Resources/Articles
Was Ezekiel a "Singer of Lustful Songs"?
Imagine, as a preacher, being given this information about your brethren: “Your people, who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord. And they come to you as a people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and play well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it” (Ezekiel 33.30-32).
No doubt it would be a shock. While you may doubt the integrity of the source of this information, let’s assume you find the information to be true. Having this knowledge, how might it affect your task in standing before them? Ezekiel had such a task. This was the situation in his day. Ezekiel had been deported to Babylon along with Jehoiachin, king of Judah. Eventually, all but the poorest Israelites would be deported to Babylon. Jehoiachin was replaced by the uncle of the Babylonian king. The people of Israel anticipated Jehoiachin’s return to the throne, but when his appointee, Zedekiah, rebelled against the king of Babylon, Jerusalem was taken and the land of Judah was wasted. As the captivity of Jehoiachin was nearing the 13th year (v. 21), word came from Jerusalem that the city had been taken. God had appointed Ezekiel as a watchman to warn the people that they might repent (vv. 1-9). He was to speak these words to Israel: “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?” (v. 10).
God’s answer was, “Turn back from your evil ways!” (v. 11).
The people responded, “The way of the Lord is not right” (v. 17).
Why did they say this? The answer is seen from what was said by those yet in the land of Judah: “Abraham…possessed the land; so to us…the land has been given as a possession” (v. 24). Their problem is a problem that many still have today. It is the error in thinking that, because of someone else’s righteousness, they deserve that person’s inheritance without regard to how they’re living. So God’s message to them through Ezekiel was, “It is their own way that is not right” (v. 17). God declares that they have no right to the land because of their iniquities, and that he would judge each “according to his ways” (v. 20).
Do we understand their error in thinking? To what “rights” to the land were the appealing? That is the key. They reasoned, “Abraham was given the land, therefore it is ours! We are his descendants! It ought to rightfully pass on to us. God’s promise to Abraham ensures our rights to it.” God said their way was “not fair.” Abraham was righteous and God reworded him for his righteousness (Genesis 18.19; 26.4). The blessing to his descendants was conditioned upon them living as Abraham lived: Obediently and righteously. The refused to believe this. So God tells Ezekiel the truth about them in vv. 30-32. Please reread those verses above, as the describe a behavior often practiced by many of God’s people today. God concluded with these words to Ezekiel: “…for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.”
It is important to observe the “religiousness” of these people. They “sit before you as my people.” They assembled! But notice their hypocrisy: “They hear what you say but they will not do it.” Their talk was “lustful,” their “hearts set on gain.” Ezekiel, in his speaking, was “to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument.” Yet, these people sat “as God’s people” before Ezekiel. Their view of themselves as God’s people was because of Abraham’s righteousness. They claimed “rights” to his inheritance in spite of their hypocrisy. Do you sense a mindset of “once saved, always saved” from these people? We often justify ourselves with the same logic. Therein lies the lesson.
We “claim” our salvation upon someone else’s “good life.” Perhaps it is our parents, a relative, or someone else. We reason, “They obeyed the gospel. They went to church all their lives. They took us to church…taught us right from wrong…raised us right, etc. Therefore God will reward us with eternal life on the Day of Judgment, because of their righteousness!” Are we “fair” in our reasoning?
Let us take heed to God’s words though Ezekiel as they apply to us today: “The person who sins will die…but if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all my statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die” (Ezekiel 18.20-21).
Ezekiel, as God’s watchman, was to warn, that repentance might result. If they would only listen! When they didn’t, God said that he would “make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed” (v. 29). Sadly, it would not be until this happened that the people would realize “a prophet has been in their midst” (v. 33). You and I have this “written aforetime” (Romans 15.4), that we might turn from our wickedness and “practice justice and righteousness” (v. 19). If we practice these two things, God has assured us that “we will live by them” (v. 19).
