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| 1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
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| 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: |
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| 3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; |
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| 4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. |
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| 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. |
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| 6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. |
The watchman – When the foundations of all our faith are assailed, we lay aside mildness and cry aloud so as at once to arouse all Israel to the danger of the hour. R425:6, R431:6
Be not warned – It is our duty to warn against selfishness, our most imminent danger--our greatest enemy. R548:3
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| 7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. |
O son of man – Applying to any steward of the Lord. R1558:6
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| 8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. |
If thou dost not speak – There can be no compromise of truth, no mixing of it with human philosophies to make it more palatable or to avoid any measure of otherwise inevitable persecution. R1558:6
His blood will I require – "I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." (Acts 20:26, 27) R1558:6
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| 9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. |
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| 10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? |
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| 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? |
Say unto them – The world of mankind in the incoming age. R2613:3
I have no pleasure – "The Lord is not willing that any should perish." (2 Pet. 3:9) R1449:6*
Not that he does not "will" the death of the sinner, for it is his will that the "soul that sinneth, it shall die." R1449:6*
Death of the wicked – Second Death. R904:3
In mercy God will blot such out of existence. R605:5, R3083:5
Only when they absolutely refuse to be rightly exercised by the discipline of the Lord will he administer the final punishment which forever blots them out of existence. R904:3
This will be the last unpleasant duty of the Creator. R1834:1
The destruction of the incorrigible will be in demonstration of God's unceasing hatred of sin. R1782:1, R1273:5
Turn ye – If men in this life repent of sin and continue the work of reformation to the best of their ability, they will reap the benefit of so doing in the age to come. R722:5, R2613:3
Why will ye die – "See, I have set before thee this day life and death." (Deut. 30:19) R401:1*
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| 12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. |
His transgression – If he sin wilfully, his past good deeds shall not be remembered. R5781:2
That he turneth – The evildoer, coming to God with full repentance, is forgiven and received into God's family. R5781:2
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| 13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. |
Not be remembered – The crown of life is promised to those who shall prove themselves faithful, even until death. R1699:6
He shall die for it – There is a possibility of failure in the Millennial age. R401:2*
If one should make a covenant with God and then fail to keep that covenant he would lose his covenant relationship with God as soon as he abrogated the contract. Q288:5
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| 14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; |
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| 15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. |
If the wicked restore – Godly sorrow for the wrong, turning from the wrong, and then, as far as possible, making the wrong right--that is repentance. R747:6*
Shall surely live – This principle applies at the present time to those who pass from death unto life as New Creatures; but it especially applies to the Millennial age. R4971:2; Q288:5
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| 16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
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Shall be mentioned – His past evil is entirely ignored, except as it may bear its fruit in certain weaknesses of mind and body. R5781:2
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| 17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. |
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| 18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. |
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| 19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. |
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| 20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways. |
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| 21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. |
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| 22 Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. |
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| 23 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
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| 24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. |
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| 25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? |
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| 26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land? |
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| 27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. |
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| 28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. |
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| 29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed. |
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| 30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. |
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| 31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. |
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| 32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. |
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| 33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. |
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