Ezekiel, who was both a priest and a prophet, was among the captives who were taken to Babylonia in 597 B.C.
God commissioned him to begin prophesying concerning the immediate future and ultimate destiny of His people.
Today’s question is
Does Ezekiel’s calling, or part of it, apply to us today?
God said to the prophet,
Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.
Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 3:17-21).
“Therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul” (Ezekiel 33:7-9).
Ezekiel was called to warn persons in the people of Israel for their sin.
If he failed, he would be held responsible by God.
Note to the reader: This post will be longer than I normally write, but I felt the need to examine this issue in greater depth and in a whole fashion rather than breaking it up over days.
Does Ezekiel’s particular calling apply to Christians?
These verses are used in some evangelism various training to suggest that
- a Christian is responsible for sharing the gospel with another person,
- God will hold us accountable for our failure to warn.
Two questions come to mind at first glance:
- Is there a special office of “watchman” in the New Testament church?
- Independent of this office of “Watchman,” are we personally responsible for our failure to share the gospel with another person?
I’m not going to deal with the first one here.
But for the second question, I see a deep question of biblical hermeneutics, or the art of interpretation. You can learn about hermeneutics from other places, but the question here is:
- Does this passage apply to all of us Christians now?
- Or was this watchman call (and consequence) connected to Ezekiel’s unique vocation and commission?
I am not sure.
Have we been given the same call and commission as Ezekiel?
1. Who is Ezekiel called to?
Ezekiel’s call in chapter 3 begins with the symbolic eating of the scroll.
Then in verse 5, Ezekiel is sent to his own people, the people of Israel.
- They are of hard heart.
- They are obstinate.
- They are a rebellious people.
- They won’t listen to the Lord.
Ezekiel’s call is to the rebellious covenant people of God. He was to call the people of God to turn away from their sin or face destruction.
If we were to apply the same calling, are we called to the same people?
- The nation of Israel?
- The wayward sinners in the church, the body of Christ?
- The sinners who don’t yet know the Lord?
It seems to me that if we apply one part of Ezekiel’s call (the responsibility), but choose to apply it to a different people group (those outside the faith), we are not being faithful the the text.
2. Ezekiel’s calling was both religious as well as political.
Ezekiel was called to the people of Israel who had wandered away from God.
God had raised up prophets over time to call the people of God back to Himself, as part of the covenant pursuit of His beloved people.
If the people of God were not destroyed by their enemies, it showed that God had forgiven them.
If the people of God were eventually destroyed by their enemies, it showed that they had continued to follow their own way and failed to live up to the covenant
I’m not sure we can find a way to apply this particular calling to all Christians.
While some could try to find a way, like prophesying judgment and destruction against the sins of the nation like the USA or even modern day secular state Israel), I don’t think this same calling applies to Christians in general.
It would be stretching the text beyond it’s historical situation and unique calling of Ezekiel.
3. Is there a particular focus of Ezekiel’s responsibility? or Are there particular people that Ezekiel’s responsible for?
I don’t have an answer to this question, so I’m only raising it.
Ezekiel would be personally held responsible if he failed to obey in warning a wicked person.
When I [the Lord] say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
While his calling was to a nation, the preceding clause to the particular warning is to a particular person.
“When I say to a wicked person . . and you do not warn them.”
If fact, all of verses 17-21 is about a particular individual
- a wicked person
- a righteous person
I wonder (but don’t have an answer yet), is this a limit to Ezekiel’s responsibility to just the particular person he was to speak to at a given moment?
Did Ezekiel need to have a clear sense from God that God was speaking to a particular person, such as a religious leader, a priest, or ruler over Israel?
Or did Ezekiel carry this heavy emotional toil for every single person in the country (since his calling was to the nation)?
What if Ezekiel couldn’t reach every person, simply as a matter of course?
I live in a city of 1.8 million people. If I had to warn each one individually, I couldn’t do it. It’s impossible. Even if I bought media time and had a twitter account for everyone.
It seems to me that God would use Ezekiel to speak to particular people to call a nation back.
If God highlighted a particular person and Ezekiel failed to warn, then the warning makes sense to me.
4. Do we apply other prophetic callings to ourselves?
- What about the calling of Moses?
