This week’s Monday Morning Bible Breakdown is on the first reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9.
Thus says the LORD: You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die, ” and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.
Let’s start with some background on our pal, Zeke. (It’s OK, we’re buddies) Ezekiel was a prophet during the 7
th and 6
th centuries BC. He preached during the Babylonian Exile, a particularly unpleasant time for the ancient Hebrew people. During the Babylonian Exile, Judah (the southern portion of modern day Israel, including Jerusalem) was conquered by Babylon. In order to prevent a popular uprising, many of the scholarly, religious leaders, and civic leaders were removed from Israel and sent to Babylon. Ezekiel was among the exiled. The Babylonians also destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, which was particularly horrifying to the ancient Jews. Today, most people believe that God is ubiquitous, or present everywhere. The ancient Jews did not believe that. For them, God lived in the inner sanctuary of the Temple, in the Holy of Holies. The destruction of the Temple meant that God no longer dwelt among them. They were completely and utterly alone. Ezekiel, and other prophets, believed that the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem were a direct result of the people breaking their covenant with God. A huge theme of the Prophetic Books is righteous action, and we see that in this passage.
Ezekiel is writing about the role of a prophet. A prophet needs to be simpatico with God. That means he needs to want and feel the same things for humanity that God does. God does not want bad to come to any of His creation. He wants all people to live the right way. As Jesus said in the Gospel of John, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) The prophet, according to this passage, must be a guardian for the people. It is not enough for him to do right and condemn evil. Instead, the prophet needs to be a teacher. He needs to try to persuade evildoers to do right. If he does not at least try to do this, then a prophet is irresponsible. Talk about a lot of responsibility!
What does all this mean for us today? Well, the term “son of man” has a role in helping us answer that question. Although Jesus would later use the term “son of man” to refer to himself, Ezekiel is not referencing Christ here. Instead, Ezekiel is talking about himself, the prophetic voice. That’s not all he’s talking about, though. Son of man was a term loaded with meaning even before Jesus started using it. It is a humble reference that can point to either humanity as a whole, or to a single person intimately tied to the rest of humanity. The double meaning is intentional. Ezekiel uses this term to let us know that while the passage is primarily about him, it applies to humanity as a whole. In other words, we are also appointed watchmen for one another. I said it before, but it bears repeating: talk about a lot of responsibility!
There are plenty of opportunities to be a prophetic voice in today’s world. We live in a culture which, at times, can seem completely at odds with Christian morality. Greed, revenge, and pride are often celebrated in movies, TV, and music. How many of the top 40 hit singles are about generous, loving, and humble people? I honestly have no idea, but I bet it’s not a lot. In movies and on television no one wants to see the bad guy have a change of heart and ask for forgiveness. We want to see him dead. Wicked dead. We want to see him get killed right in the face. How Christian is that? (hint: not very) When we see one of these real life evildoers, often we’re tempted to wish bad things upon them. Sometimes we put our noses in the air and say to ourselves
sooner or later, they’ll get what’s coming to them. Sometimes we even try to help speed up the delivery of “what’s coming to them” through gossip or physical attacks. Ezekiel tells us that none of these are the proper response. We must respond by trying to convince them to change their ways.
It’s not easy.
Confronting someone about something they said or did can be hard, especially if they don’t think that it is wrong. Often they will simply tune you out or turn your back on you. You may think this takes you off the hook, after all, you warned them! They didn’t listen! It’s not your problem anymore! Hooray!
Not so fast.
We need to be simpatico with God, remember? We need to want what He wants, to feel what He feels. God doesn’t try once and then turn His back on us. God works on us right up until the day we die. We need to keep working at it, too. That means we should learn how to do it effectively. Once again, the key comes in the use of that phrase, “son of man.” Although we associate that term with God now, it was a
humble phrase. If we talk down to someone, they are very unlikely to listen to us. If we scream and shout and call them names, they are very unlikely to listen. If we are unfriendly and condemning, they are very unlikely to listen. We need to make sure that we always approach from a place of love, not condemnation. We need to approach gently, not violently. We need to approach as an equal, not as a moral superior. Only then can we begin to get past people’s defenses and help to change their heart.