David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings: Ezekiel 31-33, Psalm 88.

Ezekiel 33:1-9

The word of the LORD came to me: ² “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, ³ and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.

⁷ “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ⁸ If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁹ But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

The Bible is filled again and again with warnings to God’s people—to those who are part of the visible Church. Jesus’ greatest condemnations were against the Jewish leaders of his day. And many of the New Testament letters were written to Christian congregations and their leaders. But the warnings and calls to repentance don’t stop there. There is a grave danger those outside of Christ face of judgment, eternal death, condemnation, and hell.

Frankly, however, I don’t spend much time preaching or writing about hell. And I think that is a deficiency in my preaching—Lord, have mercy! And I say that because of the grave warnings given through Ezekiel here in chapter 33. The watchmen are those charged with warning Israel of impending doom by literal sword. But then the LORD applies the image directly to Ezekiel. He has been given the task of warning the people of Israel to repent. And if he fails to do so, and they perish, he will be held accountable for their blood. If he does so faithfully, and they remain in their sin, he will not be held responsible.

So what about hell?

Hell is a terrible place of doom, despair, and eternal death. It is the domain of Satan and described in the Bible as a place of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and a lake of fire! When we are called to warn a person about the danger of hell, we do not do so simply to frighten them, much less because we take satisfaction in declaring their doom. We warn them because we desire their salvation.

But confronting that doom and destruction is terrible in two ways. First, perhaps the clearest picture of the horror of God’s judgment against sin is Jesus on the cross, crying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” There he bore the judgment our sins deserve. I don’t think we can come close to imagining what that was actually like. Second, the call to repentance is terribly sobering. It means admitting that we are wrong, that we have failed to live according to God’s commands, and that we ourselves deserve condemnation, damnation, and hell. There is no room there for self-justification or comparison with people we consider worse than ourselves.

But just as God makes clear that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, we can take comfort that God’s desire is for our salvation and that his intent is not simply to make us feel bad about ourselves. It is to bring us to repentance and lead us to Jesus’ cross and the good news of his forgiveness, life, and salvation. We warn and are warned about hell because hell is real; we proclaim Christ because God desires to save sinners from it.

There may come a time when we are called upon to speak a stern word of warning to a friend, family member, or neighbor. The purpose of that warning is ultimately to point that person to Jesus and the Gospel. For the good news is not merely that hell can be avoided. The good news is that God has a great and gracious gift to all who repent and believe the Good News. Jesus took our sin and its judgment upon himself, died and rose again, and promises forgiveness, life, and salvation to all who come to him in repentance and faith.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.