"If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul."
Ezekiel 33:8-9
Thoughts:
More and more as I slow down to take in the Word of God rather than just trying to finish the Word, messages and reaffirmations continue to jump out. It is truly amazing. As with the other chapters of Ezekiel I mentioned as I started journaling, I pretty sure I've read chapter 33 fairly recently, but is never came alive to me like it did this morning.
I read through both chapters 32 and 33 this morning. Where chapter 32 didn't speak much to me, chapter 33 was spewing with important points that Jesus and his disciples would later build upon in the New Testament. I was able to take things out of almost every verse in the chapter.
Verses 5-9 emphasize the important differentiate of hearing the Word and living - believing - the Word. It is not an intellectual pursuit to know what God wants us to do, but rather it is the act of internalizing that knowledge and living it out that matters. I know I am supposed to "love my neighbor", but do I actually do it?
Additionally, and more direct to my heart, is the emphasis these verse place on those who have been selected to spread Christ's message to the world. All Christians are supposed to spread the word of God as commanded in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). We are now the watchmen that Ezekiel 33 refers to. If we do not speak to people about turning from their wicked ways, regardless of how it may make them or us feel, we are culpable for their sins. It also emphasizes that it is not up to us to force them to obey God, but it is up to us to inform them of God.
I would have been happy (although also frightened) of just learning these edicts, but chapter 33 just kept flowing. Verses 13-16 made two incredibly important points. First, the grace of God and justification through Christ is NOT a get out of jail free card. "Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die." (v. 13) On the flip side, no matter what a person has done or how badly he has sinned, God will forgive him if he repents and makes retribution (a sign of true repentance). "None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live." (v. 16)
Now, the argument that always comes up with this is "what about a serial killer or someone like Adolph Hitler? Surely God will punish them." However, the verses state that if they TRULY repented, they would be forgiven. How can that be just...how can God allow that? He states in verse 17, "Yet your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not just,' when it is their own way that is not just." It is not our place to judge (a little judge ye not, lest ye be judged) because God's justice is much holier than our corrupted view of justice and vengeance.
The last piece that I gleamed out of the end of Ezekiel 33 was that we always fall into our old traps and ways. Thousands of years ago, the Israelites justified their actions and skewed God's words to do what they want (v. 23-24) just like we still do today. Additionally, they would "listen" to the prophets and "hear" the will of God, but then wouldn't do anything with it. They wouldn't live it out, just like we still don't today (v. 31-32).
I have been in the trap of learning what God wants on an intellectual level...the pursuit of knowledge. Over the past few months, I've built the will of God in my head, but not in my heart. The couple of feet from the head to the heart is indeed one of the longest stretches of space in the world. If we don't want to end up facing the judgment of the ancient Israelites, we need to start living the Word of God, not just knowing it.
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