Ezekiel 3:27

But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house. WHEN I SPEAK WITH THEE, I WILL OPEN THY MOUTH - opposed to the silence imposed on the prophet, to punish the people (). After the interval of silence has awakened their attention to the cause of it, namely, their sins, they may then hearken to the prophecies which they would not hearken to before. HE THAT HEARETH, LET HIM HEAR; AND HE THAT FORBEARETH, LET HIM FORBEAR - i:e., Thou hast done thy part, whether they hear or forbear. He who shall forbear to hear, it shall be at his own peril; he who hears, it shall be to his own eternal good (cf. )....

After a silence, God shows by what commands he wishes to instruct his servant, namely, by such as would exasperate the people, as we have formerly seen. His embassy therefore was hateful, since the Prophet begins with this insult — “If ye wish to hear, hear; but if not, I am not concerned.” Those who are sent as ambassadors are usually ordered to try whether they can conciliate, by courteous and friendly discourse, those with whom they have to deal. But God here follows a method completely the contrary. For what is the meaning of these words, _He who hears, let him hear: he who desists, let him, desist? _namely, that the Israelites may understand that the Prophet was sent to them, not because there was any hope of their becoming wise again, since they had borne witness by experiments sufficiently numerous that they were altogether desperate: but the Lord sends the Prophet, that he may st...

22-27 Let us own ourselves for ever indebted to the mediation of Christ, for the blessed intercourse between God and man; and a true believer will say, I am never less alone than when thus alone. When the Lord opened Ezekiel's mouth, he was to deliver his message boldly, to place life and death, the blessing and the curse, before the people, and leave them to their choice....

Verse Ezekiel 3:27. _I WILL OPEN THY MOUTH_] When it is necessary to address them again, thou shalt sum up what thou hast said in this one speech: _Thus saith the Lord_, "He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear." Let him who feels obedience to the voice of God his interest, be steadfast. Let him who disregards the Divine monition go in his own way, and abide the consequences....

HE THAT HEARETH ... - The judicial blindness of which Ezekiel speaks had already fallen upon the great body of the nation (Ezekiel 14:4. Compare Revelation 2:7; Revelation 22:11)....

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

BUT WHEN I SPEAK WITH THEE,.... Either when I have made an end of speaking to thee, when I have told thee all my mind, and have given thee all the instructions and prophecies thou art to deliver out; or when I shall speak to thee again, and give thee orders to speak: I WILL OPEN THY MOUTH; loose thy tongue, cause thee to break silence, and thou shall speak freely and fully all that I command thee; fulness of matter, and freedom of speech, are both from the Lord; liberty and opportunity of speaking are at his pleasure; and when he speaks his servants must prophesy, Amos 3:8; AND THOU SHALT SAY UNTO THEM, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; so and so, whatsoever he is pleased to order to be spoken; not that the following words are what were to be said to the people; but they are said to the prophet for his own use, that he might not be uneasy at the unfruitfulness and failur

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

A PERIOD OF SILENCE. Another ecstatic mood falls upon Ezekiel, accompanied by a vision similar to the former (ch. 1) but not this time described. The Divine voice seems to decree for him a period of temporary silence and inactivity. Perhaps Ezekiel 3:25 should read, I will lay bands on thee and bind thee: at any rate, he is restrained in some way, whether, as some suppose, by some physical disability (_e.g._ catalepsy) or merely by the angry incredulity of his hearers, from proclaiming his message in public. He does not open his mouth, except in his own house to those who consult him privately (_cf._ Ezekiel 8:1), until his message is confirmed by the fall of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 33:21 f.)....

Ezekiel 3:22-27. The prophet abandons public exercise of his ministry The verses form the preface to ch. 4 24, all the prophecies that bear upon the fate of Jerusalem and its inhabitants, up to its fall. The prophet under the "hand" of God goes out into the "valley," and the same Theophany appears to him as at the first by the river Chebar. He is in communication with the same great God, and all his actions are determined by his commands. According to the interpretation put upon ch. Ezekiel 1:1 to Ezekiel 3:21 above, he had exercised his office of watchman among the people, speaking to them publicly in the name of the Lord, for some time. Possibly the time was not very long, for this passage comes in under the same gene