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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 Then said he unto me, Son of man, What thou findest, eat,–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 this roll. |
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| 3 Then said he unto me, Son of man, Thy belly, cause thou to eat, and, thy bowels, fill thou with this roll, which I, am giving unto thee. So I did eat, and it became, 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 Then said he unto me,–Son of man, Go get thee unto the house of Israel, and thou shalt speak with my words, unto them. |
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| 5 For, not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue, art, thou, sent–[but] unto the house of Israel: |
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| 6 not unto many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou couldst not understand,–surely, if, unto them, I had sent thee, they, would have hearkened unto thee. |
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| 7 But, the house of Israel, will not be willing to hearken, unto thee, for they are not willing to hearken, unto me,–for, all the house of Israel, are, bold of forehead and hard of heart. |
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| 8 Lo! I have made thy, face bold, like as their, faces,–and thy, forehead bold, like as their forehead. |
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| 9 As an adamant, harder than flint, have I made thy forehead,–thou shalt not fear them, neither shalt thou be dismayed at their faces, For, a perverse house, they are! |
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| 10 Then said he unto me,–Son of man, All my words which I shall speak unto thee, receive thou into thy heart, and, in thine ears, hear thou: |
Hear with thine ears – Few have hearing ears and understanding hearts. R5768:4
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| 11 then go get thee unto them of the captivity, unto the sons of thy people, and thou shalt speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh,–whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. |
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| 12 Then the Spirit, lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great rushing,–Blessed be the glory of Yahweh, From his place! |
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| 13 Yea the sound of the wings of the living ones, gently touching each other, and the sound of the wheels, along with them, even the sound of a great rushing. |
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| 14 So, the Spirit, lifted me up, and took me away,–and I went bitterly, in the rage of my spirit, but, the hand of Yahweh upon me, was, strong. |
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| 15 Thus came I unto them of the captivity, at Tel-abib, who were dwelling towards he river Chebar, and I dwelt where, they, were dwelling; yea I dwelt there seven days, stunned in their midst. |
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| 16 And it came to pass, at the end of seven days, that the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying: |
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| 17 Son of man, A watchman, have I appointed thee, to the house of Israel,–and thou shalt hear, at my mouth, a message, and shalt warn them, 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 to the lawless man–Thou shalt, surely die, and thou hast not given him warning, neither hast spoken to warn the lawless man from his lawless, way, to save himself alive, the same lawless man, in his iniquity, shall die, but, his blood, at thy hand, will I require. |
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 Whereas, when, thou, hast warned a lawless man, and he hath not turned from his lawlessness, and from his lawless way, he, in his iniquity, shall die, but, thou, hast delivered, thine own soul. |
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| 20 And, when a righteous man hath turned, from his righteousness, and committed perversity, and I have suffered a stumbling-block to be laid before him, he, shall die,–though thou hast not warned him, in his sin, shall he die, neither shall be remembered, his righteous deeds which he hath done, but, his blood, at thy hand, will I require; |
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 whereas, when, thou, hast warned a righteous man, That a righteous man, must not sin, and, he, hath not sinned, he shall, surely live, in that he took warning, and, thou, hast delivered, thine own soul. |
Warn the righteous – A fitting description of how the Lord has used the Vow. R4717:1*
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| 22 Then came upon me, there, the hand of Yahweh,–and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the valley, and, there, will I speak with thee. |
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| 23 So I arose, and went forth into the valley, and lo! there, the glory of Yahweh, standing, like the glory which I saw, by the river Chebar,–and I fell upon my face. |
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| 24 Then the Spirit, entered into me, and caused me to stand upon my feet,–and he spake with me, and said unto me, Go in, shut thyself up, in the midst of thine own house. |
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| 25 And, thou–O son of man, lo! they have put upon thee bands, and they will bind thee therewith,–so that thou go not forth in their midst; |
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| 26 thy tongue also, will I cause to cleave unto the roof of thy mouth, so shalt thou be dumb, and not be to them a reprover,–For, a perverse house, they are! |
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| 27 But, when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh,–He that is minded to hear, let him hear, And, he that is minded to forbear, let him forbear! For, a perverse house, they are! |
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