©1997 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
6. Against Egypt (29:1) 10 10/12 January 7 587 7. Against Tyre, Egypt (29:17) 27 1/1 April 26 571 8. Against Pharaoh (30:20) 11 1/7 April 29 587 9. Against Pharaoh (31:1) 11 3/1 June 21 587 10. Lament for Pharaoh (32:1) 12 12/1 March 3 585 11. Pharaoh to Sheol (32:17) 12 ?/15 ? 586/585 12. Refugee report on Fall of Jerusalem (33:21) 12 10/5 January 8 585 13. Vision of Future Temple Begins (40:1) 25 1/10 April 28 573 ©1997 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 2:5 The people cannot plead ignorance.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 2:6 briers and thorns . . . scorpions. Cf. 3:7, 9; 22:29. These are figures of speech God used to describe the people of Judah whose obstinate rejection of his word was like the barbs of thorns and stings of scorpions to Ezekiel. The wicked were often so called (cf. 2 Sam. 23:6; Song 2:2; Isa. 9:18).
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 2:8 open your mouth and eat. Ezekiel was to obey the command, not literally eating a scroll (vv. 9–10), but in a spiritual sense by receiving God's message so that it became an inward passion. Cf. also 3:1–3, 10 and Jer. 15:16.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 2:10 writing on the front and on the back. Scrolls were normally written on one side only, but this judgment message was so full it required all the available space (cf. Zech. 5:3; Rev. 5:1) to chronicle the suffering and sorrow that sin had brought, as recorded in Ezek. 2–32.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:1–3 Eat this scroll . . . Then I ate. God's messenger must first internalize God's truth for himself, then preach it.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:3 as honey. Even though the message was judgment on Israel, the scroll was sweet because it was God's word (cf. Ps. 19:10; 119:103) and because it vindicated God in holiness, righteousness, glory, and faithfulness, in which Jeremiah also delighted (Jer. 15:16). Bitterness also was experienced by the prophet (Ezek. 3:14) in this message of judgment confronting Judah's rebellion (v. 9). The apostle John records a similar bittersweet experience with the word of God in Rev. 10:9–10.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:7 Cf. John 15:20.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:8–9 I have made your face . . . hard. What God commands ("Fear them not") he gives sufficiency to do ("I have made"), so God will enable the prophet to live up to his name (which means "strengthened by God"). Cf. 2:2; 3:14, 24; Isa. 41:10; Jer. 1:8, 17.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:9 rebellious. It is sad to observe that the exile and affliction did not make the Jews more responsive to God; rather, they were hardened by their sufferings. God gave Ezekiel a "hardness" to surpass the people and sustain his ministry as prophet to the exiles.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:12, 14 the Spirit lifted me up. This is a phrase used to describe the prophet being elevated to a heavenly vision, as in the experiences of 8:3 and 11:1.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:14 bitterness. See note on 3:3.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:15 the exiles. Tel-abib was the main city for the Jewish captives, who may have included some of the 10 tribes taken long before in the conquering of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C., as 2 Kings 17:6 may indicate ("Habor" is the same river as Chebar). sat there . . . seven days. Ezekiel sat with the sorrowing people for seven days, the usual period for manifesting deep grief (cf. Job 2:13). He identified with them in their suffering (cf. Ps. 137:1), thus trying to win their trust when he spoke God's word.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:17 a watchman. This role was spiritually analogous to the role of watchmen on a city wall, vigilant to spot the approach of an enemy and warn the residents to muster a defense. The prophet gave timely warnings of approaching judgment. The work of a watchman is vividly set forth in 2 Sam. 18:24–27 and 2 Kings 9:17–20. See notes on Ezek. 33:1–20.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:18–21 Cf. ch. 18, and see notes there.
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON 3:18 the wicked . . . him . . . his. The emphasis of singular pronouns was on individuals. The ministries of Habakkuk (Hab. 2:1), Jeremiah (Jer. 6:17), and Isaiah (Isa. 56:10) were more national than individual. Ezekiel's ministry was more personal, focused on individual responsibility to trust and obey God. Disobedience or obedience to God's messages was a matter of life or death; Ezek. 18:1–20 is particularly devoted to this emphasis. no warning . . . die. Men are not to assume that ignorance, even owing to the negligence of preachers, will be any excuse to save them from divine punishment. Cf. Rom.