Sermon Notes

7-9 “You, son of man, are the watchman. I’ve made you a watchman for Israel. The minute you hear a message from me, warn them. If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked man, wicked woman, you’re on the fast track to death!’ and you don’t speak up and warn the wicked to change their ways, the wicked will die unwarned in their sins and I’ll hold you responsible for their bloodshed. But if you warn the wicked to change their ways and they don’t do it, they’ll die in their sins well-warned and at least you will have saved your own life. 10 “Son of man, speak to Israel. Tell them, ‘You’ve said, “Our rebellions and sins are weighing us down. We’re wasting away. How can we go on living?”’ 11 “Tell them, ‘As sure as I am the living God, I take no pleasure from the death of the wicked. I want the wicked to change their ways and live. Turn your life around! Reverse your evil ways! Why die, Israel?’ 12-13 “There’s more, son of man. Tell your people, ‘A good person’s good life won’t save him when he decides to rebel, and a bad person’s bad life won’t prevent him from repenting of his rebellion. A good person who sins can’t expect to live when he chooses to sin. It’s true that I tell good people, “Live! Be alive!” But if they trust in their good deeds and turn to evil, that good life won’t amount to a hill of beans. They’ll die for their evil life. 14-16 “‘On the other hand, if I tell a wicked person, “You’ll die for your wicked life,” and he repents of his sin and starts living a righteous and just life—being generous to the down-and-out, restoring what he had stolen, cultivating life-nourishing ways that don’t hurt others—he’ll live. He won’t die. None of his sins will be kept on the books. He’s doing what’s right, living a good life. He’ll live.

The focus of Ezekiel’s message is on a future for God’s people when they will be comforted with His presence in a way that they had not previously experienced. This is in stark contrast to the present circumstances of God’s people, who are in exile in Babylon, having lost their homeland, their culture, their Temple, their freedom—all because of sin, particularly the sin of idolatry.

Ezekiel ben Amoz was a contemporary of both Jeremiah and Daniel. The Book was likely written between 593 and 565 BC, during the Babylonian captivity of Judah. Ezekiel ministered to a generation that was sinful and hopeless regarding having to endue judgment. He attempted to bring them to immediate repentance and to confidence in the distant future.

Ezekiel, destined to begin his life as a Temple priest at 30, was uprooted from Judah and marched off to Babylon at age of 25. For five years he languished in despair. At the age of 30, a majestic vision of Yahweh’s glory captivated him in Babylon. The priest/ prophet discovered God was not confined to the narrow strictures of Judah. Instead, God is universal, who commands and controls persons and nations. In Babylon, God imparted to Ezekiel His

Word for the people. His call experience transformed him. He became devoted to God’s Word. He was convinced God's Word spoke to their condition and could give them victory in it.

Ezekiel 33 consists of an oracle concerning a watchman. This image is used earlier in the book of Ezekiel for the prophet. As part of a prophetic commissioning, God appoints Ezekiel as a watch-man or lookout or sentinel (Ezekiel 3:16-21). The image or metaphor is used both to describe Ezekiel’s prophetic role—he is to warn people of coming danger—and to limit the prophet’s liability if the people do not listen.

The image of the watchman is particularly striking if we consider the literary context of the passage. The passage immediately after our printed lesson—Ezekiel 33:21, 22—contains a narrative report of the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. This military intervention serves as a critical turning point in the book, given that the prophetic tone switches here from mostly judgment oracles to promise oracles in Ezekiel 33-48. The occurrence of an image of the watchman just preceding this announcement already sets the tone for impending danger.

There are three references to “the house of Israel,” which makes it clear about the communal and national recipient of these warnings. In fact, this collective recipient can respond in verse 10 to the divine speech with a question: “how then can we live?” This question, with its accompanying realization that their sins weigh upon them heavily, engenders a divine response. The people of God have offered a complaint to which God responds.

7-9 “You, son of man, are the watchman. I’ve made you a watchman for Israel. The minute you hear a message from me, warn them. If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked man, wicked woman, you’re on the fast track to death!’ and you don’t speak up and warn the wicked to change their ways, the wicked will die unwarned in their sins and I’ll hold you responsible for their bloodshed. But if you warn the wicked to change their ways and they don’t do it, they’ll die in their sins well-warned and at least you will have saved your own life.

The watchman’s responsibility lies in sounding the alarm and pronouncing the danger. The sentinel would have been stationed in a lookout position and sounded a trumpet upon sight of a threat. The watchman, however, is not responsible for the people’s response to the warning. He or she cannot force people to prepare for the threat, to defend the city militarily, to fortify the surroundings.

