And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
A new message comes from God, and it turns the whole book. Jerusalem's judgment is settled, and God now deals with people one by one. What follows is the picture of a watchman on a wall. It raises two hard questions: who answers for a warning that is ignored, and who answers for a warning that never comes?
The prophet's lips had been closed. Now they open again, and one writer points out what God does first.
The prophecy here does not begin with a date, as we might expect. God first prepares the message that the re-opened lips of the prophet are to speak.
With the nation already under sentence, God lays down a fresh basis for His dealings.
In Ezekiel 33, these judgments put His people on wholly new ground. So God establishes a wholly new principle: He deals with each person on the ground of that person's own conduct, and not as a consequence of national sin. So the door was still fully open to repentance for each one. It rested on a testimony that spoke to people one by one, whatever the national judgment might be.
In the picture, a town chooses its own lookout. Ezekiel's post came another way.
Men would normally appoint a watchman for themselves. But the people did not appoint the prophet; God appointed him on their behalf. Even with no word from Him, the people would still be accountable. Yet God provided a watchman for those too careless and indifferent to look after their own interests, even the most important ones.
The trumpet creates responsibility in two directions at once. The hearer who shrugs it off carries his own loss; the sentry who stays silent carries it instead.
God sets Ezekiel to warn the house of Israel under the figure of a watchman. If anyone ignored the sound of the trumpet, their blood would be on their own head. If the watchman did not blow it, his own blood would pay the penalty.
Does this mean each person is now left on his own? Kelly answers no.
Individual responsibility now becomes the ruling principle. Yet this does not prevent, as we see, the call and duty of one man to warn many. Such was the prophet's place.
This pattern did not stop with Israel. One writer traces it back to the flood, then turns it on the reader.
It is God's way, before drawing His sword, to sound the trumpet. So before God destroyed the earth by water, He sounded the warning trumpet through Noah. In our own time, before the last stroke falls, His trumpet sounds out in the Gospel call. Will you not listen to it, and seek salvation while you may?
One writer finds the same post filled long after Ezekiel.
So the Apostle could say that he was clear of the blood of all men. He was like the faithful watchman of Ezekiel 33:4, whose duty was to warn that an enemy or a sword was coming, but who was himself clear if his warning went unheeded. A solemn thought! For the watchman would expose himself to severe criticism, ridicule, contempt and danger.
Another writer asks what happens when the warning seems to achieve nothing.
God set the prophet as His watchman, to put every soul on its own responsibility before Him. The prophet's own responsibility remains unaffected, whatever the result or the apparent lack of result. This is an important point for us at all times. We are so ready to argue from mere results, and results can never be our guide. They cannot come before duty but follow it. They cannot settle the question of duty for those who walk by faith and not by sight.
after-note: DISCUSS
- Word. The chapter starts with a message from God. He prepares the message before the prophet speaks it. It carries a new principle: God deals with people one at a time, not with the nation as a block.
- Watchman. God gives the lookout; the town does not choose him. He provides one for people too careless to watch for themselves.
- Trumpet. God's habit is to sound the warning before He draws the sword — through Noah before the flood, through the Gospel call now.
- Blood. The warning cuts both ways. Ignore it, and the loss is your own. Stay silent, and God charges the loss to the watchman.
- Faithfulness. One man may still warn many, at the cost of ridicule and danger. God measures his duty by the warning he gives, not by the results.
Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them all, and set him for their watchman
God draws a picture every walled town knew: enemy troops on the horizon, and one man posted to spot them first. The question is not whether the danger is real. It is who answers for it when it comes — the man on the wall, or the people below.
Ezekiel had been unable to speak. Here God opens his mouth again, and one writer explains what has to come first.
God opens the prophet's mouth again, because there is grace to announce. Yet the fitting introduction to that grace is the statement that God's righteous ways have not changed. The fall of the city shows the people now fully under judgment. Their false confidences are exposed.
The verse does not say the sword falls; it says God brings it. And His habit is to announce it before He uses it.
It is God's way before drawing His sword to sound the trumpet... So before God destroyed the earth by water, He sounded the warning trumpet through Noah. In our own time, before the last stroke falls, His trumpet sounds in the gospel call. Will you not listen to it, and seek salvation while you may? "Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid?" (Amos 3:6).
In the picture, the townspeople pick a man from among themselves. What follows in the chapter turns that around: Ezekiel was not their appointment.
