John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 3:16-17

"And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me." — Ezekiel 3:16-17 (ASV)

Now the Prophet shows more clearly why he continued in silence for seven days: it was because, indeed, he had been appointed a teacher, but the time had not fully arrived in which he was to utter the commands of God. He waited, therefore, until he should receive a distinct message. Thus he says, at the end of seven days I received a word from the Lord. From this we gather that he had been chosen previously, and that the burden of an embassy was imposed upon him; meanwhile, he remained, as it were, in suspense, because he did not clearly understand what he was to say and where he ought to begin.

Thus it appears that God acts by degrees toward His servants: He claims them for His own, then He shows them generally what duties and labors they have to discharge, and at length He sends them out to the performance of their work and the execution of their office. This we see was done in the case of our Prophet.

For first, he learned that he was chosen by God. Afterward, he was admonished generally to behave courageously and not to yield to any threats or terrors. At length, God explained to him what commands He wished him to bear to the people. As yet, God seems to speak only generally, but it is as if He announced that the time had come when the Prophet must gird himself for his work: thus He says, Son of man I have appointed thee a watchman of the house of Israel.

What Ezekiel heard belongs to all teachers of the Church: namely, that they are divinely appointed and placed as if on watchtowers, so that they may keep watch for the common safety of all. It was the duty of those who have been appointed from the beginning as ministers of the heavenly doctrine to be watchmen.

And if only, in the Papacy (as this name has been imposed on idols—dumb, blind, and deaf), those who with swelling cheeks call themselves Bishops had been admonished about their vocation. For we know that the word “Bishop” means the same as “watchman.” But when they were boasting that they were bishops, they were drowned in the darkness of gross ignorance; then also they were buried in their pleasure, as well as in sloth, for there is no more intelligence in these animals than in oxen or asses.

Asses and oxen spend their labor for human advantage, but these individuals are not only destitute of all judgment and reason but are altogether useless. However, what I have said must be remembered: when God chooses Prophets, they are placed, as it were, on watchtowers, so that they may keep watch for the safety of the whole Church.

This should now carry weight, so that pastors may acknowledge they are placed in stations from which they may be watchful; and this, indeed, is one point. Now, this cannot be done unless they are endowed with superior gifts and excel in the grace of the Spirit above ordinary people. Nor is it sufficient for pastors to live as private individuals; instead, they ought to be continually vigilant, as if they were placed on a lofty watchtower, which demands both diligence and a power of observation: this is a second point.

Next, it is added, thou shalt hear words from my mouth, and shalt announce them to the people from me. Here a general rule is prescribed to all Prophets and pastors of the Church: namely, that they should hear the word from the mouth of God: through this command, God wishes to exclude whatever humans fabricate or invent for themselves.

For it is evident that when God claimed for Himself the right of speaking, He orders all people to be silent and not to offer anything of their own. Then, when He orders them to hear the word from His mouth, He puts a bridle upon them so that they should neither invent anything, nor pursue their own devices, nor dare to conceive anything more or less than the word.

And, lastly, we see that whatever people offer of themselves is here abolished, when God alone wishes to be heard, for He does not mingle Himself here with others as in a crowd, as if He wished to be heard only in part.

He therefore assumes for Himself what we ought to attribute to His supreme command over all things: namely, that we should hang upon His lips. But if this was said to Ezekiel, how is it that people of no authority now dare to spread their own fictions, as we see done in the Papacy?

For what is such a religion but a confused jumble of the numberless human fictions? They have heaped together, from many brains, an immense chaos of errors, for they wish us to adore as the oracles of God whatever foolish people have imagined. But who among them will boast of being superior to Ezekiel? Indeed, if they were all put together, will they dare to assert that they can be compared with him alone?

And if they dare, who will admit their arrogance? We see then that Ezekiel, with the other Prophets, is reined in, so that he should not say anything but what he has heard from God’s mouth.

Now it follows, thou shalt admonish them from me. The word that the Prophet uses signifies both to admonish and to caution. There is no doubt that he means those admonitions by which people are roused to caution, lest they should perish through any error or thoughtlessness.

Thus, after God had subjected the Prophet to Himself and commanded him to be a disciple, He appointed him a teacher. This was because hearing was not sufficient, unless he who had been called to rule the Church should deliver what he had received from God.

God therefore commands His Prophet to speak, after He had ordered him to hear. But He adds, from me, so that the people may understand that God alone is the author of instruction. False teachers, indeed, proudly assume the name of God, as we see in the Papacy that this axiom resounds through it: that the Church is ruled by the Holy Spirit directly, and therefore that it cannot err.

But these two things are to be understood together: namely, that he who is appointed a teacher should hear God speaking, and afterward should admonish in the name of God Himself—that is, he should profess that he is the minister and witness of God, so that his teaching should not be thought his own.

For those who seek praise for ability, learning, or eloquence often obscure the name of God. Therefore, although they professed that they had their teaching from God, yet afterward they speak from themselves—that is, they puff themselves up with vain ostentation, so that the majesty of God does not appear, nor the efficacy of the Spirit in that profane method of teaching.

Thus, God afterward imposed a law upon His Prophet that he should utter nothing but what he had heard: now He adds another clause: that he should admonish the people; but he must admonish them not from himself. Instead, he must always have in his mouth that sacred name of God and show that he is in reality sent from Him.

For Moses spoke in this manner: What am I and my brother Aaron? (Numbers 16:11). Here we see that Moses spoke from God; that is, he professed himself to be God’s minister when he bore witness that he was nothing, that he assumed nothing to himself, and acted in nothing by his own particular counsel or impulse.

Prayer: Grant, Almighty God, since You condescend to interest Yourself in our salvation and stir up Your servants to be for us like eyes, so that we may know Your watchfulness over us lest we perish—grant, I pray You, that we may be so roused by the holy admonitions which flow from You through their ministry and service, that if we have turned aside from the right way, we may speedily return to it, and so go forward in our course, and be endowed with such perseverance, that we may at length arrive at the fruition of that blessed rest, which has been obtained for us by the blood of Your Son. Amen.