Ezekiel 33:31

And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. THEY COME UNTO THEE AS THE PEOPLE COMETH - i:e., in crowds, as disciples flock to their teacher. THEY SIT BEFORE THEE - on lower seats at thy feet, according to the Jewish custom of pupils (Deuteronomy 33:3; 2 Kings 4:38; Luke 10:39; Acts 22:3). AS MY PEOPLE - though they are not. And they hear thy wo...

30-33 Unworthy and corrupt motives often lead men to the places where the word of God is faithfully preached. Many come to find somewhat to oppose: far more come of curiosity or mere habit. Men may have their hearts changed. But whether men hear or forbear, they will know by the event that a servant of God has been among them. All who will not know the worth of mercies by the improvement of them, will justly be made to know their worth by the want of them....

Verse Ezekiel 33:31. _AS THE PEOPLE COMETH_] As they are accustomed to come on public days, Sabbaths, c. _WITH THEIR MOUTH THEY SHOW MUCH LOVE_] They respected the prophet, but would not bend themselves to follow his precepts. They loved _earthly things_, and did not relish those of _heaven_....

The exhortation to repentance. Ezekiel first addresses the remnant that still linger in their ancient home, and warns them against presumptuous hopes resting on false grounds Ezekiel 33:23; then he turns his eyes to those near him, and points out that their apparent attention to his words was illusory. Ezekiel 33:24 THOSE WASTES - The places in the holy land devastated by the conqueror. ABRAHAM - The argument is, Abraham was but one man, and he had the promise of the land, though he did not at once possess it; much more shall we, the descendants of Abraham, being many, retain this promise and possess the land, though for a time we are depressed and subject. Compare...

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 33:1 If we may think of Ezekiel as compiling and arranging his own prophecies, we may think of him as returning, with something like a sense of relief, to his own special work as the watchman of the house of Israel. For upwards of two years the messages which it had been given him to write (how far they were in any sense published we have no means of knowing) in Ezekiel 25-32; had dealt exclusively with foreign nations. Now his own people are again the object of his care. He resumes his pastoral office at once for warning and consolation. From this point onwards, with the exception of the strange Meshech-Tubal episode in Ezekiel 38:1; Ezekiel 39:1; all is leading

AND THEY COME UNTO THEE AS THE PEOPLE COMETH,.... As the people of God, who came to the prophets's house to hear him preach the word, and explain it for their spiritual profit and edification these came when they did, and as early and constantly, and with seeming pleasure: AND THEY SIT BEFORE THEE AS MY PEOPLE; with great decency and reverence, and very gravely and demurely, and with seeming devotion, and stay the time out till the whole service is over; as scholars sit at the feet of their masters, to hear and learn their doctrines. So the Targum, "and they come unto thee as the men the disciples come:'' AND THEY HEAR THY WORDS, BUT THEY WILL NOT DO THEM; they gave him the hearing, and seemed attentive, but did not understand what they heard, at least did not put it in practice; they were only hearers, and not doers of the word, and like to the foolish man in...

II. PREDICTIONS AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM (33-48) Chapter S 33-34 A. The Watchman, the False Shepherds, and the True Shepherd _ 1. The renewed call of Ezekiel as watchman (Ezekiel 33:1) _ 2. Ezekiel's mouth opened after Jerusalem's fall is announced (Ezekiel 33:21) 3. Message against the shepherds of Israel (Ezekiel 34:1) 4. The True Shepherd and restoration promised (Ezekiel 34:20) Ezekiel 33:1. The commission of Ezekiel as watchman corresponds to the same call in...

NEED OF A DEEPENED SENSE OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY (EZEKIEL 33), and this alike for himself and his hearers. EZEKIEL 33:1. He feels that he is responsible for them, and that they are responsible for themselves. He compares himself, as once before (Ezekiel 3:16), to a watchman whose duty is to raise the alarm in case of impending danger; so it is his, in view of the crisis, to care for and warn individual souls. EZEKIEL 33:10. But the people are despondent, stupefied by the news of the fall of the city (Ezekiel 33:21), sullenly at last admitting their guilt, but believing themselves to lie under the i

AS THE PEOPLE COMETH: or, according as an assembly cometh together. SHEW MUCH LOVE: or, counterfeit lovers. Hebrew. _agabim_. See note on next verse....

Demeanour of the people towards the prophet The confirmation which the fall of the city gave to the prophet's past predictions awakened the interest of his fellow exiles in him and his words. They congregated together in knots under the shadow of the walls and in the doors of the houses discussing his sayings. Recent events had given him a more prominent place in their thoughts. There was something also in the new truths he was uttering, in his outlook into the future and in his appeals to the individual mind, causing each to turn his eyes inward upon himself, that touched them and awakened a certain reality of concern. Still it was in the main curiosity rather than genuine seriousness that led them to listen to him. There was a certain charm, more perhaps in the kind of future presented by the prophet than in his manner of presenting it, which was like sweet music; but though they list...