Notice first that men might appoint their own watchman, and normally would. But the people did not appoint the prophet. God appointed him on their behalf. If He had sent no word, the people would still be accountable. But God provided a watchman for those too careless and indifferent to look after their own interests, even the most important ones. And yet how this would increase the guilt of those who still refused the Voice that spoke to them! How often had He spoken of the sword He was bringing on the land! Yet they had taken no notice.
The picture holds two kinds of guilt together. A man who hears the alarm and ignores it dies by his own fault; a watchman who stays silent answers for the deaths below him.
In the picture of a watchman, Ezekiel is set to warn the house of Israel. If any ignored the sound of the trumpet, their blood would be on their own head. If the watchman did not blow it, his blood should pay the penalty.
The same writer names the rule that now governs, and what that rule does not cancel.
It is individual responsibility that now becomes the ruling principle, though this does not hinder, as we see, the call and duty of one to warn many. Such was the prophet's place.
A watchman cannot make people run for shelter. His charge is to see and to sound, and that charge stands whatever the town does with it.
The prophet's own responsibility remains unaffected, whatever the result or apparent lack of result... This is an important point for us at all times. We are so quick to argue from results alone. Results can never be a true guide, because they follow and do not come first. They cannot settle the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.
One writer sets Paul beside this same watchman, and names what the work cost him.
So he could say he was "innocent of the blood of all." He was like the faithful watchman of Ezekiel 33:4, whose duty was to warn against the approach of an enemy or the sword. If his warning went unheeded, the watchman himself was still clear. A solemn thought! For the watchman would open himself to harsh criticism, ridicule, contempt, and danger. But, the Apostle adds, "I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God."
- Sword — The judgment is God's own act, not an accident of history. He said He was bringing it long before it came.
- Watchman — A town picks its own lookout. Ezekiel was God's provision for people too indifferent to watch out for themselves.
- Trumpet — God's settled way is to sound the alarm before He strikes, as with Noah, and now in the gospel call.
- Hearing — The alarm puts every person on his own responsibility. Ignore it, and the blood is on your own head.
- Blood — The watchman answers to God for sounding the alarm, not for how people answer it. God charges him with silence, never with failure.
if he see the sword coming upon the land, and blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
Ezekiel 33 opens the last part of the book with a scene from daily life: a lookout on the city wall sees an enemy coming. Verse 3 is that moment, when sight turns into sound.
The picture is not told for its own sake. God is defining what He has made Ezekiel. The arrangement cuts both ways: toward the hearer, and toward the man on the wall.
Under the figure of a watchman, Ezekiel is set to warn the house of Israel. If anyone ignored the sound of the trumpet, his blood would be on his own head; if the watchman did not blow it, his own blood would pay the penalty... Individual responsibility now becomes the ruling principle. This does not rule out the call and duty of one man to warn many. That was the prophet's place.
The illustration begins with a town choosing its own lookout. Commentators note that the prophet's case is different. That difference makes the people's position worse, not better.
Notice first that men might naturally appoint a watchman for themselves, and normally would. But the prophet is not appointed by the people. God appoints him on their behalf. If there were no word from Him, the people would still be accountable. But God had provided a watchman for those too careless and indifferent to look after their own interests, even the most important ones. How much this would increase the guilt of those who still refused the Voice that spoke to them!
The order in the verse — he sees, then he blows, and only afterwards does the sword arrive — is not accidental. One writer traces the same order through the Bible and presses it on the reader.
It is God's way, before drawing His sword, to sound the trumpet... So before God destroyed the earth by water, He sounded the warning trumpet through Noah. In our own time, before the last blow falls, His trumpet sounds in the gospel call. Will you not listen to it, and seek salvation while you may? "Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid?" (Amos 3:6). Will you not be afraid, and flee from the wrath to come?
Verse 3 asks one thing of the watchman: blow the trumpet. What follows in the town is another matter. Commentators draw this out as a lasting lesson for anyone who serves God.
...set in charge as God's watchman for the people. His work is to put every individual soul on his own responsibility before God. The watchman's own responsibility stays the same, whatever the result or apparent lack of result... This is an important point for us at all times. We are so ready to argue from mere results, and results can never be our right guide. Results cannot come first; they follow. They cannot touch the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.
