Ezekiel. John W. Hilber. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: John W. Hilber
Издательство: Ingram
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Жанр произведения: Религия: прочее
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781498294225
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See Block, Ezekiel 1–24, 121–22; and Bodi, “Ezekiel,” 409.

      Responsibility to Respond

      3:16–27

      Ezekiel’s Message

      Consequences of obedience or disobedience rest on the response of individuals to heed the warnings of God’s word.

      Key Themes

      • God’s warnings can apply to the righteous to encourage a consistent walk of obedience.

      • The responsibility for discipline or judgment rests on the person who fails to respond.

      Context in Ezekiel

      This unit opens where the last left off: “at the end of seven days.” The time had been sufficient for Ezekiel to recover somewhat from the dual trauma of encountering God’s glorious presence and receiving such a grave commission. Now God moves Ezekiel from his general call as a prophet to his first active assignment—a “silent watchman” who conveys his message by visual signs (horrifying siege of Jerusalem in chapter 4 and the slaughter in chapter 5). One could argue for isolating Ezek 3:16–21 from what follows. But these verses, which expand upon Ezekiel’s commission in Ezek 2:1—3:15, also introduce his assignment as a sign messenger, which begins in Ezek 3:22. Altogether, Ezek 3:16–27 leads into the following chapters 4 and 5, with Ezek 3:22–27 introducing his sign ministry.

      Interpretive Highlights

      3:17 a watchman: Cities posted watchmen atop walls to sound an alarm of news or approaching danger (2 Sam 18:24–27; 2 Kgs 9:17–20; cf. Ezek 33:1–6). So the image of “watchman” served as a fitting metaphor for the task of a prophet (Jer 6:17; Hos 9:8). In this immediate context, not only does Ezekiel warn his countrymen of the lethal danger of their sin, but as a watchman he also signals the siege in Ezek 4:1–3. Regarding Ezekiel’s call to be a watchman, see also the parallel passage in Ezek 33:1–20 and the commentary there.

      3:22–23 The hand of the Lord . . . the glory: A repetition of Ezekiel’s initial, visionary experience accompanies the more detailed instruction for his task. Anticipated rejection by the people, both of his message and of him personally (Ezek 3:25–26), required special emboldening (Ezek 3:9).