Ezekiel 2
1 “And he
said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will
speak unto thee.” Son of man, etc. It is noticeable that the phrase (ben
adam), as
addressed to a prophet, occurs only in Ezekiel, in whom we
find it not less
than eighty times, and in Daniel 8:17. As used elsewhere, e.g.
in Numbers 23:19;
Psalm 8:4; Job 25:6; Isaiah 51:12; 56:2, and in Ezekiel’s
use of it, it is probably
connected with the history of Adam, as created from the
ground (adamah) in
Genesis 2:7; 3:19. The
prophet is reminded, in the very moment of his highest
inspiration, of his Adam nature with all its infirmity
and limitations. In the use
of a like phrase (bar enosh, instead
of ben adam)
in Daniel 7:13 we have the
same truth implied. There one like unto man in all things
is called to share the
sovereignty of the “Ancient of
Days,” the Eternal One. Here the
prophet,
nothing in himself, is called to be the messenger of God to
other sons of
men. It is in many ways suggestive that our Lord should
have chosen the
same formula for constant use when speaking of Himself
(Matthew
8:20, and passim in the Gospels). Stand upon thy feet. The attitude of
adoration is changed, by the Divine command, into that of
expectant
service, that of awe and dread for the courage of a soldier
of the Lord of
hosts (compare the parallels of ch.3:24; 43:3, 5; Daniel
8:18).
God Speaking and Man Listening (v. 1)
This second chapter of the prophecies of Ezekiel introduces
us to the
personal call and commission of the prophet. The first
chapter was engaged
with preliminary and preparatory visions. Now the prepared
soul receives
the direct word from God.
Ø
In words. Previously the prophet’s attention had been arrested by
visions —
glorious, awful, soul-stirring visions — visions that not
only roused his feelings,
but that must also have awakened in his
mind many strange thoughts
by their profound suggestiveness;
still only visions, and
therefore mysterious revelations shrouded
in a measure of
uncertainty. Now God proceeds from the vague
vision to definite speech.
It matters not whether we consider that
the speech came in physical
sound, in real air waves, that
any other listener, had he
been present, might have understood, or
whether the words were
impressed on the mind of the prophet. In any
case, he heard them,
and thus he received a clear, definite, unmistakable
message. We are not left to uncertain visions, nor
even to the difficult
hieroglyphics of nature. We have a revelation in language, A
WRITTEN BIBLE!
Ø
In direct address. God spoke immediately to Ezekiel.
Here is the
contrast between the prophet and
the ordinary bearer of a Divine
message. We receive our messages at second hand from
God’s
inspired teachers. They held direct communications with Heaven.
But may not we do something
similar, not indeed in new prophecies
or gospels, but at least in
the illumination of soul which makes the old
truth stand out in a new
light, or helps us to make a fresh application
of it to new circumstances?
By His Spirit God does thus speak directly
to every listening soul,
though the words are those of familiar truth.
“silent proclamation” of nature
has been spread before the gaze of heedless
witnesses (Psalm 19:1-4). The difference between the seer and the man
who
beholds only material facts may
lie in the natures of the men more than in the
external facts that are presented
to them. The one is a seer because he has eyes
to behold what is equally
present to the other, though unperceived for lack of
sight to discover it. So the
prophet must have “ears to hear” the message
of God. And all who would
receive God’s message in their souls must have
the heating ear. Jesus said, “He
that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
(Mark 4:9) The manner of the delivery of the Divine
message to
Ezekiel suggests the way in
which it should be received.
Ø
In a certain human simplicity. Ezekiel is addressed
as “son of man.”
When nearest to Heaven he must
not forget his human nature. The
prophet is our fellow man. The
knowledge of heavenly truth does not
kill human nature, nor destroy
the kinship between the enlightened
and the ignorant.
o
Here all pride is
rebuked. The prophet must not suppose that
he is anything more than a
man.
o
Human interests are to
be considered. The message is given to
one man for the sake of his
fellows.
Ø
In manly obedience. Ezekiel is to stand
up. He had fallen in fear before
the vision of glory. To hear the
word of revelation he must arise. God
does not delight in the
humiliation of His children. We are exhorted to
“come boldly
unto the throne of grace” (Hebrews
4:16). Religion does
not destroy
manliness. Yet God expects the
attention shown by a
servant to his master. Ezekiel
is not to sit. He who receives a word from
God is to be awake, listening,
attentive, and ready to obey, like the
servant who stands by his
master’s side.
2 “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.”
And the Spirit, etc. It scarcely
admits of question (though the
Hebrew has no article, and so far Luther’s Version, “Ich ward wieder
erquickt,” is tenable) that the word is used in the same sense as
in
ch.1:20-21 (compare ch. 3:24).
The Spirit which moved the
“living creatures” and the “wheels”
in the mysterious symbol was now in
him. Ezekiel finds in that fact the ground of his prophetic
inspiration
(compare Numbers 24:2; Judges 11:29; I Samuel 10:6, 10;
Isaiah 11:2-4)
The Entrance of the Spirit. (v. 2)
If it were not for another reference to the Spirit in
ch.4:3, we
might reasonably suppose that the prophet was referring to
his own spirit,
and indicating, in picturesque language, that he recovered
from faintness,
or that his “spirits” rose, that he gained courage and
strength. But since
this passage plainly shows that
none other than the Spirit of God can be
meant, it is clear that a very close connection
between the Holy Spirit and
man is here indicated. The possibility of misunderstanding as to what spirit
is designated only emphasizes the idea of the intimate
association of the
human and the Divine.
mystery of the nature of God.
But it would seem that certain modes of the
Divine Being are more within
touch of us than others. So, while as our
Father God rules and blesses us,
and while the Son of God enters humanity
generally by taking our nature
upon Him and becoming our Brother, the
Spirit enters into individual
souls, and unites Himself with our very selves.
(John 14:23) The Christian is a temple of the Holy Ghost.
Something more
must lie in this fact than the
omnipresence of God, for God is everywhere,
and therefore does not need to enter
any region of creation. The spiritual
entrance must therefore mean the
manifestation of His presence:
Ø
by an exercise of
energy, or
Ø
by a revelation to
consciousness.
The prophet may know the latter
form of Divine entrance. The former,
however, is the more usual in
experience. Now, it is very much to know
that God does indeed dwell with
the children of men. The earth is not a
God-deserted
waste. Religion is not a one sided
effort of man to reach
after God. Spiritual life is not
simply an exercise of a man’s own powers.
God has His share in the soul’s
experience, touching it in its inmost secret
being. He is nearer to the spiritually minded man than that man’s own
thoughts.
Ezekiel tells us that “the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto me.”
So it was in the days of the
early Church. The apostles preached first; then,
after their word had been received,
the Holy Ghost descended upon the
hearers. While it is commonly
recognized that prayer is a fitting means
through which to obtain a fuller
presence of the Spirit of God,
is it so often acknowledged that
the reception of truth is an equally
important condition? God’s
Spirit does not come like a flash of lightning,
striking the unexpectant
soul, nor like a gift of magic. The
understanding of
truth is the
open door through which the inspiration of life enters. Hence
the importance of
teaching, preaching, reading the Bible, meditation,
cultivating
spiritual intelligence and enlightened faith. Yet this very
connection between the Spirit
and the Word is a rebuke to cold
intellectualism. The Word by
itself is not enough. When we have
comprehended and embraced it to
the full, it is still but the door through
which to receive the far more important gift of the Holy Ghost.