The watchman’s task is to announce impending danger. That is where Ezekiel’s accountability lies—in telling; in announcing. To fail to do so is to commit a capital offense.

*It is the duty of the Christian to proclaim warning to those who have rejected the salvation provided by God, through Christ. To fail to do so is to fall short of our accountability. We don’t suffer the consequences of others’ failure to embrace Christ; but we are accountable for not sharing Christ with others. It means that we haven’t maximized our potential.

These verses are similar in tone to Ezekiel 3:16-21.

10 “Son of man, speak to Israel. Tell them, ‘You’ve said, “Our rebellions and sins are weighing us down. We’re wasting away. How can we go on living?”’ 11 “Tell them, ‘As sure as I am the living God, I take no pleasure from the death of the wicked. I want the wicked to change their ways and live. Turn your life around! Reverse your evil ways! Why die, Israel?’

God’s intention is not for us to die. While the house of Israel is threatened with death, God offers repentance and assurance that God takes no pleasure in the death of the unrepentant.

The danger lifted here is not an impending enemy attack. In fact, the threat is not external. Instead, the role of the watchman is to relay to the people God’s impending, but not inevitable, judgment.

The last phrase of the last verse of our passage speaks of God’s final question to the house of Israel: “Why will you die?” This question reframes the earlier inquiry from Israel: “How can we live?” It flips the earlier query on its head and emphasizes the consequence of wickedness (death).

To choose to live is to choose to turn back from evil. This verb, “to turn” is used repeatedly in this passage as a reminder of the physical understanding of repentance.

*In Matthew 18:15-20, we find the Gospel imperative to go to a fellow Church member to point out a fault. This positively relates to the image here of the prophet’s call to repentance and his role as a watchman.

The thematic connection between the passages actually stands loosely and at a broad level. Engaging the specifics of these passages creates some thematic distance between them. Perhaps one can note that in general forgiveness of sin is readily available in both stories.

12-13 “There’s more, son of man. Tell your people, ‘A good person’s good life won’t save him when he decides to rebel, and a bad person’s bad life won’t prevent him from repenting of his rebellion. A good person who sins can’t expect to live when he chooses to sin. It’s true that I tell good people, “Live! Be alive!” But if they trust in their good deeds and turn to evil, that good life won’t amount to a hill of beans. They’ll die for their evil life. 14-16 “‘On the other hand, if I tell a wicked person, “You’ll die for your wicked life,” and he repents of his sin and starts living a righteous and just life—being generous to the down-and-out, restoring what he had stolen, cultivating life-nourishing ways that don’t hurt others—he’ll live. He won’t die. None of his sins will be kept on the books. He’s doing what’s right, living a good life. He’ll live.

For a third time, God addresses Ezekiel directly and reiterates the charge for him to speak to his people.

Verse 12 sets out the principle by which divine justice operates: One’s past does not determine one’s present or future. Past righteousness does not save the person who sins. By the same token, past wickedness is not held against the person who repents.

Two examples of this principle are then listed. Though God pronounces the life sentence—“they shall surely live”—to the righteous, if they trust that their righteousness has saved them and then commit iniquity, from that very day, God will not remember their previous righteous deeds. They will perish on account of their sins. Conversely, if God pronounces the death sentence against the wicked and they respond, not only by turning from their sin, but also by doing what is lawful and right, from that very day God will cancel their death sentence, and they will live.

Verse 15 provides 3 examples of what it means to do what is lawful and right: generosity, remuneration, and integrity. Hence, the repentant must not only redress past misdeeds, but must also commit themselves to daily living righteously, in obedience to God’s Word.

Ezekiel insists upon God’s right to judge people by their present behavior, unfettered by the past. Those who look back over their lives and conclude that they have done more good than bad are offput by any judgment that comes their way; they deem it unfair.

Such is the case regarding ancient Hebrew standards of righteous-ness. But happily, it is not that way with us: Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with Me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen Me in action, you don’t really believe Me. Every person the Father gives Me eventually comes running to Me. And once that person is with Me, I hold on and don’t let go. I came down from heaven not to follow My own agenda but to accomplish the will of the One who sent Me.”—John 6:35-38 (MSG).

Simply put, our standard of righteousness is different—and not de-pendent on us. It is dependent on our relationship with God through our acceptance of God’s Messiah, Jesus. Once we are in that relationship—though we may stumble and fall, and suffer discipline as a result—it does not take from us what Christ has secured for us—eternal salvation.