They came, they listened, but did nothing

Sermon on Ezekiel 33:21-33

INTRODUCTION

Ezekiel was among the 10,000 Jews who were deported to Babylon in 597 BC (2 Kings 24:14).

2 Kings 24:14 He carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans-- a total of ten thousand…

On the 5th year of the exile (593 B.C.), The LORD called Ezekiel to be His prophet through a heavenly vision (Ezekiel 1:2-2:8).

Ezekiel 2:3 "Son of man," he said, "I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day.

Under the LORD’s direction, Ezekiel preached about God’s impending judgment on Judah. He preached about the destruction of the temple; he preached about the fall of Jerusalem, the capital city; he preached about God’s judgment on the sins of the people. Ezekiel used many symbolic acts to portray God’s judgment on Judah. One year had passed, and nothing happened. The temple was still standing; two years had passed, nothing happened, Judah’s military became stronger (Eze. 17:15). Egypt supplied Judah with horses and a large army; three years had passed, still nothing happened; the fourth year, the fifth year, the sixth year and the seventh year had passed, and yet nothing had happened. The religious leader and the people became more and more unfaithful to the Covenant God (2 Chron. 36: 11-14).

Although nothing that was prophesied had happened, Ezekiel just continued to preach passionately whenever God gave him a prophetic message to deliver. To many skeptical Jews, Ezekiel was just making big fool of himself in the way he preached.

Jerusalem Has Fallen!

Then one day, Ezekiel received an SMS from Judah - a fugitive from Jerusalem came to Babylon with the news: Jerusalem has fallen!

Ezekiel 33:21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has fallen!"

In that year 586 BC, Jerusalem fell. Seven had years since Ezekiel first preached about God’s judgment against Judah, Jerusalem fell.

Background Information from “Jeremiah”

The book of Ezekiel does not give us detailed report about the fall of Jerusalem. We may read a detailed description about Jerusalem’s fall from the book of Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah was a contemporary of Ezekiel. While Ezekiel was preaching to the exiled Jews in Babylon, Jeremiah was preaching to the king, the leaders and the people in Jerusalem.

In Jeremiah 39:8 we read,
Jeremiah 39:8 The Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people. 10 But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.

The Babylonian army burned the palace and destroyed the city of Jerusalem. Commander Nebuzaradan carried the populace into the exile but he left behind the poorest in the land and distributed vineyards and fields to those destitute.

King Nebuchanezzar appointed Gedaliah as the governor of those people who were left behind in the land (Jeremiah 40:7).

Jeremiah 40:7 … the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon…

However, those unfaithful Jews who had earlier migrated to foreign lands before the fall also returned to Judah to take advantage of the situation.

Jeremiah 40:11 When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah … as governor over them, 12 they all came back to the land of Judah… from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.

The LORD Restored Ezekiel’s Speech

In Ezekiel 3: 6 we read the LORD telling Ezekiel,
Ezekiel 3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says…

Ezekiel had remained silent for 7 years. He only spoke when the LORD gave him a message to speak. Just the day before the fugitive met Ezekiel, the LORD restored Ezekiel’s speech.

In verse 22 we read,
22 Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.

From that point onwards, Ezekiel regained his freedom to speak as and when he desired.

In chapter 33, verses 21-33, Ezekiel addresses two groups of people.

I. Ezekiel Addressed Two Groups of People:

A. He condemned those Israelites who remained in the land of Israel.
They had expected the Babylonian Captivity to end soon (vv.23-29)

Eg. A false prophet Hananiah had prophesied that within 2 years the king & the people would return to Jerusalem (Jer. 28:2-3)

2 "This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks. 3 Within two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon. 4 And I will bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the LORD, have spoken!' "

B. He rebuked those who gathered to hear him in Babylon (vv.30-33)
They came; they listened; but did not put into practice (v. 32)

Let us understand the life situation of the Jews in Jerusalem whom Ezekiel rebuked.

II. Those Who Remained in Israel After Jerusalem’s Fall

Question: Why did God condemn those Jews in Jerusalem? Isn’t it cruel to condemn people who are already down and out? The group of people whom Ezekiel rebuked certainly deserved that indictment because

A. They refused to acknowledge God’s judgment.

B. They misled themselves by comparing their situation with Abraham’s.

1. They claimed to be the remnant left by God to possess His Promised Land.

2. They entertained false hope.

24 "Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he gained possession of the entire land. We are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.'

If the one man, Abraham, had a right to the land, certainly the many Israelites remaining there all the more had the right to it.

3. Their reasoning was faulty.

There was one major difference between Abraham and those in the land:
Abraham was righteous and they were wicked.

25 Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You eat meat with blood still in it, you worship idols, and you murder the innocent. Do you really think the land should be yours? 26 Murderers! Idolaters! Adulterers! Should the land belong to you?'

They violated the proper worship of YHWH.

a. They ate meat with blood still in it (cf. Lev. 17:10-14),

Leviticus 17:10-12 "'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood-- I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."

They were eating the very life’s substance that God had intended for His use in the atonement of sins. Thus, the Israelites’ eating of blood desecrated the act of atonement for their sins.

b. They worshiped idols, when they were supposed to worship the LORD Himself alone.

The book of Jeremiah informs us that the same group of unfaithful Jews wanted to forsake the Covenant-God, and they made plan to migrate to Egypt and devote themselves to worship the gods of the Egyptians.