STRENGTH. Ezekiel was
bidden to stand up. At first it would seem he
was so overwhelmed with awe in
the presence of sublime visions of
heaven, that he could scarcely
obey. But as the first sounds of the Word of
God reach his dazed ears, the
Spirit of God enters him, and at once he
acquires a new energy, and is
able to stand erect in manly strength. (“But
as many as
received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of
God, even to them
that believe on His name” - John 1:12). Shame
for sin casts us down;
inspirations of God lift us up. To see God afar off is
to fail down before Him in
confusion and terror; to welcome God in the
shrine of the heart is to enjoy
a cheering encouragement and an uplifting
power. The Church too often
droops and languishes for lack of this
inspiring presence. She should
remember that God’s Spirit is not only a
purifying, enlightening, and
comforting influence, but also the supreme
Source of energy.
That same Spirit which of old brooded
over the face of
the waters, and brought life and
order out of chaos and death (Genesis 1),
now broods over the human world
with infinite powers of life to bestow on
all who will receive Him. Then,
in receiving strength from the incoming of
the Spirit, the soul is able to
receive more truth from God, as Ezekiel heard
more Divine words when he stood
up in his new strength. Thus there is no
limit to the
growth of knowledge and power m this twofold process.
3 “And he
said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of
their fathers have transgressed against me,
even unto this very day.”
To a rebellious
nation; literally, with
Revised Version, nations
that are rebellious. The
Hebrew word (goim) is that used elsewhere for
“heathen” and that may be its sense here. As in ch.
28:22.
and
Part of Ezekiel’s work was actually addressed to the
heathen as such (chps.
25-32.). The word may, however, be used in the plural to
include both
The words anticipate the teaching of ch.
18. The people to whom the
prophet was sent could not say that they were suffering for
the sins of their
fathers. They, in their own
persons, had transgressed up
to the very day
on which the prophet received his mission. They had rebelled
as their
fathers had done in the days of Moses and Joshua (Numbers
14:9;
Joshua 22:18).
Rebellious Nations (v. 3)
This must have been a hard message for Ezekiel to deliver
to his fellow
countrymen. It was the heathen, the Gentiles, who were
usually designated
“nations;” and in applying this designation to
the chosen people from their peculiar position of honor,
and to rank them
with the idolatrous nations whom they were accustomed to
despise. And it
has been surmised that, in employing the plural, the prophet intended to
intimate that the Hebrews no longer constituted one people,
one state, but
were divided among themselves, dissolved as it were into
disconnected and
opposing sections and factions. It may be just and profitable to regard
charge of rebellion, which may certainly be brought against
mankind at
large.
GUILTY OF IT THE POSSESSION OF A VOLUNTARY NATURE.
If there is no liberty, there
can be no rebellion. Rebellion implies
intelligent
apprehension, and it
implies deliberate purpose. The rebel knows what is
the authority which
he defies, and he defies that authority, not only
intelligently, but
of purpose. Brutes do not rebel; but men and angels may
do, and have
done. Hence the serious
responsibility attaching to rebellion
against God on the part of
willful though misguided men.
CONTRARY TO RIGHT, THE REBEL SETS HIMSELF. There can be
no rebellion where there is no
government, no rebel where there is no
governor. Neither can there be
rebellion, properly speaking, against a
usurper, who has no claim upon
the loyalty and allegiance of those whom
he may unjustly denominate his
subjects. The moral government of the
world is a fact, and its administration is characterized by
EQUITY! As the
universal Legislator and Judge,
God demands the subjection and obedience
of mankind; all are His lawful
subjects. There is no rebel against Divine
authority who can bring against
the rule and sway of the great Governor of
the universe the charge of
injustice and tyranny. “Shall not the
Judge of all
the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25)
MISERY. This awful fact
is not to be questioned by any reasonable student
of the moral history of mankind.
Nowhere more strikingly than in the
history of
and violate Divine
Law incur the most awful guilt and entail upon
themselves the most
awful punishments. Sentimentalists may
complain that
such assertions are the
expression of severity and fanaticism; but it remains
forever true that “the
way of transgressors is hard”
(Proverbs 13:15), and
“the wages of sin
is death.” (Romans 6:23)
TO PROVIDE A VAST REDEMPTION AND DELIVERANCE. The
history of the Hebrew people
exhibits instances not only of human
apostasy, but of Divine
compassion and merciful interposition and
deliverance. Thus the Captivity was itself a punishment for rebellion, for
idolatry, and for all
the evils idolatry brought upon the nation. Yet God did
not forget to be
gracious. He made the Captivity an
occasion for displaying
His grace; mercy triumphed over judgment.
Repentance and submission
took the place of resistance and
defiance. Discipline, chastisement,
answered its appointed purpose.
God pitied the rebels even whilst He
censured the rebellion. And very
similar has been His treatment of mankind
at large. The whole race has rebelled, and the whole
race has been
redeemed. There is spiritual
amnesty provided
THROUGH CHRIST
JESUS, reconciliation through faith and repentance, restoration
to
affectionate loyalty and to
happy subjection through the gracious
influences of the
Holy Spirit.
·
WHEN REBELLION IS SUBDUED, AND THE REBEL
HUMBLED, SUBJECTION IS FOLLOWED BY LOYALTY AND
HAPPINESS. God does
not leave His work half done. He pardons the
penitent, but He blesses the
loyal and the reconciled. Great is the change
which takes place in the state
of him who has laid down the weapons of
rebellion and has cast himself
in penitence and submission before the
footstool of the throne. As
rebellion is exchanged for loyalty, and defiance
for submission and gratitude, so
disgrace
is exchanged for honor, and the
just sentence of death for the merciful assurance of Divine favor and
ETERNAL LIFE!
4 “For
they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do
send thee unto
them; and thou shalt
say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.”
Impudent children
and stiff-hearted; literally, hard of face
(i.e. callous to their shame) and stiff of heart.
The Septuagint gives aptly,
σκληροπρόσωποι καὶ
σκληροκάρδιοι - sklaeroprosopoi kai sklaerokardioi –
impudent and stiff-hearted - (compare the “past feeling” of Ephesians 4:19).
Thus saith the Lord God. In the Hebrew, Adoaai Jehovah; which the
Septuagint represents by Κύριος Κύριος, Kurios, Kurios – Lord,
Yahweh –
and
Luther by – “der Herr Herr.” The two highest names of THE
GOD
OF ISRAELwere ‘used to denote the fullness of the prophet’s inspiration.
The same formula occurs in
ch.3:11, 27; 13:8; 22:28, and passim. So also in
II Samuel 7:18, 19, 20, 29;
and elsewhere.
THE MESSAGE. At first the prophet received no other message than
this: “Thus saith the Lord God.” But this was the earnest of much to
follow. And, indeed, the whole of the prophecies were amplifications of
this. Ezekiel was to go among the children of the Captivity with words
from Jehovah. A prophet is one who speaks for, on behalf of, the Divine
Being by whom he is commissioned. If the speaker had his own special
reasons for believing that the words he uttered were not his own, but
God’s,
those who listened to his declarations of warning and of
promise
had a witness
within, in the testimony of their own conscience, assuring
them that the prophet spoke with Divine authority. And this is so still with
all who will listen reverently and obediently to the heavenly voice. It is thus
that the Scriptures possess over our minds a preeminent power; their
writers
preface every authoritative utterance with the statement, “Thus
saith the Lord.”
