Having seen a vision of God's glory, Ezekiel was now ready to receive his commission as the Lord's servant.
2:1 Yahweh instructed Ezekiel to stand on his feet because the Lord wanted to speak with him.
"Not paralysis before him is desired by God, but reasonable service. . . . It is man erect, man in his manhood, with whom God will have fellowship and with whom he will speak."71
The title "son of man"is a distinctive one in this prophecy and stresses the humanity of the prophet in contrast to the deity of the glorious Lord. The Hebrew title appears 93 times in Ezekiel and only once elsewhere in the Old Testament (Dan. 8:17).72"Son of"indicates a close relationship even when it does not describe literal sonship (e.g., "son of death,"i.e., someone deserving to die, 1 Sam. 10:31; or "son of peace,"i.e., a person associated with peace, Luke 10:6).
"By this title Ezekiel would be reminded continually that he was dependent on the Spirit's power, which enabled him to receive the message of God (v. 2) and to deliver it in the power and authority of the Lord--'This is what the Sovereign LORD says' (v. 4)."73
2:2 The Holy Spirit entered Ezekiel as the Lord spoke to him and enabled him to stand up and to hear what the Lord was saying (cf. 3:24; Exod. 4:10-15; 31:1-11; 1 Sam. 10:9-11; Ps. 51:11; Jer. 1:4-19; Dan. 8:18; Acts 2:4; Eph. 5:18; et al.).
2:3 The Lord explained that He was sending Ezekiel to the Israelites who were rebellious and had rebelled against Him. The current generation and their forefathers had transgressed against the Lord to the present day by violating the Mosaic Covenant. The history of Israel had been "one unbroken apostasy."74
"The word rebellious' can be understood as the key to the attitude of Israel throughout the book."75
"Though the technical language of covenant is sparse in Ezekiel, the notion of covenant is everywhere presupposed."76
2:4 The people to whom God was sending Ezekiel were stubborn and obstinate (lit. hard-faced and hard-hearted), like children often are. The prophet was to announce to them what their master Yahweh said. Ezekiel used the title "Lord God"(Heb. adonay Yahweh, Sovereign Yahweh) 217 times. It emphasizes both God's sovereign authority and His covenant-keeping faithfulness.77
2:5 As a result of Ezekiel's ministry these people would know that a prophet had been among them, that God had sent a messenger to them, whether they chose to listen or not. They might not listen because they were a rebellious "house"(nation), but Ezekiel was not to change his message to accommodate his hearers.
2:6 Ezekiel was not to fear the Israelites to whom he was to minister even though their reactions to him might be as uncomfortable as pricking thorns or stinging scorpions (cf. Josh. 1:9). Their words and actions would not be able to harm him even though they were a rebellious people (cf. Isa. 6:9-10; Jer. 1:18-19).
2:7 Whether these rebels listened or not, Ezekiel was to announce God's messages to them.
"The measure of success in God's work is not always in terms of the amount and frequency of visible response. Success is to be measured in terms of our obedience to the words, commands, and will of God regardless of the visible results [cf. Matt. 25:21, 23; 1 Cor. 4:2]."78
"Rare is the person who can set out on a task knowing that people will hate him or her for doing it. But this is exactly what Ezekiel was called to do. His faithfulness stands as a challenge to ours."79
This pericope contains 10 commands, and it is the center of the chiasm in chapters 1-3.
"The Lord's charge to Ezekiel emphasized the absolute necessity of hearing, understanding, and assimilating God's message prior to going forth as a spokesman for the Lord."80
2:8 The Lord warned Ezekiel not to be rebellious like the people of Israel but to listen to Him and receive the messages that God would feed him (cf. Deut. 8:3; Jer. 15:16; Matt. 4:4; John 6:53-58).
2:9-10 Ezekiel then saw a hand extending a scroll to him. The Lord spread it out before the prophet and he saw that it was full of lamentations, mourning, and woes (i.e., bad news; chs. 4-32). Normally scrolls had writing on only one side, but this one had writing on both sides; it was full of revelation (cf. Rev. 8:3).
"This accurately summarizes the contents of Ezekiel 4-32. It does not, however, reflect the latter part of the book in which the prophet spoke of Israel's restoration. This could explain, in part, why Ezekiel was recommissioned (chapter 33)--the content of his message was substantially changed after his message of woe was fulfilled."81
3:1-3 The Lord told Ezekiel to eat the scroll, a symbolic way of telling him to consume mentally and assimilate emotionally its contents.82After he did this he was to go and speak to the Israelites, to tell them what the Lord had revealed. So the prophet consumed the contents of the scroll as the Lord fed it to him. The words of the Lord were sweet to Ezekiel's taste as he took them in (cf. Rev. 10:9-10). The word of God has an intrinsically pleasing and satisfying quality to those who, like Ezekiel, receive it gladly (cf. Ps. 19:10; 119:103; Prov. 16:24; 24:13-14; Jer. 15:16).