In Jeremiah 43: 1-3 we read,
They decided to forsake the LORD and devoted themselves to worshipping Egyptian gods.

We read in Jeremiah 44:17-18 that they believed the reason for the fall of Jerusalem was because they had stopped their worship of the Queen of Heaven

We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the street of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offering to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.

Then the LORD sent Jeremiah to Egypt to warn the people the consequences of their disobedience and rebellion:

Jeremiah 44:1-5 This word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in Lower Egypt-- in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis-- and in Upper Egypt: 4 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, 'Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!' 5 But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.

We should read Jeremiah chapters 41-44 in order to see the whole picture of verses 1-5.

c. They shed blood. In the context of Israel’s sin, the unrighteous Jews were guilty of shedding innocent people, in other words, they were putting the innocents to death in order to obtain what they wanted.

Those people’s reasoning they deserve to possess the land was faulty because

The right to possess the land depended on covenant obedience, not numerical strength.

Their covenant disobedience had forfeited them their rights to the Promised land.

C. Their false hope and arrogance to possess the land would soon end in devastating judgment:

27 "Say this to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die by the sword. And I will send wild animals to eat those living in the open fields. Those hiding in the forts and caves will die of disease.

1. Those who remained in the city’s ruin would fall be the sword;

2. Those who fled to the countryside would be eaten by wild animals; and

3. Those who hid in strongholds and caves would die of a plague.

D. The land would become desolate.

28 I shall make the country a desolate waste, and the pride of its strength will be at an end. The mountains of Israel will be deserted and no one will pass that way again.

The idolatry is a serious sin in God’s sight. The primary reason why Judah fell was because of her persistent practice of idolatry. LORD detests idolatry.

An Application

Today, the most subtle type of idolatry God’s people can practise is religious syncretism. A Christian who practices syncretism will profess Christianity as his belief, but his belief system is tainted with specks of impurities.

There are Christians who say, “During the time of economy recession, I pray to the Lord Jesus and seek His guidance in financial investment, but I also practice fengshui to avert bad lucks. Another Christian may say “I know that God holds my future, but I also dabble in reading horoscope. Those are some example of syncretism.

Today, Christians do not worship idols that are made of woods or clay. They worship idols that are made of flesh and blood. They are many Christians who would treat other fellow-human beings, as though they were gods. I am referring to the fanatism of celebrity-worship. Some fans are keen to marry a celebrity who does not even know they exist. Some would also want to die, when an Idol died.

I am not saying that it is wrong to admire talented actors or musicians. There are healthy forms of admiration. I am talking about the unhealthy types - “When Adoration becomes Fanatism”

There are three forms of celebrity-fans’ syndrome:

1. Entertainment - Social:
Most fans are attracted to a favourite celebrity because of his/her perceived talent to entertain and becomes a social status.

2. Intense – Personal:
A fan has intensive and compulsive feelings towards a celebrity.

3. Pathological:
A fan has uncontrolled behavior and fantasies over a favourite celebrity.

The first type is normal, but the second & third types are unhealthy. Those kinds of response towards a celebrity are so similar to idol-worshipping.

In verses 30-33, Ezekiel rebukes the Jews who are in exile.

III. Those Who Were Living in Exile.

30 "As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear another message that has come from the LORD.' 31 My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not act on them. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 32 Indeed, you are very entertaining to them, like someone who lustful love songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear your words but do not act on them. 33 "When all this comes true-- and it surely will-- then they will know that a prophet has been among them."

A. They did not practice the word the message they heard

The people developed a habit of listening to Ezekiel’s preaching without bothering to change their wrong lifestyle or behavior

31 My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not act on them.

They came; they listened but did not take Ezekiel’s message seriously.

That rebuke was repeated in verse 32
… for they hear your words but do not act on them.

Application: Do not hear God’s word and then not bother about putting them into practice (James 1:22-25)

James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does.

B. They were paying lip service to God but harbored sins in their hearts.

With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.

Their mouth expressed devotion but their heart were greedy.

The exilic Jews were behaving like prophet Amos’ hearers. About 200 year ago, prophet Amos also rebuked the Israelites:

Amos 8:4 Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, 5 saying, "When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?"-- skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, 6 buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.

Application: Do not offer the Lord “rubber cheque” praise.

C. They treat God’s prophets as “entertainer”

32 Indeed, you are very entertaining to them, like someone who lustful love songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear your words but do not act on them.

Some of the hearers in the exile might perceive Ezekiel as a funny man, like Mr. Bean.

Application: Many people perceive their pastor as a person with dual roles: He is a preacher, as well as an entertainer.

IV. A Day of Reckoning Will Come

33 "When all this comes true-- and it surely will-- then they will know that a prophet has been among them."

When all of Ezekiel’s prophetic words come true then the people would take Ezekiel’s preaching seriously – A prophet was among us.

Q: What words of prophecy was Ezekiel referring to?

They probably refer to Ezekiel’s message concerning individual responsibility and judgment that God imposes on all people (cf. vv.12-20)

“But I will judge each of you according to his ways” (Ezekiel 33:20)

There is also a Day of Reckoning for us, Christians, also. Paul’s words warn us:

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The apostle Paul was concerned that the Corinthian Christian were serving the Lord Jesus with a right motive, and they building up the body of Christ based on the Gospel of Jesus as the foundation and no other compromised doctrine.

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Let us worship the Lord the right way and serve him with the our motive.

They came, they listened, but did not care to apply. We must not repeat the OT people’s mistakes in our lives.