An Embassy to Rebels (vs. 3-4)
The people of
rebellion to disloyalty, and has gone so far as to throw
off its allegiance to
its suzerain lord, and now the Supreme Sovereign sends His
prophet as an
ambassador to declare His will at this terrible crisis.
had transgressed in the past.
But the children have exceeded the
wickedness of their parents by
breaking out into open revolt. This may
refer to the idolatry that follows neglect of the service of the true God, or
to the
abandonment of Jehovah after previously disobeying Him.
Ø
All sin tends to aggravate its own evil. Rebellion is worse
than
transgression. The bad child may
be more wicked than his corrupt
parent — at least, if only left
to the evil influences of his home. In
every man, if sin is chosen, a downward
course is being followed
into blacker iniquity and more
outrageous wickedness, till the goal
is reached and the
sinner has fully developed the kingdom of hell
within him.
Ø
Moral transgression leads to personal opposition against
God. At first
the transgressor may have no
desire to quarrel with God. He only
wants to have his own way, and
possibly regrets the misfortune that
this happens to be opposed to
the Divine will. For a time he tries to
sever morality from devotion,
and to retain his worship after he has
broken up his obedience. This state of discord cannot last. The enemy
of God’s Law cannot
but become an enemy of God. He who
resists the
law opposes the government.
Ø
Concealed iniquity ends in confessed impiety. The transgression may
be
secret; the rebellion will be
open. The sudden fall of a saint that
sometimes surprises and shocks
the Church may be only the step
from disloyalty to rebellion.
Ø
The progress of sin coarsens and hardens the sinner, The parents
“transgressed.” The children are “impudent” and “stiff-hearted.”
Reverence cannot long outlive
obedience. The conscience which is
roughly used loses its
sensitiveness and becomes harsh and callous,
like the skin of the hand that
works with rough materials. Thus the
worst sin is least acknowledged,
and the greatest sinner most
impenitent.
Ø
God has not lost His claims on them. Men may throw off
their
allegiance to God, but they
cannot destroy His rightful authority
over them. No soul can
outlaw itself. To renounce a sovereign is
not to escape from the power
of his rule. If an English soldier
declared himself a
republican, he would not be exonerated from
the service of the queen.
God is the Judge of all the earth —
of those who reject His Law
as surely as of those who obey it.
Ø
God desires to recover them. The message may come
in wrath,
threatening destruction. Yet it
need never have been sent at all. The
ambassador might have been
spared, and an avenging army dispatched
to the rebellious nation. But
God sends warnings before judgments,
preaching prophets before
destroying angels, invitations to return
before mandates of
extermination, gospels of grace before swords of
doom. The darker the message of
warning is, the more assuredly is it
prompted by mercy; because, if
an exceedingly dreadful punishment
is deserved and is even
impending, it is an especial mark of God’s
forbearance towards the worst of
sinners that He holds it back in the
hope of urging to repentance
those who have been treasuring up for
themselves so fearful an
accumulation of wrath. Much more, then is
the gospel of Christ a message
of mercy, inviting sinners back into
the kingdom of heaven instead of
trampling them underfoot as
worthless rebels.
5 “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.” Whether they will hear, or whether
they will forbear, etc.
The latter word is used in the sense of “cease” or “desist,” as in I Corinthians 9:6
and Ephesians 6:9. The same formula meets us in v. 7; ch. 3:11, 27. The prophet
is warned beforehand of the (at least) probable failure of
his mission, wholly or in
part. We note the parallelism of thought, though not
language, in II Corinthians
2:15-16. Such, at all times, has been the condition of the
prophet’s work. The
expectation is grounded upon the antecedent fact of their
being a “rebellious
people.” There is the
consolation that in the end, partly through the fulfillment
of his words, partly, it may be, through the witness of
their own conscience,
they shall know that there has been a prophet among them
(compare ch. 33:33;
Jeremiah 28:9). We note that it is the first time that
Ezekiel claims that name
for himself.
The Prophet’s
Commission (vs. 4-5)
Nothing is clearer than that the prophets did not believe
themselves to be
acting and speaking simply upon the promptings of their own
inclinations
or their own convictions of what was right and expedient.
Whether they
were self-deluded or not, certain it is that they deemed
themselves
ministers and
messengers of the Eternal. It was this which gave them both
courage and
authority. In the most explicit manner,
Ezekiel in this passage
records his commission to go among his fellow countrymen as
the herald of
God’s wisdom, authority, and grace.
·
THE COMMISSION. “I do
send thee unto them.” There is great
simplicity and great dignity in
this language of authorization; he who heard
it could never forget it. When
disappointed in the result of his ministry, or
alarmed at the threats of those
whom he sought to benefit, these words
must often have recurred to
the mind of the prophet, inspiring him with
fresh zeal and courage. If the ambassador of a powerful king is
strengthened in the fulfillment
of his trust by the recollection that he
received his authority from a
court honored by friends and feared by foes,
how much more
must the ambassador from God derive courage and
confidence from
the knowledge that he is sent by the Supreme, who will
never desert
those who engage in His service and do His will!
·
THE MESSAGE. At first
the prophet received no other message than
this: “Thus saith
the Lord God.” But this was the earnest of much to
follow. And, indeed, the whole
of the prophecies were amplifications of
this. Ezekiel was to go among the children of the
Captivity with words
from Jehovah. A prophet is one who
speaks for, on behalf of, the Divine
Being by whom he is
commissioned. If the speaker had his own special
reasons for believing that the
words he uttered were not his own, but
God’s, those who listened to his declarations of
warning and of promise
had a witness within, in the testimony
of their own conscience, assuring
them that the
prophet spoke with Divine authority.
And this is so still with
all who will listen reverently
and obediently to the heavenly voice. It is thus
that the Scriptures possess over our minds a preeminent power;
their
writers preface every
authoritative utterance with the statement, “Thus
saith the Lord.”
·
THE VARIOUS RECEPTION OF THE MESSAGE. It is in
accordance with the
reasonableness of the inspired writers that. they
cherished such moderate
expectations regarding the effect to be produced
by their ministry. Fanatics
would have felt assured that, in such
circumstances, they must meet
with ready credence and immediate
obedience. Ezekiel
certainly had no such delusive anticipations, and was
indeed expressly warned that his message would meet with
varying
reception. Some would
hear, some would forbear. It was with Ezekiel as in
the Christian dispensation it
was with Paul; we are told that the result of his
ministry at
and some
disbelieved.” (Acts 28:24)
·
THE IMPRESSION PRODUCED BY GOD’S MESSENGER UPON
THOSE TO WHOM HE WAS SENT. “They shall know that there hath
been a prophet
among them.” Even those who were so much under the
influence of ignorance, prejudice, evil example, and sin,
that they did not
and would not turn unto God, nevertheless were well aware
that their
obstinate impiety was unjustifiable. (When I was a child that was the
condition of things in
Is the Holy Spirit gradually being
withdrawn to where people in their
ignorance, prejudice, evil and
sin, are unaware that they are obstinate,
impious, and what they are doing
can never be justified, outside the
blood of Jesus Christ? CY - 2021) They
might ridicule the prophet in their
language, but they reverenced
him in their hearts. Beneath the laugh of
incredulity was a deep-seated
fear, springing from an inward conviction
that the voice they rejected WAS INDEED THE
VOICE OF GOD! Had
one come among them flattering
their vanity and pride, and ministering to
their sinful tastes, they would
in their heart of hearts have despised him. But
when one came fearlessly
upbraiding them with their unfaithfulness, and
denouncing their guilty
defection, they could not but know that a prophet had
been among them. (v. 5)
· APPLICATION. This passage has an especial significance for ministers of
God’s Word, and for all religious teachers. It shows them where their
strength lies; warns them against enunciating their own speculations or
inculcating precepts founded upon their own experience; and directs them
to go among their fellow men
with this dignified and effective message,
“Thus saith the Lord.” They may be tempted to court men’s favor and
good will by uttering words of flattery. But it is well that, when so
tempted, they should remember that there is in men a conscience, which
may be repressed, but which cannot be crushed, which renders a homage,
though silent, to the just authority of truth and
righteousness, and which
recognizes, even though it does
not lead to practical obedience, the
PRECEPTS and the WARNINGS which are FROM
GOD!