- How about the calling of Daniel?
- What about the call of Isaiah?
- How about Elijah or Elisha?
- Or even Esther?
- Or the Virgin Mary?
While each calling story has some principles that we could apply to our discipleship, do we lift up selective ideas out of each one that fit our purposes?
I don’t think any of us would dare say that we have the same callings as these men and women of God.
We can learn from these callings, but we don’t selectively lift out phrases. That’s bad hermeneutics.
5. But what about Jonah?
Jonah was a prophet sent to the Ninevites. He disobeyed at first and did not warn the people. (Chapter 1). Jonah’s calling is not as detailed in the text as the calling of Ezekiel, so we don’t know if there was more to it than what is simply written.
God held him responsible for not going and Jonah was disciplined (chapter 2).
Then when we did go (he got a second chance), he went and warned the people who repented. Jonah eventually made it to the king so that the all the people could respond to God.
When God saw the repentance of the Ninevites, he relented and did not bring on the destruction (Chapter 3).
Jonah got angry with God for relenting (perhaps Jonah was embarrassed that destruction didn’t come (Chapter 4).
It seems to me that Jonah is held responsible for not obeying God to be the particular prophet of warning to the people of Ninevah.
Like Ezekiel, Jonah is called to a particular nation.
Somewhat like Ezekiel (Ezekiel obeyed), Jonah is disciplined for disobeying God.
What do I think we can apply?
As I have written elsewhere on the urgency of evangelism, I do believe that Christians are called to take the gospel everywhere.
It may be the case that if we do not speak repentance to sinners when called to that we ourselves may fall under God’s wrath for our disobedience to Him.
But using the Ezekiel passage to guilt us into sharing our faith is a misuse of the text.
But I do think we can apply some principles without dragging guilt into the equation.
1. We are to bear witness to the good news of the gospel.
Given the mandate that we are to:
- Go and make disciples
- Be my witnesses
- As the Father has sent me, so I send you
We bear the witness to share the good news of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes that witness includes a warning:
- Warning about the dangers of sin
- Warning about the consequences of sin
- Warning about the justice of God that will come because of sin.
I do not have a problem with warning people about their sin when sharing the good news of the gospel.
It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict the person of their own sin and see their need for Jesus.
2. We are to be obedient go God.
Like Jonah and Ezekiel, as well as all the other characters in the Bible, we are to be obedient to God’s commands as well as to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Ezekiel was obedient
Jonah was eventually obedient.
We know that when we obey God, we experience blessing.
When we fail to obey God, we lack blessing and find God’s discipline upon us.
3. We go to whom we are sent.
We live and minister to the people we are personally called to minister to.
Jonah was called to the town of Ninevah, not to the Mayans in Mexico.
Ezekiel was called to the people of Israel, not to Greeks.
The people that the Lord places in our lives are likely the people He wants to use us to reach.
The strangers that engage us in conversations are sometimes those the Lord wants to use us to reach as well (Think Philip and the Eunuch).
4. We speak as the Lord opens the door to the person or group in front of us.
Jonah got the audience before the king to affect the people.
Ezekiel may have been directed to particular people (speculation).
I think our job and responsibility is to do evangelism as the Lord opens the conversational doors.
That might be with a group of people (like crusade evangelism).
It might be with a friend or family member (like relational evangelism).
5. We are not burdened with the responsibility of speaking to every single person.
This is where I often hear this text misused.
It’s an impossible burden for me to be held responsible for every single person, including those I could never possibly reach.
God has more people on this planet than me.
God is more sovereign than my ability to reach people.
Conclusion
My thoughts are incomplete on this matter, so I’ve not yet fully answered my own question.
I’ll continue to noodle on it.
However, I do invite some discussion about how this calling of Ezekiel applies or doesn’t apply to us.
Join in.
Image credit: travmanley / 123RF Stock Photo
I do think when this text is misapplied, condemnation can be felt. But I rejocie that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
I heard Ezek. taught today in a women’s bible study. I have no problem with seeing it as part if the great commission. My problem is with someone’s blood being on my head for not sharing. There is no condemnation in Christ but it sure sounds like it.