The renewed commission stands at a hinge. Everything before it announces the fall of Jerusalem. Everything after it looks forward to restoration. The turn comes a few verses later.
The book itself marks these two main divisions. In chapter 33:21 the prophet has just received a renewed call as watchman. Then, in the twelfth year of the captivity, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to him and said, "The city has been struck down." This determines the two parts.
The picture is not left in ancient Judah. Applied to preaching and hearing today, it puts speaker and listener under the same solemn arrangement.
This is a solemn consideration for both preachers and hearers. How necessary for the preacher to be plain and faithful, so that he may be clear from the blood of all men! And how necessary for the hearer to see that he does not neglect God's great salvation! For, as the apostle says, "How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" Thoughtless soul, be assured: escape is impossible!
- Sight. The watchman's work begins with seeing the sword before anyone else. He stands there because the danger is real and coming.
- Sound. God never draws the sword without first sounding the trumpet. Noah warned before the flood; the gospel warns before the last blow.
- Sender. This watchman is not hired by the town. God posts him for people too indifferent to look out for themselves, so ignoring him is far more serious.
- Split. One blast divides all who hear it. The man who ignores it carries his own blood; the silent watchman carries his.
- Standard. God judges the watchman by whether he blew, not by how many listened. Results follow duty; they never replace it.
then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood is upon him whereas had he taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.
A man hears the trumpet and does nothing — and the sword takes him. This verse puts the blame for that death on the hearer, then adds a short line about what he could have had instead.
God does not strike a land without first sounding a warning. One writer traces that habit from Noah's day to our own:
It is God's way to sound the trumpet before drawing His sword… So before God destroyed the earth by water, He sounded the warning trumpet through Noah. And in our own time, before the last blow falls, His trumpet rings out in the gospel call. Will you not listen to it, and seek salvation while you still may? "Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid?" (Amos 3:6). Will you not be afraid, and flee from the wrath to come?
Men would normally appoint their own lookout. Here God appointed one for them, and that makes the guilt of refusing heavier:
Note this first. Men might naturally appoint a watchman for themselves, and normally they would. But the people did not appoint this prophet. God appointed him on their behalf. If there were no word from Him, the people's accountability would still remain. But God had provided a watchman for those too careless and indifferent to look after their own interests, even the most serious ones. How much this would increase the guilt of those who still refused the Voice that spoke to them!
The phrase settles who answers when the sword falls. It cuts both ways:
Under the figure of a watchman, God sets Ezekiel to warn the house of Israel. If anyone ignored the sound of the trumpet, their blood would be on their own head. If the watchman did not blow it, his blood would pay the penalty.
The same writer names the principle that now governs, and adds what it does not cancel:
It is individual responsibility that now becomes the ruling principle. This does not stop the call and duty of one person to warn many. That was the prophet's place.
Hearing is not heeding. One writer applies that gap to people who keep hearing the gospel:
We fear that relatively few realise the awful responsibility of hearing the gospel message again and again and rejecting it.
The trumpet a person hears today carries both notes at once — the offer and the alarm:
What is the blast the blessed Saviour blows on the gospel trumpet? "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark this, my friend. The jubilee trumpet sounds out its sweet, gracious note. Yet at the same time there is an undertone of warning, of coming judgment — "whoever does not believe will be condemned." Take heed to the warning note.
The verse does not end with blood. It ends with a rescue that was within reach:
But does God send His gospel to people merely to place them under responsibility and increase their guilt? Far be the monstrous thought! He sends His gospel to the lost sinner so that he may be saved, for God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. All, therefore, who perish will have no one but themselves to blame.
God held nothing back:
God never forces His blessings on men, or treats them as machines… The gospel offer of salvation is made to all, and all are commanded to repent. But suppose a man shuts his ears to the call of grace on purpose, and turns his back on God's mercy. Then he has no one to blame but himself if he perishes wretchedly in his sins. All that divine love could give has been freely given for him. All that divine righteousness claimed has been freely offered. Everything that needed doing is fully done. What more can a man expect?
- Trumpet. God's way is to sound a warning before He draws the sword — Noah before the flood, the gospel call before the last blow falls.
- Watchman. God appointed the watchman; the people did not hire him. He gave a lookout even to those too careless to look out for themselves.
- Heard. The man in the verse is not ignorant. He caught the sound and left it there — and that gap between hearing and heeding is where the guilt sits.