6 “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.”
Though briers and
thorns be with thee. The two Hebrew
nouns are not found elsewhere, and have consequently
puzzled translators.
The Septuagint gives two verbs, παροιστρήσπυσιν καὶ
ἐπισυστήσονται
ἐπὶ σὲ –
paroistraesousin kai episustaesontai epi se – briars and thorns are
with you; the
Vulgate, increduli et subversores.
The words, however, are
formed from roots that imply “pricking” or “burning,” and
the Authorized
Version rendering, followed by the Revised Version, is
tenable enough. A
cognate form of the first is found in ch.
28:24, and there the Septuagint
gives σκόλοψ – skolopsi – thorn, and
the Vulgate, spina. A like figurative
use of “scorpions” is found in I Kings 12:11 (but here the
reference may
be to some scorpion like scourge) and Ecclesiasticus.
26:7 (compare also our
Lord’s words in Luke 10:19). Be not afraid. Compare the like command in
Jeremiah 1:17. The words imply, probably, a past as well as
a future experience.
Ezekiel had already known what it was to dwell among those
whose hearts
were venomous as scorpions. The comparison was a
sufficiently familiar
one among both Eastern and Greek writers.
Dwelling among Scorpions (v. 6)
denunciation raised up enemies
who gave him worse than a thorny couch
— a very house of scorpions to
dwell in. No more hideous picture of
distress can well be conceived
than that of the faithful prophet thrust into a
thicket of briers, which turns out to be a scorpions’ nest. The thorns are
bad enough, yet fierce stinging
creatures are added. This is a prophet’s
Inferno. Captives who only suffered from the grief of exile would
hang
their harps on the willows in
heart-broken despair. Ezekiel’s is a far worse
case — to be tormented by his
fellow captives in return for his faithful
words.
Ø
A great mission may bring a great distress. The common people are
spared; the prophet is
tormented. Ezekiel has his scorpion-neighbors;
Paul, exalted to the third
heaven, receives his thorn in the flesh
(II Corinthians 12:7); Christ,
the Holy One, is crowned with thorns,
pierced with nails, and more
terribly wounded with cruel hatred.
Ø
A man’s worst
enemies may be those of his own household. The
scorpions are not pagan
Babylonians, but Jews. No rancor is so bad as
that of one whose milk of
natural affection is turned to the venom of
a brother’s hatred. This is the
murder spirit of Cain the fratricide, the
devilry of Judas the traitor.
Ø
A guilty conscience is a dangerous sting. If it does not wound its
owner, it is likely to turn
on its accuser. Ezekiel had to accuse the
Jews of sin. We may often take the very ferocity of the attack made
upon the gospel
as a sign that its opponents are not at ease in their
own hearts.
Ø
A spiteful tongue stings like a scorpion. Ezekiel was cruelly
hurt when
no bodily harm was done to him.
Possibly his enemies were scarcely
conscious of the keenness of
their words. But the rankling wound
which comes from venomous speech
is more painful than the fiery
swelling of the worst scorpion
sting. Spiteful slanderers are more
mischievous than the most
repulsive insects.
faithful prophet must toil on,
braving their threatening stings. The people at
Banias build leafy booths on the tops of poles, for residence
during the hot
season, in order to escape the
attacks of scorpions, which are very
abundant in their neighborhood.
No, such escape is permitted to the
prophet of God.
Ø
Unpopularity may be a sign of fidelity. This is a shamefully
forgotten
doctrine in our day of easy
living. Now the popular preacher is
regarded as the great preacher,
and the unpopular servant of God is
regarded, even by his
brethren, as a “failure.” If so, then Ezekiel
and
Jeremiah were “failures,” while
their now-forgotten comrades, who
prophesied smooth things, were great “successes.” Such a doctrine
would have given us no Hebrew prophets to stand in the first rank
of God’s heroes. But time is a
great avenger. Frederick Robertson
of
during his lifetime, is now
recognized as a prince of Divine
teachers;
while the very names of his
enemies — happily for them — are
forgotten.
Ø The duty of
fidelity in the midst of persecution is blessed with heavenly
rewards. The rewards begin on earth in the soul’s culture. Mediaeval
monks would roll in thorns for
self-chastisement. Persecuted prophets
needed to invent no such fantastic devices. The thorns were thrust upon
them; their path was beset by
scorpions. There is danger in the path of
ease. It is better to be stung
by the vicious scorpion than bitten by the
deadly cobra. The thorn bush of
persecution has its venomous insects,
but in the flower beds of
pleasure lies the serpent whose bite is death.
7 “And
thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they
will hear,
or whether they will forbear: for they are
most rebellious.”
Thou shalt speak my words, etc. The words conveyed:
by Jehovah (compare Jeremiah
1:7, 17; Matthew 10:19-20); and
message (see ch.13:7;
22:28). They are most rebellious; literally,
the Hebrew
being a noun, they are
rebellion, or stubbornness,
itself.
Preaching to Unwilling Hearers (v. 7)
There can be no more difficult or painful duty than that of
a preacher to
unwilling hearers. But it was seen in the case of Hebrew
prophets; it was
illustrated in Christ’s brave dealings with the Pharisees
and Sadducees; and
it must necessarily fall at times to the lot of every
faithful Christian minister
in the present day.
TO ALL KINDS OF HEARERS. He cannot select his favorite audience.
He has no right to wait till men
ask for his message. He is the herald sent
into the camp, who must declare
the will of his Master, even though his
hearers are too busy with their
work or amusement to give him attention,
or too unsympathetic to care to
hear what he says. With most things the
supply is regulated by the
demand. The farmer will not grow more corn
than the people need for food;
the manufacturer turns out the largest
quantity of those products that
sell must widely. But this spirit of
commerce should not obtain any
footing in the Christian Church. Yet, no
doubt, it has invaded the
Church, and the temptation is to echo popular
cries from the pulpit, and to
bow to the will of the pew. Many people ask
for short sermons, restive under
the strain of attention to more lengthy
discourses. Some wish for pleasant, cheerful themes; they are
particularly
desirous that no demands shall
be made on their thinking faculties; they
would luxuriute
in sweet, soothing fancies. Then the temptation is to
concede what is thus demanded. That is to lower the claims of truth. In this
region it is necessary to create
the right hunger, and here the supply must
precede and exceed the demand. The negligence of the people is no reason
for the preacher’s
reticence.
DIVINE OBLIGATIONS AND ON HUMAN NEEDS.
Ø Divine obligations. The preacher is not the slave of his people, but the
servant of God. If he is sent to speak for God, a burden of
responsibility is laid upon him. Moreover, he is the custodian of truth.
Truth seeks the daylight and the
free air. Men have no right to imprison
her because her presence in the busy world is sometimes unwelcome.
