Watchman - Ezekiel 33

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 show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness."

v32 And , lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

v33 "And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them."

Ezekiel 33 is a very solemn chapter. It tells of the responsibility of the prophet to say what the Lord told him to. It points out that the people may not believe but that the prophet has delivered his own soul. Thus the phrase often used by preachers that 'I delivered my soul.'

v4 "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."

Before Israel went into Canaan to possess the land, there was preparation for battle. The trumpet was used. There were signals set up to assemble and others which meant different things. It was a very effective way for all the people to act in unison. But if someone were in a dangerous place and the trumpet sounded for everyone to move to another place and that person was not paying attention, they could be there alone when the danger came.

So here, the watchman and the trumpet are used to describe the state of iniquity and whether or not a person would turn from that iniquity when they heard the warning. IN this case, the trumpet was the voice of the prophet.

v14 "Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; ... he shall surely live, he shall not die. v16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live."

The chapter also deals with the righteous turning the other way or trusting in their own righteousness. These words point to Christ and our dependence on his righteousness alone.