- Blood. Responsibility here is personal. No one carries it for you: the hearer's blood is on his own head, and the silent watchman's blood on his.
- Saved. God warns to rescue, not to deepen guilt. The man could have kept his life, so everyone who perishes has no one but himself to blame.
But if the watchman see the sword coming, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, if the sword come and take a person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
Ezekiel 33 opens with a picture drawn from ordinary wartime life: a town under threat, a man posted on the wall, a trumpet in his hand. Verse 6 puts the hardest case — the watchman sees the danger and stays silent — and God charges the death that follows to him.
The whole scene turns on a single act: blowing the trumpet, or not blowing it. One writer states the two outcomes side by side.
Ezekiel is pictured as a watchman, set to warn the house of Israel. If any ignored the sound of the trumpet, their blood would be on their own head. If the watchman did not blow it, his own blood would pay the penalty.
Each person now answers to God for himself. Does that leave any place for one man warning a whole nation?
It is individual responsibility that becomes now the ruling principle, though this does not hinder, as we see, the call and duty of one to warn many. Such was the prophet's place.
In the parable the townspeople choose their own lookout. Ezekiel's case is different, and the difference cuts against the hearers.
Notice this first of all. Men would normally appoint a watchman for themselves. But the people did not appoint this prophet. God appointed him on their behalf. If there were no word from Him, the people would still be accountable. But God provided a watchman for those too careless and indifferent to look after their own interests, even the most important ones. How much this would increase the guilt of those who still refused the Voice that spoke to them! How often He had spoken of the sword He was bringing on the land! Yet they had paid no attention.
Notice what the verse does not say. The man who dies is "taken away in his iniquity" — his own sin kills him, and the watchman's silence does not transfer that guilt. The watchman answers for his own silence, and that duty stands even when speaking changes nothing.
The watchman's own responsibility stays the same, whatever the result, or the apparent lack of result. Warned or unwarned, the wicked man who holds on to his wickedness will die... This is an important point for us at all times. We are so quick to argue from results alone. Results should never be our guide. They cannot come first; they only follow. And they cannot change the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.
The apostle Paul used this chapter's language about himself. One writer draws the link, and names what the post costs.
So he could say that he was "clear of the blood of all men." He was like the faithful watchman of Ezekiel 33:4, whose duty was to warn of an approaching enemy or sword. If his warning went unheeded, the watchman himself was still clear. Solemn thought! The watchman would open himself up to harsh criticism, ridicule, contempt, and danger. But, the apostle adds, "I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God."
One writer traces this pattern from Noah's day to our own, then turns it on the reader.
It is God's way before drawing His sword to sound the trumpet. Turn to Ezekiel 33:4-5, and you will see this plainly... So before God destroyed the earth by water, He sounded the warning trumpet through Noah. And in our own time, before the last blow falls, His trumpet sounds out in the gospel call. Will you not heed it, and seek salvation while you may? "Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid?" (Amos 3:6). Will you not be afraid, and flee from the wrath to come?
- Sword. God brings the danger, and He never brings it silently — before the stroke, the trumpet.
- Watchman. God posts the lookout for the people; the people do not hire him. That makes refusing him worse, not lighter.
- Silence. Seeing the sword and saying nothing is the one failure this verse punishes; the dead man perishes in his own sin, yet God requires his blood from the watchman.
- Faithfulness. God measures the servant by the warning he gives, not by the results he sees. Duty comes first; the outcome comes later.
- Clear. Paul, clear of the blood of all men, is this watchman standing his post — and the trumpet he blew still sounds in the gospel call to you.
So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; and thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me.
God gives Ezekiel a job title here: watchman over the house of Israel. The picture raises two questions — who appoints a watchman, and who carries the blood if nobody listens?
Verse 7 closes a short parable — a land facing the sword, a lookout on the wall, and a trumpet. One writer states the terms.
In the picture of a watchman, God sets Ezekiel to warn the house of Israel. If anyone ignored the sound of the trumpet, their blood would be on their own head. If the watchman did not blow the trumpet, his own blood would pay the penalty.
In the parable of verses 2–6, the townspeople choose their own lookout. Verse 7 breaks that pattern. God Himself appoints the watchman, and that difference carries weight.