GOD’S TRUTH must be brought even
where it is not sought, even
where it is hated and rejected.
Ø
Human needs. They who are most reluctant to hear a message from
Heaven most need that message, for their very indifference or
opposition is a sign of that
state of alienation which God is seeking
to overcome. If the family were
awake when the house was on fire
there would be no necessity for
the watchman to call to them. But
in their sleep is their great
danger. Just
because they are indifferent
they most need to be
warned.
THE FAITHFUL DELIVERY OF HIS MESSAGE. Mark this — the
delivery must be
faithful. There is a snare for the
preacher in our subject.
He may lay the charge of the
failure of his message against his hearers,
when he ought to have taken it
home to himself. Though he cannot
command success, it is his duty
to aim at it and to labor for it with the
utmost assiduity. Possibly the message has not been rightly apprehended by
him nor wisely and
affectionately commended to the people. He may have
been indolent in preparation.
He may have been cold or stern, haughty or
aloof from his hearers, when he should have approached them in a loving
brotherly way. (“Speaking
the truth in love” – Ephesians
4:15). Or his
own
heart may not have opened to receive
the message. How, then, can he expect
his hearers to be interested in
it? One
cold heart can inspire no warmth in
other cold hearts. But when the preacher has
done his best in the strength
of God, he must leave his
message. At this point the responsibility shifts
to the hearers. Even the words
of him who spake as never man spake
sometimes fell by the wayside
and on stony ground. (John 7:46; Luke
8:5,12). What wonder if ours seem to fail? The
apparent failure of the
faithful is indeed no real
failure; the words may fail, but the man has
not failed, for he has done his
duty — and no man can do more than that.
8 “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.”
Be not thou rebellious, etc. The words convey a
warning
against the prophet’s natural weakness. Instinctively he shrank, as Moses
had done (Exodus 3:11; 4:10-13) and Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5) and
Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:6), from his dread vocation of being a
“mortal
vessel of the Divine Word.” In so
shrinking he would identify himself with
the very “rebellion” which he was sent to reprove, and would
incur its
punishment. Eat that I give thee. As in the parallel of Revelation 10:9,
the words imply that what was to be given him was no
message resting, as
it were, on the surface of the soul. It was to enter into
the prophet’s
innermost life, to be the food and nourishment of his soul;
to be, in our
familiar phrase, “inwardly digested” and incorporated with
his very flesh
and blood. He was to live “not by bread only” (Deuteronomy
8:3,
Matthew 4:4), but by every
word that proceeded out of the mouth of
Jehovah.
Faithful among the Faithless (v. 8)
Ezekiel is to go among the rebellious people; but he is to be most careful
not to rebel himself against the will of God. Though he stand alone, yet he
must be true.
There is a subtle
poison in the atmosphere of evil society. No doubt Christ
instituted His Church in part
that His followers might be lifted out of the
malarious regions of sinful associations, and drawn into a more
wholesome
climate of saintly
companionship. Ezekiel was scarcely allowed any such
help from Church fellowship.
Like Nehemiah, he had to stand alone and
face the current of rebellion.
Then, beyond the unconscious temptation to
go with the multitude to do
evil, there was a very visible danger in the case
of Ezekiel (“Thou shalt not
follow a multitude to do evil” – Exodus 223:2).
He was called to testily against
his brethren with such a
message that they would turn
against him like so many scorpions. He was
to find himself in a border of
thorns as the penalty of his fidelity (see v. 6).
Although this visible
persecution is now rare, the spirit of it is not dead,
and there are places still where
the faithful must stand alone and be made
to smart severely for their
integrity. How often this is the case with one
high-principled Christian young
man in a house of business where the
methods of conducting trade and
amusement both assail his fidelity! It is
hard to be faithful under such
circumstances. Yet the duty does
not cease.
The rebellion of others is no
excuse for us also to rebel.
Ø
Extraordinary fidelity. Ezekiel was not only
warned not to rebel in the
exact manner of his fellow
countrymen. He had a higher command laid
upon him than any that was
imposed upon them. They were only
required to keep the general Law
of God; he was commissioned to a
special task of difficulty and
danger in a prophet’s career, and his
faithfulness was to consist in
his not rebelling against this great task.
The most honored servants of God
are those who are set in the posts
of greatest danger and required
to discharge the most arduous service.
Brave men leap to such service
and danger in human pursuits, eagerly
volunteering to join expeditions
into the heart of
for the north pole. Some, too,
are as eager in God’s service. These
are God’s heroes.
Ø
Superhuman aid.
Ezekiel was a man of God, a man of faith
and prayer.
Hence his power to be faithful.
To stand faithful we must feel the
influence of God’s grace. It is
possible to be
“True as the
needle to the pole,
Or as the
dial to the sun,”
because needle and dial shadow
follow great commanding influences.
is a mighty encouragement to the
weak. He can be a nucleus about which
they can cluster, although they
would never have had strength to stand
without his great personality.
Like a lighthouse in a wild and wintry night,
the solitary example of fidelity
sheds its encouraging rays far out to the
darkness round about. For
example:
Ø
Joseph in immoral
Ø
Daniel in unprincipled
Ø
Paul at wicked
Ø
Luther at
Ø
Latimer at
these men are beacon lights
shining down the ages. It is worth the cost of
all the hardship of exceptional
trials of fidelity to become such
magnificent inspiring influences
for all time.
God’s Ambassador a Warrior (vs. 6-8)
The path of duty, since the Fall, is never smooth. We may
have an inward
sense of delight — tranquil satisfaction, arising from the
approval of
conscience and the smile of God — but from without we must
expect
sharp opposition. There is demand for vigilance, skill, and
courage.
God are not easily induced to return. The tree that has grown wildly
crooked, cannot readily be
restored to straightness and shape. Those who
have abandoned
the paths of truth and righteousness, sadly
degrade their
original nature. The cedars are reduced to thorns and briers. Sinners are
unprofitable and injurious
in the world — a curse to society. They bear no
fruit, or only sour and
poisonous fruit. They choke the promise of better
things. Or they are like
scorpions, bent only on mischief. Originally
lords of
nature, they
have sunk to the level of the meanest insects.
There is poison
in their crafty words. There is
a danger in their very looks.
God’s servants fear? Our
adversaries’ words are mere breath. Not a
particle of power have they but
such as is permitted them by our Master.
While they open their mouths in
loud boasting, the finger of death is
loosening the silver cord
within. As the mighty God hath said to the angry
waves, so hath He said to these,
“Thus
far shall ye go, and no further”
(Job 38:11). They may loudly bark, but it is seldom they
have power to bite.
The fierce opposition of the
ungodly may turn to our good; it may and ought
to develop our courage. The
severer the conflict, the more strength we may
gather, and the greater will be
our triumph. As they are so zealous in a bad
cause, how much more zealous
should we be in the very best of enterprises?
folly and rebellion, our only
weapon is to be “the sword of the
Spirit,
which is the Word
of God” (Ephesians 6:17). “Thou shalt speak my
words unto them” (v. 7). If they meet us with contempt and malice,
we have but to repeat in calmer
tones, and with undisturbed patience,
the same facts — the message
from the lips of God. Any addition of
ours, however suitable it may
seem, only weakens
the force of the message.