Not to be difficult, but it seems you and others are struggling to circumvent the obvious. We are the salt of the earth. We are light. What happens when the salt has lost its savor? It’s much more comfortable to say “nothing.” The notion of being “trodden underfoot” is so harsh. It’s much more pleasant to suppose the great commission is aspirational. We don’t like to feel guilty. Surely God doesn’t want to motivate us by guilt, right? Where else do you think that introspection comes from when righteousness is called into question? It’s the work of the Holy Spirit. I too have struggled with this passage. We all have. I have little doubt that if my neighbor goes to hell without a single overture from me about how he can be rescued, there will be blood on my hands. Pilate could not so easily absolve himself. Neither can we.
Idk I disagree I don’t know the bible and I’m an addict who was reborn again and ever since then I had the huge fire for God and I’ve studied evangelism and while watching the news of the end times I heard Ezekiel Ezekiel Ezekiel over and over in my head and I said Mitchell stop playing God to myself and even while I said that I still heard Ezekiel Ezekiel so I said in my thoughts okay okay what chapter then to see if I was tricking myself and my thoughts said 3 so I looked it up on my bible at (I’ve just gotten to Moses story in exodus btw) and it said to speak to the people of Israel for they are made like you etc ever since then I pray for God’s will for me and I’ve been bombarded with sharing my testimony my story and I keep being called to speak to the homeless who’s hair I cut ever couple of months or so and tell them about Jesus. To some that sounds like okay well WWJD, BUT it was way more than that I prayed and meditated over it and I asked God what is your will for me father and I heard “listen” and my phone went off with a text saying when are you going to tell your story? So that’s kind of my deal with all of this. Don’t believe it that’s cool to believe it that’s also cool I guess. God bless all of you.
The Lord has laid the scriptures on my heart before,God’s word never has changed ,He always warns us before judgement.when I see a person that is killing themselves with the same sin that God has delivered me from and I say nothing, God has showed me these scriptures. It makes perfectly good sense that God loves His people and will not watch them be destroyed without giving warning.It applies today.sin still kills in the end.it still brings destruction.
For the past few years, well, ever since I read through Ezekiel, I put the three passages (the one in Acts that Jake mentioned) and the two in Ezekiel, one in the beginning and also in the end. No one can reach everyone which is why we are called to reach as many as we can. It’s like the story of the little boy and the starfish on the beach. ..
Anyway, I don’t jump out and preach the gospel to every person I meet but I do look for intentional openings once or twice a day. I believe we will be called on our lack of evangelism when we meet Jesus.
I agree with you that we are obviously not called to reach every person on the planet. And that God puts individuals in our lives as people who we ought to reach. When I read Ezekiel 3, at the end of verse 18 I am reminded of Paul in Acts 18:9 when he mentions a similar thing about the blood not being on his hands.
I’m still chewing on this too. Great post!
Wow. You’ve already “noodled” this for a while, right?
When I first read your post my first thought was, “what more is there to say?” I’ll have to roll these ideas around for a bit to even be able to comment. I’ve not gotten much further, but I’ll take the risk of paraphrasing and repeating what impacted me most. Most is a repeat of your words or a rearrangement of them. I didn’t even try to open and close quoted ideas because even the parts I didn’t quote are ideas directly from the blog.
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Does Ezekiel’s calling apply to us today? OR How do we apply prophetic callings of others to ourselves?
We do not have the exact same callings as the Old Testament men and women of God, but we can learn (principles) from their callings (that we could apply to our discipleship). We can apply the principles learned from other men and women of God, past and present, without dragging guilt into the equation.
How?
Learn from others. Be obedient to God. Go where sent. Speak as doors open. Share the Good News. Leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.
Paz y bien
one quick comment: there’s a fine line sometimes between guilt and motivation – given the overall direction of the New Testament toward our responsibility for sharing the gospel with yet-to-be-Jesus-followers, I think it is appropriate to include the Ezekial passage along with a host of others to add Old Testament weight to the importance of our intentional participation in the Holy Spirit’s ministry of helping people choose to follow Jesus. It would not be appropriate to “hammer” someone with guilt based on this one passage. But the Bible is clear that God calls forth a people to be God’s witnesses in the world, and when we choose not to do that, we are clearly not fulfilling God’s design and purpose for us.