The first message of hope 33:23-33

This first message dealt with a serious defect in the Israelites. The Jews still in Judea were not listening to the whole counsel of God but were picking and choosing what they would obey (vv. 23-29). The Jews in exile were listening to Ezekiel, but they were not responding (vv. 30-33). If they were to profit from the messages of hope that Ezekiel proceeded to give them, all the Jews needed to respond to those he had already delivered by repenting. Thus this first message in this series prepared them for those that followed. The first step on the road to hope was a change in their attitude toward God's word.

 The attitude of the Jews in Judea 33:23-29

33:23-24 The Lord informed the prophet about the attitude of the Jews still in the land. The few Jews who still lived in the waste places of the Promised Land were claiming that since God had promised that land to Abraham they were right in staying in it (cf. 11:15; Matt. 3:9; Luke 3:8; John 8:33, 39). But Jeremiah had told the Jews in the land to submit to the Babylonians (Jer. 40-44).

33:25-26 Ezekiel was to address the refugees who had brought the message of Jerusalem's fall and the other Israelites in the name of their sovereign Lord. Since the Jews did not keep the Mosaic Law (cf. Exod. 20:4-5, 13-14; Lev. 17:10-14; 19:26), did they have a right to possess the land? God had promised the land to Abraham's descendants, but He had also told them that they could only occupy their land if they obeyed the law that He had given them (cf. Deut. 27:28; 29:25-29).

33:27 The Lord assured the people that the Jews who remained in the land would die there by various means including the sword, beasts, and disease.

33:28-29 God promised to completely desolate the land and to humble the pride of His people. Even the mountains would be desolate, and travelers would not even pass through the land. Then they would know that He is God, when He desolated their land.

 The attitude of the Jews in Babylon 33:30-33

33:30-31 God also told Ezekiel that the exiles were speaking to one another about him privately and publicly. They were saying, Let's go and hear what Yahweh has to say to us through Ezekiel. So they came and sat before the prophet and listened to what he said, but their heart remained bent on pursuing their lustful desires and personal gain.

33:32-33 They listened to Ezekiel as they listened to entertainers, singers or instrumentalists. Entertainers expect no response to their performances beyond applause, but preachers expect people to change. The exiles admired Ezekiel for his content and delivery, but they did not put into practice what he told them to do (cf. James 1:22-25). They did not apply it to their own lives and change. Consequently, when what Ezekiel promised came, namely, judgment for personal responsibility (vv. 12-20), they would know that a prophet, a spokesman for God, had been in their midst, not just an entertainer.

This is one of the most pointed indictments of God's people in the Bible. When we are fairly comfortable it is easy to listen to preaching and to critique the preacher but do nothing about what he has said. It is essential that we ask ourselves, What does God want me to do in view of what I have just heard? and then do it!