Ezekiel 2: 1-10

Ezekiel Chapter 2:1-10

The Bible says in Ezekiel chapter 2:1-2, “And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.” In the first chapter of Ezekiel we saw that there was an emphasis upon going withersoever it is the Spirit goes or in other words doing the will of God. Chapter 2 of Ezekiel goes on to emphasize this same point.

It is interesting to notice that God calls Ezekiel: son of man. This same phrase is often used in the New Testament in reference to Jesus Christ. Jesus said in the gospel of John 6:27, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed.” Jesus called Himself the son of man because even though He is the “I am that I am,” He associated himself with weak and sinful men being made in their likeness. And especially because his primary association with men was when He associated Himself with the sins of the world when He hung on the cross. It’s no wonder Jesus called Himself the son of man; for His eternal work was for the benefit of all mankind.

Ezekiel of course was but a man and a sinner. But perhaps God called him a son of man to remind him that even though he was a prophet and that even though he did not see himself perhaps as a part of that wicket society, he in a sense was still apart of it. It is important when you set out to do whatever God has called you to do that you not only know who God is and what He can do and has promised to do as emphasized in chapter 1 but that you also remember that you too are just a son of man. No man is an island unto himself, but everyone has a work to do for God as sons of men because we are all a part of mankind.

Nextly God said unto Ezekiel, “Stand upon thy feet. And I will speak to thee. And the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet.” The word stand is in an important word in this verse. It is also used in the Old Testament to mean, arise, dwell, and serve. If a person is sitting, he is doing nothing. If he is standing, he has begun to give an effort towards something. God told Ezekiel to stand. This means Ezekiel was to give an effort on his own. And in verse 2 it says that the Spirit entered into him and set him upon his feet. If you give the effort to stand, God will also give the effort. It is the same principle that is taught in the Bible in Romans chapter 9 verse 18 which says, “Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.” If you harden your heart, God will harden it too. If you soften your heart God will soften it too. If you stand, God will help you stand. Later on in the book of Ezekiel God even says, “I sought for a man among them whom would stand in the gap.”

Psalm 111:3 uses the word stand and it says of God, “His work is honorable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth forever.” Here the word “stand” is translated “endureth.” To stand means to rise up against, to be upright, to be steadfast, to hold ones ground, and to become a servant of. The Bible goes on to say in the last part of verse 2, “I heard him that spake unto me.” After Ezekiel stood, then he heard God speak unto him. After the Spirit entered into him, he heard God speak unto him. God is speaking. In the beginning God spoke and He said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” The question is who is willing to listen. Ezekiel was willing to listen and therefore the Spirit helped Him to understand. And this is the message that God gave unto him. Verses 3-7 says, “And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. And thou son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.”

And the message that God gave was that Israel was a rebellious nation. He called them rebellious. He said they rebelled. He said they transgressed. God said they were “impudent children and stiffhearted”. He said some would forbear and that to be among them was as to dwell among scorpions, and they were most rebellious. When most people think of an impudent and stiff hearted and rebellious child, they may think of a selfish kid that throws temper tantrums and does all kinds of crazy things. The children of Israel were this and more. To be among them was as to be among scorpions. Scorpions of course are creatures that will poison you if they sting you. The words, the teachings, the actions, and the lifestyles of the children of Israel were poisonous. This is not a pretty picture; there is nothing good said here. It is no wonder God had more judgment planned for this nation. But this is not the end of the message it is only the beginning. Verses 8-10, “But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, mourning, and woe.”

Apparently the children of Israel were considered rebellious because they did not listen to the Word of God. Because they did not listen to the Word of God they became more and more rebellious until there were nothing more than scorpions and impudent children. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word of God.” Ezekiel was a prophet, he had seen a vision of the cherubim and the holiness of God and the hand of God had been put upon him to strengthen him and God warned him saying, “But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.”

Why is it that nations are conquered by other nations and brought into captivity and that millions of people often suffer as the children of Israel did in 500 years of Babylonian captivity? Because people forget what Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word of God.” You will either become strengthened like Ezekiel was strengthened so that you can rise up and stand in the gap and follow withersoever it is the Spirit is to go and become a part of the work that God is doing, or you will end up like the children of Israel and so too will your nation. “The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God,” Psalms 9:17.

Even though the children of Israel were rebellious and did not listen to or obey or accept the truth, God said in verse 5, “Yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.” It is not necessary to argue and to strive with those who oppose the truth because those who are rebellions have only one goal in mind to be as scorpions and to poison you. If you do just as God told Ezekiel to do, and simply stand and listen to and then speak forth the truth as the Spirit leads, then they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Of course God also said to Ezekiel, “Neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee.” And God also told them to not be afraid of their looks. Some of those who oppose the truth will get angry. Some will even get violent towards the messenger. That is simply the way it is when you dwell among scorpions. We know that Ezekiel was not afraid because the hand of God was upon him and God strengthened him so that he would be able to stand up among the rebellious people and say the truth. But why is it then that many do not eat the Word? The last part of verse 10 says, “It was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, mourning, and woe.”

If you turn on the TV you can find preachers for a dime a dozen. Some have big churches in which many people attend. They may wear fancy suits or not, but they all preach the same message. But they don’t say the things that are true. They might say some things that are true in a very vague way such as give to God and God will bless you. Mostly of course they emphasize the giving of money to their organization as though it was giving to God. But you have to preach the whole truth to not be a false prophet. And you have to eat all that God gives you to eat, otherwise you may just not be following this verse, “Thou shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” It’s “every Word”.

In the chapters to come in Ezekiel the words written are going to be words of lamentations, mourning, and woe. There will be specific details given about the sins that were committed. This is unlike the false teachers of the world who give a message but do not really say anything of significance. We can see this same example with most politicians. They will give speeches to the people to sooth their itching ears, but they will not give specifics on what needs to be done or on what they plan to do to change things.

To point out the specific problems and sins that need to be repented of and to hear the lamentations and mournings and woes which are the consequences of sin and unrepentance are hard things to hear. People don’t like to hear about suffering and judgment, and consequences for sin unless they are people like Ezekiel who will stand up. Yes Jesus died for the sins of the world. But to truly believe that means you must face your sins and be honest about those things which are lamentations, mourning, and woe.

Apparently the children of Israel were not willing to do this. But God said to Ezekiel, be not rebellious like them “open thy mouth and eat that I give thee.” Ezekiel saw a hand and it was the hand of God. In Ezekiel chapter 1 God said His hand would be upon him. It was God that gave Ezekiel His Word. If you want to learn about God and all His promises and what He has done and what He will do, all you need to do is go to His Word. He by His own hand has provided His Word for you. But you must be prepared to eat it. The message is one of lamentations and mourning and woe because all are sinners and come short of the glory of God. The question is not have you sinned, but what sins have you committed, and have you repented of them. Of course, where there are lamentations and mourning and woe, there will always be the grace of God which is found in Jesus Christ for those who repent. The question is: have you eaten that which God has given to you?

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