We must see to it
that the edge of the weapon is not blunted by our own
carelessness. Our only concern should be that we do speak all the
counsel
of God — that it is the Word of
God, both in substance and form, which
we utter.
that rebellions
house.” One foe within the camp is
more injurious than a
thousand outside. If a germ of
disease be in the medicine, it will invalidate
all its efficacy. Rebellion
assumes a myriad forms. It is a hydra with more
than a hundred heads.
Ø
Listlessness in hearing
the heavenly commission,
Ø
a tampering with its fixed terms,
Ø
a rash attempt to
improve the Divine original,
these and such-like acts are seed
germs of rebellion in the soul!
“If the salt be deprived of its savor” (Matthew 5:13),
wherewith shall the
corruptions of the world be
purged out? An unfaithful ambassador adds
fresh aggravation to the revolt
of a province. Sin is a contagious
evil.
9 “And
when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a
roll of a book was therein;” An hand was sent (put forth, Revised Version)
unto me, etc. Apparently the hand was not that of the human form seated
on
the throne (ch.1:26),
nor of one of the four living creatures (Ibid. v.8),
but one appearing mysteriously by itself, as in the history
of Belshazzar’s
feast (Daniel 5:5). The words connect themselves with the
use of the
hand stretched out of a cloud as the symbols of the Divine
energy both in
Jewish and Christian art. The writer has in his possession
a Jewish brass
tablet, probably of the sixteenth century, commemorating
the legend of the
miraculous supply of oil at the Feast of the Dedication, in
which such a
hand appears as pouring oil into the seven-branched
candlestick, or lamp,
of the temple. Lo,
a roll of a book, etc. The words remind us of the
volume, or roll, in Psalm 40:7; Jeremiah 36:2; Zechariah
5:1;
like those which are still used in Jewish synagogues.
10 “And he
spread it before me; and it was written within and without:
and there was written therein lamentations,
and mourning, and
woe.” It was written within and
without. Commonly such rolls,
whether of vellum or papyrus, were written on one side
only. This, like the
tables of stone (Exodus 32:15), was written, as a symbol of
the fullness
of its message, on both sides. And as he looked at the roll
thus “spread
before” him, he saw that it was no evangel, no glad tidings, that
he had
thus to identify with his work, but one from first to last of lamentations,
and mourning, and
woe. Jeremiah had been known as the
prophet of
weeping, and was about this time (probably a little later)
writing his own
Lamentations (the Hebrew title of the book, however, is
simply its first
words) over the fall of
nature. The word meets us again (ch.
19:1, 14; 26:17; 27:2, 32; 28:12; 32:2,16)
as the keynote of his writings. Out of such a book, though
the glad tiding
s were to come afterwards, his own prophetic work
was to be evolved.
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Son of Man (v. 1)
This expression is so constantly used with reference to
Ezekiel that it
cannot be considered a mere Oriental idiom with no peculiar
significance.
There were special reasons why Ezekiel, as the prophet
chosen to
communicate God’s will to
I. TRUE
HUMANITY IN THE PROPHET ENABLED HIM TO HOLD
COMMUNION WITH THE FATHER OF SPIRITS. Man is God’s chosen
vehicle for communicating with man. The ministry of angels
is a reality, but
such ministry is subordinate to that which is strictly
human. Man is made in
the likeness of God, and shares in the Divine reason. His
highest thinking,
it was grandly said by Kepler, is
thinking over again the thoughts of God.
It is in virtue of this prerogative that human beings are
able to enter into
the counsels of the Eternal Wisdom. The inferior
inhabitants of this globe
may indeed express in their structure the designs of the
Creator. But man is
more than the creature; he is the child of the
heavenly Father, who calls his
children to share in the revelation of his own character
and will. And
certain selected individuals, notably those designated “prophets,”
are
admitted into special relations with the Infinite Spirit,
that they may be
made the medium of carrying out his purposes of wisdom and
of love.
II. THE
PROPHET’S TRUE HUMANITY ENABLED HIM TO ENTER
INTO THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND NEEDS OF THOSE TO WHOM
HE MINISTERED. The prophets sprang from the people, and
knew them
from familiar intercourse and intimacy; they knew their
sins and
weaknesses, their temptations and struggles. Some, like
Elijah and John the
Baptist, led a life secluded and ascetic — only now and
again coming forth
from their retirement and mingling with their countrymen
for some special
purpose. But others lived amongst those whom they had known
in
childhood and youth, and made themselves acquainted with
their temporal
condition and their spiritual wants. It seems to have been
so with Ezekiel.
And as participation in common sorrows and sufferings often
draws men
closer together, it is reasonable to believe that comrades
in exile were upon
terms of closest fellowship and correspondence. The prophet
knew well, in
virtue of a common nature and a common lot, the people
amongst whom
he dwelt, and to whom he was called to minister.
III. THE
PROPHET’S TRUE HUMANITY RENDERED HIS
MINISTRY SYMPATHETIC, AUTHORITATIVE, AND EFFECTIVE.
Men may see much of one another, may be brought frequently
into contact
with one another, and yet may have little mutual knowledge,
and even feel
little interest in one another’s experiences. But this was
not the case with
Ezekiel, who did not harden his heart against even the
disobedient,
rebellious, and unresponsive, but, on the contrary,
cultivated, as a man, a
spirit of true brotherhood with his fellow men. He was
deeply pained when
it was his duty to threaten or to denounce; he was
sincerely glad when it
was given him to speak words of kindness and encouragement.
There was,
in consequence of this human sympathy, an especial
authoritativeness in his
prophetic ministrations. What he said and did went home, in
many cases, to
the hearts of those whom he addressed; because they
interpreted his words
and deeds in the light of his spirit and character.
IV. THE
PROPHET WAS THUS A TYPE OF CHRIST HIMSELF,
WHO WAS WONT TO DESIGNATE HIMSELF THE SON OF MAN.
Perfect Man as well as perfect God, the Lord Christ entered
into the
position of those whom he came to save. Like Ezekiel, the
Lord Jesus
came to a captive people; like Ezekiel, he addressed to
them words of
reproach, words of warning, words of consolation, words of
hope. He did
more than this: he bore their sins, and carried their
sorrows. And thus he
brought deliverance to the bondmen, opened the prison
doors, and bade
the oppressed go free.
Prophetic Receptiveness (v. 8)
This Book of Ezekiel is one abounding in figure and symbol;
it would be a
mistake to take all its contents literally. When we read
that the prophet was
required by God to eat that which was given him, and
are then informed
that a written scroll was that which was to be eaten, we
are at first
surprised. But then we recollect that eating has been in
many religions
regarded as a sacred and symbolical act. The Mosaic
dispensation had its
Paschal meal, and the Christian religion has its sacrament
of the Lord’s
Supper. So that the symbol of the text is quite in
accordance with the
practices which, upon Divine authority, have prevailed in
the Church
throughout the ages.
FELLOW MEN, HE MUST FIRST RECEIVE FROM GOD. That this is
the meaning of the symbol of this passage is evident from
the context. It
was in connection with the prophet’s commission that he was
bidden to eat
the scroll. It was thus that he was to fit and qualify
himself for his special
ministry; he was to take from God, that he might have
wherewith to supply
the needs of the people.
II. THE
REVELATION OF GOD MUST BE GRADUALLY AND
COMPLETELY APPROPRIATED AND ASSIMILATED BY THE
MINISTER OF DIVINE TRUTH, Eating is a process by which
suitable
nutriment is introduced into the bodily system, and
assimilated by the
organs of digestion, so that it both builds up the bodily
structure and
supplies the organism with renewed power for life work.
