Charles Spurgeon Commentary Ezekiel 33
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Ezekiel 33
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Ezekiel 33
"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman; if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head." — Ezekiel 33:1-4 (ASV)
In that case, the watchman is quite clear. He has done his duty: he has sounded an alarm, a fitting alarm, upon the trumpet, and has sounded it immediately, without loitering or delaying. He has not been afraid of giving uneasiness to men; he has done his duty, fearless of remark, and he is clear. Happy also is he in knowing that, by heeding the trumpet's warning blast, many have escaped the threatened danger. Still, even then it seems that there are some who hear the trumpet and will not take the warning.
That is the sad part of our service; it makes the most successful ministry to be fringed with black. It cannot be all joy for him who wins the most souls for God; for at times he can sympathize with his brethren, the prophets, in their sorrowful inquiry, "Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" Listen to this, you who hear the gospel and yet do not repent; if you do not heed the warning, your blood will be upon your own head.
"He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman`s hand." — Ezekiel 33:5-6 (ASV)
This is a very solemn truth. It not only concerns me and the many ministers of Christ who are here, but it is for all of you who know the Lord, for you also are set as watchmen to your families, to your neighbors, to the class that you teach, or that you should teach, in the Sunday school. May God grant that we may, each one of us, be delivered from other people's sins, for we may become partakers with them in their iniquity unless we bear our testimony against them and give them warning of the consequences of their evildoing!
"So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me." — Ezekiel 33:7 (ASV)
So you, O son of man, I have set you a watchman to the house of Israel;
It is not merely the people who took a man from their regions and set him as their watchman; but, I have set you. Oh, the solemn ordination of a true servant of Christ! It is not by the laying on of human hands, nor by a pretended descent from the apostles; it is a call from God.
Therefore you shall hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
That is the way to preach: to get the sermon from the mouth of God, and then to speak it as from the mouth of God. Dear teachers, wait upon God for what you are to teach; take it warm with love from the very mouth of God, and then speak it for God from your own mouth. Good will surely come of such teaching as that.
"When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand." — Ezekiel 33:8 (ASV)
Even as God required Abel's blood at the hand of Cain, and pronounced him cursed because he was guilty of that blood, so will he require the blood of perishing men at the hands of those set over them, and a curse shall come upon them if they are found negligent.
"Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul. And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?" — Ezekiel 33:9-10 (ASV)
This is equivalent to saying, "We cannot get away from our sins; there is no hope of our living." When people get into the iron cage called "Despair", there really seems to be no hope that they will turn from their sin. There is no hope in themselves; their only hope is in the Lord.
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