Notice first that men might appoint a watchman for themselves, and normally would. But the prophet is not appointed by the people. God appoints him on their behalf. If there were no word from Him, the people would still be accountable. Yet God had provided a watchman for those too careless and indifferent to look after their own interests, even the most serious ones. How this would still increase the guilt of those who refused the Voice that spoke to them!
The watchman does not invent his own alarm. He hears God's word and passes it on, so the message is not his to soften.
He was to deliver God's word, "not in words taught by human wisdom," but in the words God had given him to say. Those today whose work is to reason with sinful and lost men "about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment" must not tone down God's truth. They must not shrink from telling a sinful world what lies ahead of it. The sweet story of the gospel — our precious Saviour dying for ruined and guilty man, pardon for rebels, salvation for the lost — is indeed the heart of their testimony, and it must always be given its full place. But they also have to bring God's warnings to the wicked.
The chapter marks a shift. One voice calls a whole nation, yet each hearer answers for himself.
From now on, individual responsibility becomes the ruling principle. Even so, as we see, one man is still called and bound to warn many. That was the prophet's place.
What if nobody listens? The watchman's duty stands either way, and so does ours.
God's words come first of all to the prophet himself. He is put in charge as God's watchman for the people. His task is to place every individual soul on his own responsibility before God. And his own responsibility stays the same, whatever the result, or the apparent lack of result... This matters for us at all times. We are so quick to argue from results, and results can never be our guide. They cannot come first; they only follow. They cannot touch the question of duty for people who are to walk by faith and not by sight.
A trumpet is not the sound of a closed case. Later in the chapter, God says plainly why He warns at all.
The Lord replies, as He had already said again and again, that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. What He wants is that they turn from their wickedness and live. If a man truly turned to Him, none of his past wickedness would be held against him... So there was only one way open. God still pleaded, as He had been pleading, that they turn from their evil ways and live. Why would they die? Their death was of their own choosing, not His.
This way of working did not stop with Ezekiel.
It is God's way to sound the trumpet before He draws His sword... Before God destroyed the earth by water, He sounded the warning trumpet through Noah. In our own time, before the last blow falls, His trumpet sounds out in the gospel call. Will you not take notice of it, and seek salvation while you may?
- Set — God posts the watchman; the city does not elect him. So refusing him means refusing the Voice that speaks.
- Hear — his authority is borrowed. So he delivers God's words, warnings and all, and never tones them down.
- Warn — one mouth reaches many ears. From here, each hearer answers for himself.
- Blood — silence leaves the watchman guilty. Speaking clears him, whatever people do with it.
- Live — God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. That is why the job exists. The trumpet is mercy before the sword, and it still sounds in the gospel.
When I say unto the wicked, Wicked [man], thou shalt certainly die; and thou speakest not to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
A man stands on the wall with God's own words to speak, and says nothing. The wicked man still dies for his own sin. Yet this verse charges that death to the silent watchman's account. What, then, is a messenger answerable for?
The chapter's picture is a lookout on a city wall with a trumpet. Everything turns on whether he blows it.
Pictured as a watchman, Ezekiel is set to warn the house of Israel. If anyone ignored the sound of the trumpet, their blood would be on their own head. If the watchman did not blow the trumpet, his blood would pay the penalty.
Earlier in the chapter, the people of a land pick their own lookout. Ezekiel's case is different.
Notice first that men might naturally appoint a watchman for themselves, and normally would. The prophet is not appointed by the people, but by God on their behalf. Even with no word from Him, the people would still be accountable. But God provided a watchman for those too careless and indifferent to look after their own interests, even the most serious ones. And how this would increase the guilt of those who still refused the Voice that spoke to them!
Does personal responsibility leave each person to sort things out alone? Ezekiel's post gives the answer.
Individual responsibility now becomes the ruling principle. Yet this does not cancel the call and duty of one man to warn many. That was the prophet's place.
Commentators read this death against the setting of the whole book: God openly governing His people on earth. On that reading, the sentence is not the eternal doom of the unrepentant.
Notice that everything before us here belongs to God's outward, visible government, which is so prominent and fitting in the prophecy of Ezekiel. So the death threatened to the wicked is not simply the death we all live under. Nor is it, as many suppose, eternal death as the doom of every unrepentant soul. It is a removal from the earth, under the government of God.
The watchman's standing does not rise or fall with the answer he gets. That cuts the nerve of judging our service by how it lands.