Such is the
function fulfilled by God’s truth in connection with the
spiritual being and
life. The teacher of the revealed mind and will of the
Supreme cannot be
fitted for his service by a superficial and slight
acquaintance with his
message. That message must sink into the depths of his
nature, must
penetrate his being, must enter into all the functions of
the spiritual life.
III. THE
RELIGIOUS TEACHER MAY HAVE TO CONTEND WITH
AND OVERCOME NATURAL DISINCLINATIONS TOWARDS
SOME PARTS OF THE MINISTRY ENTRUSTED TO HIM. The
requirement of God could not but awaken in the prophet’s
mind something
of repugnance, The scroll he was bidden to eat was filled
with
lamentations, mourning, and woe; the message he was
commissioned to
deliver was a message of reproach, of expostulation, of
warning, of
threatening. Such a ministry could not be agreeable to his
natural
inclinations; he must have shrunk from it as uncongenial
and distasteful. It
must often happen that the fulfilment
of duty is distressing to the faithful
and yet sensitive preacher of righteousness; it is a bitter
thing to deliver a
message of condemnation to one’s fellow men.
IV. YET
IT IS SWEET TO OBEY AND TO FULFIL THE
COMMANDS OF THE LORD. When the disinclination to undertake
the
painful commission had been overcome, a profound
satisfaction followed.
The prophet found that in keeping God’s commandments there
is great
reward. The distress is temporary and brief the
satisfaction is lasting. The
surgeon may often inflict pain upon his patient; the
physician may see it
right to order a course of treatment which is repulsive. To
act wisely and
conscientiously may, in such cases, be painful. But let the
duty be
discharged, and there follows a true satisfaction. It was
so with Ezekiel; it
is so with every true and faithful servant of God. The
office may he one
arduous and difficult, painful and repugnant; yet, if it is
the office to which
God calls a man, obedience and fidelity, the unshrinking fulfilment of the
service, will bring a rich reward. Sweet are the delights
of those who
conquer self, who yield themselves up to the service of
that Saviour who
himself carried the cross. They shall enter into the joy of
the Lord..
The
Scroll (v. 9)
It is certainly remarkable that, whilst the ministry of
Ezekiel was to be
fulfilled by word of mouth, the communication of its
substance should be
figuratively represented by the scroll — “a roll of a book,
written within
and without.” What the scroll was to the prophet, it may
fairly be said, the
volume of Holy Scripture is to us. Holy Writ is the record
of successive
revelations, and its form, as literature, answers very
important purposes.
Scripture is the standard of faith and doctrine and
practice, to which the
ministers of the gospel are bound to refer, according to
the well known
saying, “The Church to witness, the Scripture to prove.”
This strikingly
symbolical passage suggests valuable truth regarding both
the form and the
substance of the inspired volume.
I. THE
FORM OF THE WRITTEN REVELATION. The fact is that we
have the scroll, the volume, i.e. the mind of the
holy and inspired men of
old perpetuated in the written form. Certain advantages are
by this means
secured, which more than compensate for any disadvantages
which may
possibly be connected with the literary form which
revelation assumes.
1. A written
revelation, as compared with one merely oral, is deliberate.
What men say in conversation, or under the stress of
popular oratory, is
not to be compared in this respect with what is carefully
committed to a
literary form. Speech is often intended merely to produce
an immediate
impression; what is written is probably intended to bear
examination, to
stand the test of reflection and of time.
2. Continuous. Fragmentary
and disjointed utterances are all that can be
expected from an ordinary speaker; and even a thoughtful
and powerful
speaker must usually, by the very conditions of his work,
come short in the
point of orderliness and continuity. The preparation of a
book, and
especially of a volume containing in many books the
revelation of the
Divine mind, involves a design, a plan, a connection and
correspondence
among the several parts which go to make up the whole.
3. Incorruptible. The
untrustworthiness of tradition is proverbial. Wisdom
is apparent in the arrangement by which the communication
of God’s will
to man has been placed beyond the corrupting influences to
which every
oral tradition is liable.
II. THE
SUBSTANCE OF THE WRITTEN REVELATION. The “roll of
a book” delivered to Ezekiel may be presumed to have been
the emblem of
the communications which were to form the matter of his prophetic
ministry. And although the writing is described as
consisting of mourning
and woe, this is probably only because such was the
prevailing tenor of the
earlier portions of his prophecies. We may say generally
that the written
revelation through Ezekiel is a summary of that which
occupies the entire
Bible. The scroll, accordingly, may be considered as:
1. Displaying the
Divine interest in mankind.
2. Revealing Divine
acquaintance with men’s sinful character their
wanderings from God, and the various errors and follies
into which sin has
ever led its victims.
3. Declaring God’s
foresight of the miserable condition into which idolatry,
apostasy, and every kind of moral evil and error must
certainly plunge the
rebellious. Nowhere is this more vividly displayed than in
this book of
prophecies.
4. Expressing the
Divine solicitude for man’s welfare, and the Divine
provision for man’s recovery and salvation. In all these
several particulars
the Book of Ezekiel is a miniature of the Bible. The theme
of the prophet,
and the theme of Holy Writ as a whole, is surely nothing
else than this —
the exhibition of man’s heinous sin, and the offer of God’s
merciful
salvation.
The Interlacing of Divine
Command and Divine Strength
(vs. 1-2)
The commands of God are acts of kindness. If he had
abandoned us, he
would give us no indications of his will. He is not so
unreasonable as to
give commands without also proffering help. If he says “This
is the way,”
he also says, “I will be with thee.” Hence, with Augustine,
we may say to
God, “Give what thou requirest,
and require what thou pleasest.”
I. COMMAND.
“Stand upon thy feet.” The form of address, “son of
man,” was intended to encourage the prophet. The vision of
God’s
kingdom, and of his royal state, bad oppressed the mind of
Ezekiel, and he
had prostrated himself before such majestic splendor. But
now the voice
of the supreme Monarch assures him that he may also find a
place among
the honoured servants of Jehovah.
Though but a frail man, a descendant of
erring progenitors, he was yet a man, and therefore
capable of high
attainment and noble service. There was no hardship implied
in this
command to stand upon his feet. It chimed in with his own
predisposition.
Duty taken step by step, in easy gradations, becomes a
delight. The
requirement was honourable. There
had been occasion for prostrate
humility in the presence of the holy God. But humility is
the way to
honour. Now he is required to lift himself up to the full
stature of his
manhood, and to be ready for active and willing service.
Use thy feet!
Look heavenward! Be a man! Equip thyself for service!
II. PROMISE.
“I will speak unto thee.” This is a stupendous act of Divine
condescension to hold intercourse with fallen, fickle men.
It is a mark of
special favour if an earthly
monarch calls a commoner into his presence,
discloses to him royal counsels, and engages his services
for the throne.
Much greater token of good will is it, if that commoner had
been
heretofore a detected criminal, a dangerous rebel. But the
similitude serves
very poorly to illustrate the immeasurable grace of the
heavenly King, who
stoops to converse with the children of men. Human monarchs
have set
times, which they set apart to give audience to the noblest
of their subjects.
But God permits us to approach him at all times, and, if we
will but speak
to him, he will also speak unto us. “His delights are with
the sons of men.”
He loves to employ men in his service. Yea! he has
determined to employ
none but men in
proclaiming to their brethren the royal purposes of
redemption.
