Ezekiel 3:16

_AND IT CAME TO PASS AT THE END OF SEVEN DAYS, THAT THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, SAYING,_ No JFB commentary on this verse....

Now the Prophet shows more clearly why he continued in silence for seven days, 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. Hence he says, _at the end of seven days I received a word from the Lord _Whence we gather, that he had been chosen before, and that the burden of an embassy was imposed upon him: meanwhile he stood, as it were, in suspense, because he did not distinctly understand what he was to say, and where he ought to begin. Hence it appears, that God acts by degrees towards his servants, so that 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 forth to the performance of their work, and the execution of their office. This we see was done in the ca...

12-21 This mission made the holy angels rejoice. All this was to convince Ezekiel, that the God who sent him had power to bear him out in his work. He was overwhelmed with grief for the sins and miseries of his people, and overpowered by the glory of the vision he had seen. And however retirement, meditation, and communion with God may be sweet, the servant of the Lord must prepare to serve his generation. The Lord told the prophet he had appointed him a watchman to the house of Israel. If we warn the wicked, we are not chargeable with their ruin. Though such passages refer to the national covenant made with Israel, they are equally to be applied to the final state of all men under every dispensation. We are not only to encourage and comfort those who appear to be righteous, but they are to be warned, for many have grown high-minded and secure, have fallen, and even died in their sins. S...

Verse Ezekiel 3:16. _I CAME TO THEM OF THE CAPTIVITY_] Because the hand of the Lord was strong upon him and supported him, he soon reached the place. _TEL-ABIB_] תל אביב "a heap of corn." So the _Vulgate: acervum_ _novarum frugum_, "a heap of new fruits." [Syriac] _letola chib_, "to the hill Chib," or _the hill of grief_. - _Syriac_. _SEVEN DAYS._] Perhaps God kept him all this time without an immediate revelation, that the _bitterness_ and _heat of spirit_ of which he speaks above might be _subdued_, and that he might speak God's words in God's own Spirit. Had he gone in a better spirit he had probably been employed in his work as soon as he had gained the place of labour....

The Lord guards both Ezekiel and his countrymen from dwelling exclusively on the national character of his mission. In the midst of the general visitations, each individual was to stand as it were alone before Him to render account of his doings, and to be judged according to his works....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 3:1 EAT THAT THOU FINDEST, etc. The iteration of the command of Ezekiel 2:8 seems to imply, like the words, "be not thou rebellious," in that verse, some reluctance on the prophet's part. In substance the command was equivalent to that of Revelation 22:18, Revelation 22:19. The true prophet does not choose his message (Acts 4:20); his "meat" is to do his Lord's will (John 4:34), and he takes what he "f

AND IT CAME TO PASS AT THE END OF SEVEN DAYS,.... Some think it was on the sabbath day he had the following declaration made to him, and instructions given him; but this is not certain; nor does it follow, or to be concluded, from such a way of speaking: THAT THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, SAYING; the Targum is, "the word of prophecy from before the Lord.''...

CHAPTER S 3:15-7:27 The Judgment Announced, the Four Signs and Their Meaning, and the Two Messages This section extends from chapter 3:15 to the close of the seventh chapter. The prophet is told of his great responsibility as watchman, and has to enact four signs. Two solemn messages close this section. The first message first predicts that the sword is to come upon the land and disperse them; the second message predicts the end. _ 1. The new charge and Ezekiel's new experience (Ezekiel 3:15) _ 2. The sign of the tile (Ezekiel 4:1) on (Ezekiel 4:4) 3. The sign of the prophet's physical position (Ezekiel 4:4

THE PASTORAL CHARGE. At the end of the week he receives another Divine message, this time of a more explicit kind and unaccompanied by vision. His task is now defined as that of a watchman. As it is the watchman's business to detect and give warning of danger, so it is the prophet's business to warn individual men of the coming catastrophe which he himself so clearly sees. It is not enough to warn the crowd: he must deal personally with the individuals good and bad, who compose the crowd, and warn them solemnly, each and all, the good no less than the bad the bad to turn from his evil way, and the good to persist to the end without swerving in the good way; for the destiny of men will be determined by the character and conduct they exhibit when the hour of judgment strikes. This is a passage of great importance, emphasizing the idea of individual responsibility but applying it more parti...

More precise definition of the prophet's appointment: he is set to be a watchman So soon as the prophet is face to face with the exiles, and is able to see the sphere and materials of his work, he receives a more precise account of his position he is appointed a watchman or sentinel. The watchman stands on his watch-tower to observe, and his office therefore is to _warn_, should danger be seen approaching. Isaiah 21:6, "Thus saith the Lord, Go set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth." Jeremiah 6:17, "Also I set watchmen over you and said, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet, but they said, We will not hearken;" Habakkuk 2:1; comp....