These divine words come first of all to the prophet himself. He is put in charge as God's watchman for the people, to place every individual soul on its own responsibility before God. His own responsibility stays untouched, whatever the result, or apparent lack of result… This is an important point for us at all times. We are so quick to argue from mere results. Results can never rightly be our guide, since they do not come first but follow. They cannot affect the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.
Paul claimed the same clearance for himself. It had a price.
So he could say that he was "innocent of the blood of all." He was like the faithful watchman of Ezekiel 33:4. That watchman's duty was to warn against the approach of an enemy or a sword, but he himself was clear if people ignored his warning. Solemn thought! The watchman would expose himself to severe criticism, ridicule, contempt, and danger. But, adds the Apostle, "I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God."
- Posted — the people do not choose this watchman. God sets him over them, so refusing his warning deepens their guilt.
- Charged — his one task is to sound the warning. His responsibility stands whatever the result, so the trumpet measures faithfulness, not the number who turn.
- Silent — if he says nothing, the wicked man still dies in his own sin, but God requires that blood from the watchman.
- Cleared — a warning given and ignored puts the blood back on the hearer's own head, and leaves the messenger clear.
- Costly — Paul claimed this same clearance. It cost him ridicule, contempt and danger, because he held nothing back.
But if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
God set Ezekiel over Israel as a watchman with a trumpet. This verse covers the warning that is refused: the wicked man dies in his own guilt, and the messenger goes free. So what does it mean to "deliver your soul," and what is a warning worth when nobody listens?
Behind the verse stands a watchman with a trumpet, and the duty cuts both ways. The hearer answers for ignoring the alarm. The watchman answers for never sounding it.
The picture is a watchman. God sets Ezekiel to warn the house of Israel. If any ignored the sound of the trumpet, their blood would be on their own head. If the watchman did not blow it, his own blood would pay the penalty.
The chapter marks a shift in how God deals with His people: each person now stands or falls by his own conduct.
Individual responsibility now becomes the ruling principle. But it does not stand in the way of the call and duty of one man to warn many. Such was the prophet's place.
God had already judged the nation. Yet the warning still mattered, because the new principle leaves a way out for anyone who takes it.
God sets up a completely new principle. From now on He deals with each person on the ground of his own conduct, not on the consequences of national sin. So the door still stood wide open to personal repentance, resting on a message that spoke to each person, whatever the national judgment might be.
The verse describes a warning that fails. The man hears and still does not turn. That outcome does not touch the watchman's standing before God.
God set him in charge as watchman for the people, to put every soul on his own responsibility before God. His own responsibility did not change, whatever the result or apparent lack of result… This is an important point for us at all times. We are so quick to argue from mere results, and results can never rightly guide us. They cannot come first; they only follow. They cannot change the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.
To deliver your soul is to stand clear of another man's blood. Paul claimed that when he said goodbye to the church leaders at Ephesus.
They themselves could bear witness that he was pure from the blood of all men. No one could accuse him of neglect. He had warned them and set before them the truth that would deliver them. He had been a faithful watchman, not avoiding the declaration of the entire counsel of God.
Warning a man about his way costs the watchman something.
So he could say that he was clear of the blood of all men. He was like the faithful watchman of Ezekiel 33:4. That watchman had to warn people that an enemy or the sword was coming, but he himself was clear if nobody listened. A solemn thought! For the watchman would open himself to severe criticism, ridicule, contempt, and danger.
The same duty falls today on anyone who speaks to people about God's judgment.
Today some have the business of reasoning with sinful and lost men "about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment." They must not tone down God's truth. They must not shrink from telling a sinful world what lies before it. The sweet story of the gospel is the heart of their testimony: our precious Saviour dying for ruined and guilty man, pardon for rebels, salvation for the lost. That story must always keep its proper place. But they also have to bring God's warnings to the wicked.
- The trumpet sounds — Ezekiel stands as a watchman. If he stays silent, God charges the blood to him. If he blows, the hearer carries his own guilt.
- The trumpet is heard — the ruling principle here is individual responsibility. That is why one man must warn many.
- The trumpet is refused — the door still stands open for one person to repent, whatever judgment hangs over the nation.
- The trumpet clears the watchman — results do not change his duty. Results follow duty, and they never guide those who walk by faith.
- The trumpet passes on — Paul could say he was pure from the blood of all men. He was a faithful watchman who declared the whole counsel of God, whatever the ridicule and danger.