Commentary - Ezekiel 33:30-33

Bird's-eye view

In this sobering passage, God pulls back the curtain on the prophet Ezekiel's ministry and reveals to him the true condition of his audience's heart. The people of the exile are fascinated by Ezekiel. They gather to hear him, they talk about him, and they treat his prophecies as a premier form of entertainment. They are, in modern terms, sermon groupies. They appreciate the aesthetics of the message, the skill of the messenger, but it never penetrates their hearts or alters their behavior. God diagnoses the problem with surgical precision: their mouths are full of lustful desires disguised as pious talk, and their hearts are chasing after dishonest gain. They love the sound of the word of the Lord, but they do not love the Lord of the word. The passage concludes with a solemn warning. A day is coming, a day of judgment, and when it arrives, their casual appreciation will evaporate. On that day, they will know, with terrifying certainty, that the man they treated as a musician was in fact a prophet of the living God.

This is a timeless word against a consumerist approach to the Christian faith. It is a warning against treating the preaching of the Word as just another product to be consumed, another performance to be reviewed. The Word of God is not delivered for our aesthetic appreciation, but for our radical transformation. When the preacher is viewed as an artist and the sermon as a lovely song, the listeners can insulate themselves from the blade of the text. But God promises that reality will eventually intrude. Judgment has a way of clarifying things, and on that day, the difference between a fan and a follower will be made starkly, and eternally, clear.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

This passage comes at a pivotal moment in the book of Ezekiel. Chapter 33 marks a transition. Prior to this, Ezekiel's ministry was largely focused on prophesying the certain judgment and destruction of Jerusalem, a message that was met with deep skepticism by the exiles in Babylon. But in this very chapter, a fugitive arrives with the news that Jerusalem has fallen (Ezek 33:21). Ezekiel's unpopular and unbelievable prophecies have been vindicated. He is now established as a true prophet. This new status, however, brings a new kind of danger. Before, he was ignored because his message was unbelievable. Now, he is popular because his message has been proven true, but the people's response is still fatally flawed. They have moved from contemptuous disbelief to superficial appreciation, but their hearts remain unchanged. This section, therefore, serves as a crucial diagnostic from God, explaining to the prophet why his newfound popularity is not translating into genuine repentance among the people. It sets the stage for the subsequent chapters, which will focus on the future restoration of a people with new hearts and a new spirit (Ezek 36-37).

Key Issues

The Prophet as Pop Star

There is a kind of religion that is all talk. It is a religion of conferences, podcasts, and book clubs. It generates buzz. People gather and discuss the latest sermon, the newest theological insight, the most eloquent preacher. They speak the language of Zion fluently. They can critique a sermon's structure, appreciate a well-turned phrase, and nod along with the deep points. And it is all completely worthless.

This is the situation God describes to Ezekiel. The prophet has become a sensation. The exiles, bored and displaced in Babylon, have found a captivating new diversion. They gather "by the walls and in the doorways" to gossip about him and his latest message from Yahweh. It is the ancient equivalent of trending on social media. But God is not fooled by the crowd size or the chatter. He tells Ezekiel that this is all a show. They come and sit before him as though they were God's people, but it is a masquerade. Their hearts are somewhere else entirely, chasing after their own lusts and their own profits. The Word of God has become for them a form of high-minded entertainment, a "lustful song" sung by a skilled performer. It moves them emotionally, it stimulates them intellectually, but it does not move them to obedience. This is the deadliest form of spiritual inoculation. To be exposed to the life-saving truth and to feel nothing but a pleasant aesthetic tingle is to be in a place of profound danger.

Verse by Verse Commentary

30 “But as for you, son of man, the sons of your people who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, ‘Come now and hear what the word is which comes forth from Yahweh.’