"No matter how painful the labor, there is satisfaction in finding and doing the will of God and in realizing service in fellowship with the living God."83
3:4-6 Ezekiel was to go to the Israelites and tell them what the Lord had revealed to him. They would be able to understand him because they spoke the same language as the prophet. God was not sending him to people who could not comprehend what he would tell them. The Israelites should listen to him because they could understand him.
3:7 Nevertheless the Israelites would not listen to Ezekiel since they refused to listen to the Lord who sent him (cf. Num. 14:1-12; 1 Sam. 8:4-7). All of them were very stubborn and obstinate. The Lord had similarly told Isaiah and Jeremiah not to expect dramatic positive response to their ministries (Isa. 6:8-13; Jer. 1:11-19).
The difficulties of cross-cultural communication are nothing compared to the obstacle of spiritual blindness."84
3:8-9 The Lord had made Ezekiel as hard-nosed as the Israelites; he would not give up speaking to them any more than they would refuse to listen to him. Therefore the prophet should not fear his audience. The meaning of Ezekiel's name, "God strengthens (or hardens),"reminded the prophet and others that the Lord would strengthen him and harden him against the attacks of his critical enemies.
3:10-11 The Lord Yahweh instructed Ezekiel further to take to heart all that He would tell him and to listen closely to Him. He was to go to the Jewish exiles and relay God's messages whether they paid attention or not.
God's word must become a part of the messenger before he or she can go and speak to others about it (cf. v. 1; Ezra 7:10).
"Ezekiel's vision of God's glory had provided the needed perspectivefor his task (1:4-2:7). The messagehe was to deliver was provided by God (2:8-3:11). Then he needed motivationto direct him to the task. That motivation was provided by the hand of the LORD' (cf. 1:3). He was first guided by the Spirit to his place of ministry (3:12-15); he was then formally appointed as God's watchman to Israel (vv. 16-21); then the Lord imposed several physical restraints on Ezekiel (vv. 22-27)."85
3:12-13 The Lord's Spirit then lifted Ezekiel up and he heard a loud rumbling sound behind him. The sound was the sound of voices that blessed God for His glory (cf. Rev. 4-5). He also heard the sound of the cherubims' wings and the sound of the wheels rumbling. He was having another vision.86
"This was no psychic levitation, but a subjective experience of feeling airborne . . ."87
3:14 The Spirit lifted Ezekiel up and took him away from where he had been in his vision. He did not want to go and carry out the ministry that God had given him. His would not be a "successful"ministry in the eyes of people. But the Lord influenced him so strongly that he felt he had to obey (cf. Jon. 1:1-17).
"The prophet was lifted up into sympathy with God and shared his righteous indignation against Israel."88
3:15 Ezekiel physically traveled to the Jewish exiles who were living by the Chebar River at the Tel-abib settlement (lit. "hill of ears"). Since "Tel"can mean "ruined mound,"it is possible that the Jewish exiles lived at the site of a destroyed or abandoned city. The Babylonians may have situated them there to rebuild and repopulate the site and to reclaim its land.89
When Ezekiel arrived, he sat for seven days among them, and his presence disturbed them. Seven days was the length of time that the Jews usually mourned for their dead (Gen. 50:10; Num. 19:11; Job 2:13), and it was the time it took to consecrate a priest (Lev. 8:33).
"Ezekiel was being consecrated for the priesthood on his thirtieth birthday and commissioned to proclaim Judah's funeral dirge."90
3:16 At the end of these seven days the Lord's word came to Ezekiel. "The word of the Lord came to me"is a key phrase in Ezekiel occurring in 41 verses. It appears in Jeremiah nine times and in Zechariah twice.
"For no other prophet is there a record of such sustained contact with the divine word, the very essence of prophecy."91
3:17 Yahweh told Ezekiel that He had appointed him to a ministry that was similar to that of a watchman who stood sentry and watched for any threat to his city (cf. 2 Sam. 18:24-27; 2 Kings 9:17-20). Whenever Ezekiel received a word from the Lord he was to pass it along to the Israelites (cf. Isa. 56:10; Jer. 6:17; Hos. 9:8).
