Ezekiel 33:30
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.
The people are still talking about the prophet by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speaking one to another, every one to his brother, and urging, come and hear what is the word that comes forth from the Lord through him. Their gathering shows an outward eagerness to listen, for they assemble and sit before the messenger as God's people and hear his words. That interest in hearing does not by itself mean obedience, for their eagerness is only outward.
They hear the words but do them not, listening as God's people yet not acting on what they hear. With the mouth they profess much love, but the heart pursues covetous desire. To them the messenger's words are as pleasing entertainment, like a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument. When what was predicted comes to pass, they will recognize that a prophet has been among them.
The verse belongs to a chapter that outlines work God approves, in which those entrusted with sacred responsibility are to serve as watchmen guarding the spiritual life, health, and prosperity of God's people, which makes preachers especially responsible. For that reason the thirty-third chapter should be carefully studied because it makes preachers accountable as watchmen. Those who preach without prayerfully searching the Scriptures, who entertain error and teach false doctrine contrary to a plain word from the Lord, bring ruin on themselves, with condemnation proportioned to the influence of their words and example in leading others into transgression. One who takes a minister's work is responsible to help the church obey the Lord's word, yet many ministers stand in the way of obedience and warn the people against doing what God commanded. Every person must give strict account for influence, and those who repeat the enemy's work from the heavenly court on earth, claiming to be on the Lord's side while hindering others from receiving the word, will carry the guilt of souls lost through their unfaithfulness. Those who allow themselves to be deceived are not excused for neglecting to search the word for themselves and entrusting their souls to a minister who was not diligent to know the truth and who cannot ransom them, for Christ gave His life to save them and give them another trial to return to loyalty, and those who take the opposing side to justify sin must bear sin's penalty.
The chapter teaches personal accountability under God's government: no one can obey for a neighbor, and another person's neglect does not excuse neglecting one's own duty. Together with the thirty-fourth chapter, this instruction is God's truth and not a pleasing fable, to be read and studied with the greatest mental effort to understand its meaning for those living in the last days, calling them to live uprightly so that the spiritually weak are not turned aside. The pattern describes those who profess to live by the word and to revere its precepts while their lives deny its power. To treat the Bible as good moral instruction to be followed only as far as fits the spirit of the time, rather than as the word of the living God that gives life and is to shape actions, words, and thoughts, amounts to rejecting it. This rejection by professed believers is foremost among the causes of skepticism and unbelief in the young, who at times feel the power of the word and see the preciousness of Christ's love, the beauty of His character, and the possibilities of a life given to His service, but are left unaffected when they see the contrast. At Battle Creek it identified people who treated the message lightly and ridiculed messages of mercy sent to turn the erring from their errors.