God begins by giving Ezekiel an inside look at his own reputation. The people are talking about him. This isn't happening in the assembly, but in the casual places of life, "by the walls and in the doorways." The prophet is a topic of common conversation, a local celebrity. And notice what they say. They encourage one another to come and hear the "word... from Yahweh." On the surface, this sounds wonderful. It sounds like revival. They are using all the right words. They acknowledge the divine source of the message. They are creating a buzz, generating an audience for the prophet. This is the kind of thing that would get a modern pastor excited, seeing his attendance numbers swell because of organic, word-of-mouth invitations.

31 They come to you as people come and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their greedy gain.

Here is the divine diagnosis that turns the whole picture on its head. They show up. They fill the seats. They look the part. They come "as people come," in the regular way of a congregation gathering. They sit before Ezekiel "as My people," adopting the posture of humble listeners. They hear the words. The sound waves enter their ears. But there is a massive disconnect. A great chasm exists between their ears and their hands, between their hearing and their doing. God exposes two reasons for this. First, "they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth." This is a fascinating phrase. It means their talk, which sounds so pious when they say "Let's go hear Yahweh's word," is actually just another expression of their lusts. They get a sensual or emotional thrill from the experience of hearing a powerful sermon, the same way one might get a thrill from a concert or a play. It is a refined form of self-indulgence. Second, their heart, the true center of their being, isn't engaged with God at all. It is chasing after "greedy gain." While their bodies are in the assembly, their hearts are in the marketplace, calculating profits and nursing covetous desires.

32 Behold, you are to them like a lustful song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not do them.

God provides Ezekiel with a perfect, devastating analogy. "You are a pop song to them." The phrase "lustful song" could also be rendered "a lovely song" or "a song of loves." They treat Ezekiel as a master musician. They appreciate his beautiful voice, his skill on the instrument. They are connoisseurs of his prophetic art form. They might say, "What a powerful delivery! What a compelling argument! He is the best preacher we have ever heard." They are sermon reviewers, not disciples. And God repeats the central charge, driving the point home: "they hear your words but they do not do them." The message is received as an aesthetic experience to be enjoyed, not as a divine command to be obeyed. This is the great danger of a gifted ministry. The very giftedness that should make the truth more clear can become a stumbling block, allowing people to admire the package and ignore the contents.

33 So when it comes to pass, behold, it is coming, then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst.”

The commentary ends with a promise and a threat. God's word does not return void. The events Ezekiel has been preaching about are not a matter of "if," but "when." "Behold, it is coming." Judgment is on the horizon. And when that day of reckoning arrives, their perspective will be violently reoriented. The concert will be over. The lovely song will have ended. And in the stark, silent aftermath of fulfilled prophecy, in the rubble of their disobedient lives, they will have a moment of terrible clarity. They will finally understand that the man they treated as an entertainer was, in fact, a prophet of the Most High God. The vindication of the prophet comes through judgment. They will know, but by then it will be too late. The knowledge will not save them; it will only confirm the justice of their condemnation.

Application

This passage ought to land on the modern evangelical scene like a thunderclap. We live in an age of celebrity pastors, of polished online services, of a Christian media ecosystem that can easily turn the preaching of the Word into just another consumer product. It is dangerously easy to become a fan of a particular preacher, to "follow" his ministry, to share his clips, and to feel spiritually satisfied by the act of consumption, all without one iota of genuine, costly obedience.

We must ask the hard questions. Do we come to church to be entertained or to be confronted? Do we listen to sermons for a spiritual pick-me-up, an emotional experience, or do we listen with the sober intention of submitting our lives to the authority of the text, no matter the cost? Is our heart engaged with the Lord, or is it secretly chasing after greedy gain, whether that be money, reputation, or comfort? Do we talk a good game about theology and the Bible, while our actual lives remain untouched by it?

The test is simple: do we do the words we hear? A faith that consists only of hearing is a dead faith. It is a concert, not a covenant. God is not looking for fans; He is looking for faithful children. The day is coming when all our pretenses will be stripped away. On that day, the only thing that will matter is not how beautifully the song was sung, but whether we obeyed the voice of the King.