3:18 If Ezekiel failed to pass along a message of warning to the Israelites, warning them to repent or die, the Lord would hold Ezekiel personally responsible for their fate (cf. ch. 18; 33:1-20).
3:19 If, however, Ezekiel did warn the people and they refused to repent, they would die, but the Lord would not hold Ezekiel responsible.
3:20 Similarly if a righteous person turned to sin and Ezekiel failed to warn him of its consequences, even though the Lord would put him to death, the Lord would hold Ezekiel responsible for not warning him. The obstacle that the Lord promised to put in the path of the righteous man who had turned aside to sin was the warning that Ezekiel should provide.
"The saint needs the watchman's warnings as much as the sinner does."92
3:21 On the other hand, if Ezekiel warned a righteous person and he heeded the warning, he would live, and Ezekiel would be free of any guilt before the Lord.
"The duties of Habakkuk (Hab. 2:1), Jeremiah (Jer. 6:17), and Isaiah (Isa. 56:10) were far more national and corporate than individual. Ezekiel realized that from that time on his would be a mission mainly to individuals."93
"The responsibility of a believer in Christ today to share the word of life, salvation, and forgiveness is no less awesome. Once the message of salvation is entrusted to us, we are responsible and accountable to share with those who are lost."94
The Mosaic Law promised life for obedience and death for disobedience. This was physical life and physical death, not eternal life and death. The Lord gave the Mosaic Law to a people who had already entered into relationship with Himself by faith (cf. Lev. 18:5; Deut. 4:37-40; 6; 7:6-11; 10:15-17; 30:15-20). The possibility here is premature physical death or extended physical life. Eternal life and eternal security are not the issues.95
3:22 While Ezekiel was among the exiles in Tel-abib, the Lord directed him to go out to the nearby plain where the Lord promised to speak with him (cf. ch. 1; Acts 9:6; Gal. 1:16-17).
3:23 Ezekiel obeyed the Lord. While he was standing on the plain, he saw another vision of God's glory and again prostrated himself on the ground (cf. 1:28; Acts 7:55).
3:24 The Spirit then strengthened Ezekiel to stand up, and the Lord instructed him to go back to his house and to shut himself up in it.
"For a sovereign to invite a suppliant to stand meant that he at least was willing to do business with him."96
3:25 The Jews were going to bind Ezekiel with ropes so he would not be able to circulate among them. There is no further mention in the book of Ezekiel's being bound in his house with ropes. Consequently this may be a contingent statement: if the prophet would not restrict himself to his house, God would use others to confine him there.97Another explanation, which I prefer, is that binding with ropes here is a figurative expression meaning confining; God would keep him at home, though not necessarily by using physical ropes (cf. 4:8).98Perhaps some Israelites bound him for a while even though the text made no further reference to it.99
3:26 The Lord would make Ezekiel unable to speak or to rebuke the people because they were rebellious against the Lord. The prophet's silence would be their punishment; he would not be able to warn them of judgment that the Lord would bring on them.100Ezekiel could have given them many more warnings than he did.
Several of the more radical commentators believed that Ezekiel suffered from catalepsy or some other serious nervous disorder, but the text does not require this.101The prophet's unusual experiences were the result of spiritual factors, not because he was psychologically unbalanced.
3:27 Finally the Lord would enable Ezekiel to speak again. He would announce a message from the Lord. Some of his hearers would listen, but others of them would refuse to listen because they were rebels against the Lord. Nevertheless, regardless of their response, the hearers would be personally responsible for their response (cf. Matt. 11:15; 13:10-17; Rev. 2:7; 13:9; 22:11; et al.).
Evidently Ezekiel's muteness lasted for several years, until the fall of Jerusalem (cf. 1:1-3; 24:25-27; 33:21-22). He was not entirely silent during this long period, but he only spoke to the people when God gave him special messages to deliver (cf. 11:25; 14:1; 20:1). Rather than speaking publicly from time to time as he lived among the people, as other prophets normally did, Ezekiel remained at home except to deliver special messages from the Lord (cf. chs. 4-5). Thus Ezekiel spoke less publicly and led a more reclusive life than the Lord's other prophetic spokesmen.
"Ezekiel . . . has to experience the inability to speak . . . as a forceful experiential reminder of the fact that he has no authority to make up on his own what he says to his fellow Israelites. Rather, only God can, as it were, loose his tongue. He must let God speak through him, and not invent anything himself or take his message from anyone else. Originality is usually prized among writers and speakers. Yet there was to be no originality in Ezekiel's doctrine. In all five commissions [2:1-3:27] he is reminded that his job is to convey and not to create."102
