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| 1 And he said unto me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel. |
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| 2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. |
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| 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll which I give thee. And I ate, and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. |
As honey – A blessed feast; but, having been digested, leads to self-denial, crucifixion, death. (Rev. 10:9) R530:4*
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| 4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. |
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| 5 For thou art not sent to a people of strange language, and of difficult speech, but to the house of Israel; |
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| 6 not to many peoples of strange language and of difficult speech, whose words thou canst not understand: had I sent thee to them, would they not hearken unto thee? |
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| 7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee, for none of them will hearken unto me. For all the house of Israel are hard of forehead and stiff of heart. |
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| 8 Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads. |
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| 9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead. Fear them not, neither be dismayed at them, for they are a rebellious house. |
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| 10 And he said unto me, Son of man, all my words which I shall speak unto thee, receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears; |
Hear with thine ears – Few have hearing ears and understanding hearts. R5768:4
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| 11 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 Jehovah, --whether they will hear or whether they will forbear. |
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| 12 And the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of Jehovah from his place! |
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| 13 --and the sound of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great rushing. |
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| 14 And the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me. |
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| 15 And I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and I sat where they sat; and I sat there astonied among them seven days. |
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| 16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, |
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| 17 Son of man, I have appointed thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, and thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and give them warning from me. |
Watchman – The prophets and others. R1795:6
Every member of the Body of Christ. R4881:6[R4881:20]
House of Israel – Even though today Zion be in Babylon, as were those typically addressed by the Prophet. R4881:6[R4881:20]
Warning – Going forth since the Gospel has been preached: "He that hath an ear, let him hear." (Rev. 3:22) R4881:5
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| 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he may live: the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand. |
Wicked – Wilfully or intentionally wicked. R4881:5
Shalt surely die – All of God's consecrated people are duty-bound to make clear this feature of the divine program-- that all wilful sin will bring death. R4881:6
To save his life – The evildoer, coming to God with full repentance and change of heart, is forgiven and received into God's family. R5781:2
His blood will I require – With knowledge comes responsibility. R5781:2
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| 19 But if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. |
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| 20 And when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and do what is wrong, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die; because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous acts which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand. |
Turn from his righteousness – The fact that the Lord has richly blessed us in the past, while we were yet in the way with him, is no guarantee that he will continue his favor to us after we have forsaken him. R1869:5[R1869:8]
A stumblingblock – "God shall send them strong delusions that they shall believe a lie." (2 Thes. 2:11, 12) R1869:5[R1869:8]
He shall die – "Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved." (2 Thes. 2:10) R1869:5[R1869:8]
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| 21 And if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall certainly live, for he hath taken warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul. |
Warn the righteous – A fitting description of how the Lord has used the Vow. R4717:1*
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| 22 And the hand of Jehovah was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the valley, and there I will talk with thee. |
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| 23 And I arose, and went forth into the valley, and behold, the glory of Jehovah stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. |
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| 24 And the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and he spoke with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thy house. |
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| 25 And thou, son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee therewith, and thou shalt not go out among them. |
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| 26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover; for they are a rebellious house. |
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| 27 And when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house. |
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