 Kings 25:12, the Babylonians left the poorest of the land behind in Jerusalem. Jeremiah referred to the 20,000 poor people who survived as the “vinedressers and ploughmen” (Jer. 52:16). It was in the Babylonians’ interest to leave workers to tend to the land’s agriculture.
Ezekiel likely expected the remnant in Jerusalem to repent and turn to God in mass, especially knowing that “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted” (Ps. 34:18). Nearly starving for almost two years, the Jerusalemites then saw their holy city destroyed. Yet their survival infused them with a newfound arrogance. There was a false theological claim going around that they were the promised remnant. Even though they were living in the ruins of Jerusalem, they interpreted their continuation in the land as divine protection.
The people rationalized that if God had given the land over to Abraham, who was only one man, the land covenant passed down to the remaining heirs of Abraham (33:24). As the remnant, they were entitled to annex the empty homes and property of their deported brethren (11:15). Based on their false pretenses, the exiles were those being punished, not them. God explained they had the dynamic of the situation wrong. After the exiles went through a time of purging, God would restore them to the land. The exiles were the chosen remnant, even if at the moment it did not seem like it (Jer. 24:10).
Also, the Jerusalemites misunderstood the terms of the covenant and the responsibility of chosenness. Obedience to the covenant and faithfulness to Yahweh determined possession of the land. Ezekiel listed six areas where the survivors in Jerusalem persisted in disobedience. Unlike Abraham, who solely devoted himself to Yahweh, they worshipped idols. Abraham had been full of faith and a friend of God (James 2:23). They committed murder, practiced sexual immorality, and ate unclean animals (33:25-26). After all that they had been through, they still had not learned their lesson. Rather than the blessing of land, they would trigger the covenant curses: the sword, wild animals, and pestilence (33:27).
Messenger arrived
In a brief narrative section, Ezekiel recounted the arrival of a fugitive from Jerusalem in Babylon during the twelfth year of the exile (33:21-22). This eyewitness to the Babylonian assault brought firsthand accounts of the devastation. Ezekiel did not describe the physical or emotional state of the fugitive. However, like everyone in Jerusalem during the siege, he would have been pushed to the brink of starvation. The prophet Jeremiah described the survivors’ shriveled skin against their bones (Lam. 4:8). The messenger’s state would have been further compounded by his arduous trek from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Two years earlier, God had promised Ezekiel that when a survivor from the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem arrived at Tel Abib, God would end his period of silence. According to the narrative, the night before the fugitive’s arrival, “the hand of the Lord” rested on Ezekiel (33:22). God opened Ezekiel’s mouth, lifting the selective muteness that had been divinely imposed on him for years. Since the start of his career, Ezekiel could only speak when given an oracle of judgement. Suddenly, he regained his voice to preach, make small talk, and offer words of comfort.
It took six months for the fugitive to make it from Jerusalem to Babylon. His arrival, which was soon followed by a large wave of deportees, validated Ezekiel as a true prophet of God. Moses, many centuries before, told the Israelites not to trust self-proclaimed prophets whose predictions were never realized (Deut. 18:22).
Ezekiel’s reputation in the community improved. The exiles no longer accused him of crying wolf (12:21-28) or making up riddles (20:49). However, God told Ezekiel that his rise in popularity was not a positive thing. The people crowded into his house and lined up in the alleyways to hear his oracles. God warned, “they hear your words, but they will not obey them” (33:31). They treated Ezekiel like he was their entertainment, but they did not internalize his message or submit to God’s will. God added, “they treat you like a singer of love songs” (33:32). They took pride in having a true prophet in their midst. They liked his singing voice and musical abilities, but they did not apply the teachings to their life.
This disconnect between hearing and doing, between admiration and application, is a persistent problem throughout the Bible, and on into our day. True faith is not merely about listening to inspiring messages or enjoying uplifting experiences, but about allowing God’s truth to transform our hearts and guide our actions.
Many Christians go to big church services because they want a music concert and a self-help inspirational sermon, but they do not want to even feel a pinch of guilt. They reduce the word of God to entertaining distraction, part of their Sunday morning routine. However, this is not a new problem. Clearly, it was a tendency of the Israelites in exile. It is also clear in the New Testament that it was a problem for the early church. James, the brother of Jesus, instructed Christians “be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves” (James 1:22). The ultimate test of our engagement with God’s word lies not in our enthusiasm for hearing it, but in our commitment to living it out.
While the arrival of the Jerusalem fugitive confirmed Ezekiel’s prophetic role and boosted his popularity, it didn’t spark an immediate spiritual revival. True change would require more time and continued guidance from Ezekiel. As we progress in our study of Ezekiel, you’ll notice a shift in his messages. The focus moves away from judgment and turns towards themes of salvation and deliverance. This transition marks a new phase in Ezekiel’s ministry, reflecting God’s enduring plan for His people despite their current circumstances.
Join me next week for Ezekiel 34’s teaching about the coming shepherd who would be God himself.
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Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai