Ezekiel 3: Ezekiel The Watchman

Ezekiel 3: Ezekiel The Watchman

Collin Leong. July 10th 2025

(v1-15) Ezekiel Ate The Scroll

(v1-11) God told Ezekiel to eat the scroll that was given to him in the last chapter. It tasted as sweet as honey in his mouth. God told him to speak his words to the people of Israel. He is not sent to speak to foreigners with language he doesn't understand, but to his own people. The foreigners would have listened to him, but the Israelites will not listen to him, as they did not listed to God. They are hardened and obstinate. But God will make Ezekiel unyielding and hardened as they are, his forehead like  the hardest stone, harder than flint. God told him not to be afraid of them, and say to them "This is what the Sovereign Lord says", whether they listen or fail to listen.

By eating the scroll, Ezekiel is not just receiving a message—he’s embodying it. The act signifies that the prophet must fully absorb God’s words, making them part of his very being before proclaiming them. This echoes the idea that a true messenger must first be transformed by the message.

The scroll “tasted as sweet as honey” (v.3), a phrase that resonates with Psalm 119:103: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Despite the scroll being filled with “lament and mourning and woe” (Ezekiel 2:10), its sweetness reflects the divine origin of the message—God’s word is good, even when it brings judgment.

(v12-15) Ezekiel heard a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place it was standing. The sound is like the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the of the wheels beside them. The Spirit took Ezekiel away and he was filled with bitterness and anger in his spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord on him. He end up with the exiles at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River, and he sat among them for seven days, deeply distressed. 

The sound that Ezekiel heard is often called the "Merkavah", the Hebrew for chariot. It's a heavenly chariot pulled by angelic beings. Ezekiel's bitterness and anger is not against God but against the hard-heartedness of Israel. The "strong hand" of the Lord indicates divine compulsion for him to carry out the preaching that God has said many will not listen. He was feeling distressed for seven days, probably due to the spiritual state of his people and the difficult message he has to deliver. Seven days of silence was a traditional posture of mourning (eg: Job 2:13). 

(v16-27) Ezekiel As Watchman

(v16-19) After seven days, the Lord came to Ezekiel and told him to be the watchman for the people of Israel. He told Ezekiel to speak and warn the people for Him. If God told him that the wicked person will die, and he did no dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, then Ezekiel will be accountable for their blood. But if Ezekiel has warn the person, and they do not turn from their wicked ways, they will die for their sin; but Ezekiel will save himself. 

(v20-21) The same goes, when a righteous person does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, they will die. If Ezekiel did not warn them, the righteous things the person did will not be remembered, and Ezekiel will be accountable to their blood. If Ezekiel has warn the person and he choose not to sin, they will surely live and Ezekiel would have saved himself. 

A watchman, in biblical terms, is a divinely appointed sentinel—someone tasked with spiritual vigilance and moral responsibility on behalf of others. The watchman must first listen to God’s message and then faithfully communicate it to the people. If the watchman sees danger—spiritual or moral—and fails to warn others, he is held accountable for their downfall. This applies to the wicked as well as the righteous person. (See Isaiah 62:6 and Habakkuk 2:10). 

Ezekiel’s calling reflects the weight of being a prophet—bearing God’s message even when it’s unwelcome. We are also called to be a watchman, especially matured Christians and church leaders. Hebrews 13:17 says "Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you."

(v22-23) The hand of the Lord was on Ezekiel there, and He asked him to go out to the plain so that He can speak to him. The glory of the Lord was standing at the plain, just like the glory he saw at the first time by the Kebar River, and Ezekiel fell facedown. 

(v24-27) Then the Spirit raised him to his feet. God asked Ezekiel to shut himself inside his house, and they will tie him with ropes and bind him so that he cannot go out to the people. God will make his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth, so he will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are rebellious people. But when God speaks to him, He will open his mouth, so that he can say "This is what the Sovereign Lord says". It's up to the people whether they want to listen or refuse to listen. 

When God said to Ezekiel that "they will tie [you] with ropes" (v25), it could be a literal or symbolic message. If it's literal, then the "they" will be the rebellious people who don't want to hear from Ezekiel anymore, and they tied him inside his house. If it's symbolic, it means that he cannot (or not allowed) act or speak - i.e. his tongue will stick to the roof of his mouth - until God release or allowed it.