Pastor and 1st Lady Mims

Mims Chapel Church

Week 6, October 11, 2026

LESSON 6

Ezekiel Is Sent to

"Them of the Captivity"

Lesson Text:

Ezekiel 28-10, 3:1-21

Memory Verse
'And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. "

Key Terms
Familiarity • Close acquaintance with or - knowledge of something.
Impudent • Not showing due respect for another person;- impertinent.
Watchman • A member of a body of people employed to keep watch in a town at night; sentry.

Suggested Emphasis

The prophet Ezekiel was raised up and supernaturally endowed to be God's representative to the community of exiles. He spoke primarily to the royal and former leadership class that populated the first group of Babylonian captives, but sometimes he was also given messages for the remaining citizens in Jerusalem (e.g., Ezek. 1 2: 10). Ezekiel, along with his contemporary Jeremiah, was a faithful voice for God at a time the Israelites were overrun with false prophets.

Emphasis 1

The Preparation of God's Man

The Lord had already enjoined the prophet to not be "rebellious" like the rest of the people of Israel, butto "eat that I give thee" (Ezek. 2:8); as the Lord said through the psalmist, "open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it" (Ps. 81:10). In his vision, the meal was to be an unfurled scroll written on both sides of the papyrus with revelations of pending punishments and calamities for the nation (Ezek. 2:9,10). "Eating" represents the inward appropriation of these warnings—someone becoming fully united with God's Word. Ezekiel was commanded to take in the whole Word, and absorb and retain it. But it is curious, isn't it, that a record of "lamentations, and mourning, and woe" (Ezek. 2:10) would initially taste "sweet" to the prophet. Maybe we should perceive the sweetness as gratitude for being trusted to carry the Word. And yet, maybe it points to a general experience of interacting with Scripture; that there is a certain satisfaction when believers are obedient even to strange or difficult commands from the Lord (Eichrodt, 1970, p. 65).

The passage then emphasizes that Ezekiel's immediate mission was to "the house of Israel," although there would be no expectation that his target audience would listen. The irony was that if he was being sentto a foreign populace people of a strange speech"), he could have expected a more receptive crowd (Ezek. 3:6). The Lord explained nthe house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted" (Ezek. 3:7). The prophet was personally assured that God was preparing him for the impudence of the nation. "As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead," Ezekiel was told (Ezek. 3:9). The idea is that he had been made harder than rock, diamond-hard. No one and nothing outside the prophet could hinder him. This is why the Lord focused on Ezekiel's internal fortitude: I'Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says!' Do this whether they listen to you ornot." (Ezek. NLT).

Emphasis 2

The Responsibility of a Watchman

Having been consecrated for the work, Ezekiel was then taken on a trial run in his prophetic office. In an ecstatic trance he was transported from his residence in one exile camp along the River Chebar to another close to Tel-Abib. He went "in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit," which means either in sorrow born of the sympathy he had with the people's suffering, or in righteous indignation he felt toward their sin. At this new locale, Ezekiel didn't instantly begin to prophesy; for a week he sat among the exiles in a stunned silence (Ezek. 3 15). When the word finally came to him, it was another personal directive: "Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately" (Ezek. 3:17, NLT). The ministers of the Lord were often called "watchmen," because their duties were similar to the sentries stationed in watchtowers atop city walls. They were supposed to keep vigil and to alert the public to oncoming danger. God detailed how this would work for the prophet: if He sent a warning, "Repent, or die," to a sinner, Ezekiel had to faithfully share that message. He wasn't responsible for whether or not the sinner listened; his only responsibility was to share the warning.

Emphasis 3

Perhaps a New Kind of Prophet

Ezekiel was a gift to the exilic community, as well as to the remnant still living in Jerusalem. Because of the office, genuine prophets sometimes remained aloof from the people. They represented God's interests, and therefore they avoided becoming overly intimate with their audience. But Ezekiel was in a unique position. Like a natural watchman is a fellow resident of the city he watches over, the Judeans by the river Chebar had to recognize Ezekiel spoke as a fellow exile. He shared with them the familiarity of suffering, which gave his words weight. The priests had been giving general guidance through the law of Moses, but it hadn't wrought much change in the people. Now a prophet had come along to sidle up to them as a friend and a counselor (Eichrodt, 1986, p. 41). In actuality, because of the unusual stunts and object lessons God would tell him to perform, the community would sometimes ostracize him and keep their distance. Yet, he would always remain approachable. The Judeans in captivity had not been abandoned by God, and He sent them a representative to demonstrate that truth.

Missions Application Questions

What did God point to as the most important preparation for His prophet to make before he spoke?
How was Ezekiel's ministry like the work of a sentry atop a city wall?
Do you think a prophet has to be a part of your own faith community to speak effectively into your life? Why or why not.

World Missions Prayer Points

Let us pray to develop an appetite for the whole counsel of God.

Let us pray that the watchmen in our lives stay faithful in the work.
Let us pray that the Lord's prophets always communicate His Word faithfully.