Ezekiel 33

The theme of this chapter is the fundamental covenant choice (choose

life or death) that is still open to the people and demonstrates the grace
and justice of God. Those who reject the covenant’s obligations face the
certainty of death, whereas those who repent in response to the
prophetic word are promised life.

Context - chp 33 in the structure of the book

The pivot on which the whole book turns is the block of oracles against foreign nations in
chs. 2532. This is framed by references to the fall of Jerusalem in chs. 24 and 33 (see
24:1-2, 25-27; 33:21-22). This positioning of the oracles against the nations serves two
purposes. First it fills the chronological gap between the revelation that the siege has
begun (24:1-2) and the news that the city has fallen (33:21-22) and in so doing keeps us
in suspense. Secondly, it serves to remind us that Yahweh, who is judging Jerusalem, is
also the judge of all nations; that his moral government extends to the whole world.

The book begins and ends with visions of the divine glory. It begins with exile and ends
with restoration. It begins with God present with his people in exile and it ends with him
present with them in restoration. Notice the closing line of the book: ‘THE LORD IS
THERE’. It is this presence of God with his people—a reality which Ezekiel is made aware
of in his visions—which guarantees the continued existence of Israel and its future
blessing under God.

The first part of the book is predominantly about judgement and the second
mainly about restoration. But while the focus changes in the second part, there are many
elements which match, either by repetition or contrast, elements which have occurred in
the first part. The watchman passage of 33:1-9 is one such element, repeating, with some
significant changes, the watchman passage of 3:16-21. Other matching elements include:

departure of the glory (chs. 8-11) return of the glory (40-48)

the polluted temple the ideal temple
the new covenant (ch. 11) the new covenant (ch. 36)
prophecy against the mts of Israel (ch. 6) prophecy to the mts of Israel (ch. 36)

These matching elements are represented by the crosses in the following diagram:

Fall Oracles Against Fall

of Nations of
Glory x x x x x x x x City City x x x x x x x x Glory
1:1-28 24:27 25-32 33:21 43:1-3

3:16-21 33:1-9
Watchman Watchman

Structure
The chapter begins in vv. 1-9, with a passage in which Ezekiel is told again that he has
been made a watchman for the house of Israel. There then follows in vv. 10-20 an oracle
which Ezekiel is given—as a watchman—to speak to his fellow exiles. This oracle concerns
their individual responsibility before God (note especially v.20). There follows then in vv.
21-22 a brief report about the news of the fall of Jerusalem reaching Ezekiel and his fellow
exiles. This is followed in vv. 23-29 by a further oracle, this time addressed to those who
still remain in Judea. Perhaps it is spoken for the benefit of Ezekiel’s fellow-exiles, but it
may possibly have been taken to Judea by a return messenger. At any rate it concerns
land-grabbing by those still in Judea. The final part of the chapter, vv. 30-33, concerns the
way Ezekiel is now treated by his fellow exiles. They regard him as an entertainer (‘one
who sings love songs’). They enjoy listening to him but do not take his words seriously.
This contrasts sharply with the description of his true role at the beginning of the chapter.
So we have the following structure:

a b c b′ a′
E. as watchman Oracle Fall of City Oracle E. as singer
1-9 10-20 21-22 23-29 30-33

The chapter has a symmetrical design, with the report of the fall of Jerusalem as the pivot
on
which it turns. It is presumably the report brought by the messenger in vv.21-22 which
evokes the oracle to those still in Judea in vv.23-29. The report of the city’s fall vindicate
Ezekiel’s claim to be a true prophet (his predictions have come true). But the way th
chapter closes suggests there is still lack of depth in the way people respond to him (cf.
John
12:37).

Ezek. 33:1 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to
them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the
people of the land take a man from among
them, and make him their watchman, 3 and if
he sees the sword coming upon the land and
blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then
if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet
does not take warning, and the sword comes
and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his
own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet
and did not take warning; his blood shall be
upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he
would have saved his life. 6 But if the
watchman sees the sword coming and does not
blow the trumpet, so that the people are not
warned, and the sword comes and takes any one
of them, that person is taken away in his
iniquity, but his blood I will require at the
watchman’s hand.

Ezek. 33:7 “So you, son of man, I have made

a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever
you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give
them warning from me. 8 If I say to the wicked,
O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do
not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his
way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity,
but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 But if
you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and
he does not turn from his way, that person shall
die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered
your soul.

Ezek. 33:10 “And you, son of man, say to the

house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our
transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we
rot away because of them. How then can we
live?’ 11 Say to them, As I live, declares the
Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way
and live; turn back, turn back from your evil
ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
12 “And you, son of man, say to your people,
The righteousness of the righteous shall not
deliver him when he transgresses, and as for
the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by
it when he turns from his wickedness, and the
righteous shall not be able to live by his
righteousness when he sins. 13 Though I say to
the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he
trusts in his righteousness and does injustice,
none of his righteous deeds shall be
remembered, but in his injustice that he has
done he shall die. 14 Again, though I say to the
wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns
from his sin and does what is just and right, 15
if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back
what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the
statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall
surely live; he shall not die. 16 None of the sins
that he has committed shall be remembered
against him. He has done what is just and right;
he shall surely live.

Ezek. 33:17 “Yet your people say, ‘The way of

the Lord is not just,’ when it is their own way
that is not just. 18 When the righteous turns
from his righteousness and does injustice, he
shall die for it. 19 And when the wicked turns
from his wickedness and does what is just and
right, he shall live by them. 20 Yet you say, ‘The
way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, I
will judge each of you according to his ways.”

Ezek. 33:21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in

the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month,
a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said,
“The city has been struck down.” 22 Now the
hand of the LORD had been upon me the
evening before the fugitive came; and he had
opened my mouth by the time the man came to
me in the morning, so my mouth was opened,
and I was no longer mute.

Ezek. 33:23 The word of the LORD came to me:

24 “Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste
places in the land of Israel keep saying,
‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got
possession of the land; but we are many; the
land is surely given us to possess.’ 25 Therefore
say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: You eat
flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to
your idols and shed blood; shall you then
possess the land? 26 You rely on the sword,
you commit abominations, and each of you
defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then
possess the land? 27 Say this to them, Thus
says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely those who
are in the waste places shall fall by the sword,
and whoever is in the open field I will give to
the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in
strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence.
28 And I will make the land a desolation and a
waste, and her proud might shall come to an
end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so
desolate that none will pass through. 29 Then
they will know that I am the LORD, when I have
made the land a desolation and a waste because
of all their abominations that they have
committed.
Ezek. 33:30 “As for you, son of man, your
people who talk together about you by the walls
and at the doors of the houses, say to one
another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear
what the word is that comes from the LORD.’ 31
And they come to you as people come, and they
sit before you as my people, and they hear what
you say but they will not do it; for with lustful
talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set
on their gain. 32 And behold, you are to them
like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful
voice and plays well on an instrument, for they
hear what you say, but they will not do it. 33
When this comes—and come it will!— then they
will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Ezekiel and Individual Responsibility

• Not new in essence—but a new emphasis in prophecy
• Ch. 18 – presupposes individual responsibility—but the issue there is:
should one generation be punished for the sins of another
• Ch. 33. True individual responsibility.
• The watchman role: essentially a pastoral role to individuals—urgent
because of the collapse of the nation
• Individual responsibility before God is further developed in apocalyptic; e.g.
Dan 12:1-2.