III. INDWELLING
POWER While Jehovah spake to his servant, “the
Spirit entered into him.” Finding in Ezekiel a readiness to
obey, God
immediately imparted to him the needed strength. If the will
be present
with us, the power to perform will not long be
absent. When humility opens
the door of the human heart, God will enter and abide
there. It was not so
much Ezekiel who put forth his strength and rose erect, as
the indwelling
Spirit, “who set him on his feet.” Verily, “in God we live,
and move, and
exist.” “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me.” Ezekiel’s name was no
misnomer. In very deed, God was his Strength. And the
result of the
Spirit’s entrance, further, was “that I heard him that spake unto me.” The
very power to hear, whether by the organ of sense,
or by the finer aptitude
of the spirit, comes alone from God. “He that hath ears to
hear, let him
hear.”
An Arduous Embassage (vs. 2-5)
Every prophet is a missionary; every true missionary is a
prophet. In an
inferior sense of the word, he is a mediator — a mediator
between God
and man.
I. THE
MISSIONARY CHARACTER OF THE PROPHET. He is one
“sent.” He goes not to this difficult and responsible work
by the impulse of
his own reason or will. He is in the employ and under the
direction of
another — of One whom he cannot disregard. He cannot go or
stay, as he
pleases, he is a servant. The Son of God himself has
undertaken similar
work. He was “sent” into our world on an errand of
kindness. “As thou
hast sent me, so have I sent them.”
II. THE
MISSIONARY’S UNPROMISING FIELD OF ACTION. “I send
thee to the children of
outward advantages, or of special Divine favours, does not ensure
gratitude or obedience on the part of men. In
conveyed by blood relationship. The piety of Abraham did
not descend in
the line of natural posterity. But rebellion is a weed that
grows freely in the
degenerate soil of the human heart. The people of
were hardened in sin. The evil had become inveterate by
long centuries of
vicious habit, sad all the alternate measures of kindness
and severity which
God had employed had failed to reduce the people to
submission. Though
now in exile and disgrace, yet “to that very day” the
rebellious spirit
continued. Nor were they even ashamed of the past. No blush
tinged their
cheeks. All right feeling seemed petrified within!
III. THE
MISSIONARY’S INSTRUMENT. He is armed simply with the
authoritative Word of God. What he hears from God, that,
and that alone,
may he speak! He is not allowed to elaborate, from his own
judgment,
conditions of reconciliation. He is not to rely for success
on the
inventiveness of reason, nor on beguiling acts of
sophistry, nor on the
persuasiveness of subtle rhetoric. He is to proclaim
everywhere, “Thus
saith the Lord!” Authority is the weapon on which he is to rely —
not
human authority, but Divine. He is to be simply the
mouthpiece of Deity.
But, being this, he will become the power of God and
the wisdom of God.
His business is to speak Divine truth with all the pathos
of Divine love.
IV. THE
MISSIONARY’S ENCOURAGEMENT. Whether the people
would hear, or whether they would forbear, was still an
unsolved problem
so far as the prophet was concerned. God had not given to
him the promise
of visible and direct success. But whether they accepted or
rejected the
Divine overtures, the end which God anticipated
would be realized. The
people should have this conviction inwrought in their
minds, viz. that a
messenger from God had been among them. This was all that
Ezekiel might
confidently expect. This was the goal at which he was to
aim, viz. to
convince them that he was God’s prophet — to commend his
mission to
the consciences of the people. Hence, if no other end was
gained, he was
not to feel depression of soul. Whether the people relented
or further
rebelled, he was to continue his simple work; and rest
assured that God
would defend his own cause, and bring final good out of
present evil.
The
Bread of Heaven
(v. 9 to ch. 3:3)
The appetites of the human body may be regarded by us as
pictures and
symbols of the inner hunger of the spirit. Not more surely
does the body
cry out for food than does the inner man crave for truth.
He only who has
created this complex frame can meet its varied wants.
I. THE
HUNGER OF THE SOUL. As the emotional element in man cries
out for friendship, as the intellectual asks for knowledge,
so the spiritual
element eagerly asks after God’s will. “Lord, what writ
thou have me to
do?” To be out of harmony with God is misery to the soul.
To be ignorant
of God’s purposes and intentions respecting us must bring
perpetual
disquietude. Hence the question in some form, either vague
or clear, is ever
rising to the surface, “What must I do to gain eternal
life?”
II. DIVINE
PROVISION. In order to qualify Ezekiel more fully for his
undertaking, a fresh vision was vouchsafed to him. A hand
was stretched
out from heaven, containing a parchment roll. In form, it
seemed like the
“bread that perisheth;” but it
was in truth the heavenly manna — the
revelation of Jehovah’s will. Man, at the best, is under
the dominance of
animal appetites; and consequently spiritual facts make
most impression on
him when presented under material images. But God never
deceives. He
unfolded the roll; showed him how full it was of
instruction and meaning;
explained to him its real contents, viz. “mourning,
lamentations, and woe.”
Like unleavened bread and bitter herbs, this knowledge of
God’s will may
be most healthful for men at certain seasons of their life.
God’s regard for
us is too genuine and profound for him to indulge our
appetites with
dangerous delicacies. The bitter must come before the
sweet, darkness
before light, sorrow before joy.
III. PERSONAL
DIGESTION REQUIRED. The command is heard, “Eat
that I give thee.” “Fill
thy bowels with this roll.” A superficial acquaintance
with God’s will is not enough for the prophet’s equipment.
He must
observe, learn, masticate, digest, incorporate, the truth.
Here is indeed
precious counsel — a Physician’s wise advice. Less food,
probably, but
more digestion. Heavenly counsel this, which every
disciple should write in
golden letters on his chamber walls. The truth which God
gives to men
does not become really theirs until it is assimilated
into their own nature —
becomes part and parcel of themselves. By examination and
reflection and
practical obedience, this truth passes into the very blood
and nerve and
fibre of our being. We become the truth — “living epistles,
known and read
of all men.”
IV. THE
TASTE PALATABLE AND PLEASANT: “It was in my mouth
as honey for sweetness.” The regenerate man will welcome all
the truth of
God. Whatever God’s will be, he knows that God’s will is
right, and that
righteousness must bring blessing and peace. He is not now
so blind as to
limit his vision to the narrow present; he compasses, in
the sweep of his
eye, the remote and the future. That the prophet learnt
that lamentation and
mourning were decreed, was an element of hope. Would the
Divine Ruler
take such pains with men if he did not intend to do them
ultimate good?
The very severity of the treatment implied that health
would come at last.
To do the will of God is always sweet to the renewed man.
Unless our
spiritual palate is in a diseased condition, every particle
of heavenly truth
will be “as honey for sweetness.” “Thy words were found,
and I did eat
them; and they were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my
heart.”
The Commission to
Prophetic Service (vs. 3-8)
“And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the
children of
etc. We have here —
I. A
DISCOURAGING SPHERE OF PROPHETIC SERVICE. (vs. 3-4.)
Ezekiel was sent to:
1. A people who had
mournfully fallen. “I send thee to the children of
were sons of
by faith had prevailed; and they ought to have been his
sons in character.
But instead of that they are here spoken of as “the
rebellious nations.” The
word is plural, as in the margin; and it is that which is
used to denote the
heathen as distinguished from the people of God. They are
designated
“nations,” as if they had something of the sins of all
heathen peoples. They
were sadly degenerate branches of a noble root. In former
times the
Israelites had been the Lord’s “peculiar treasure… a
kingdom of priests
and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5, 6); now they were “the
rebellious
nations that have rebelled against” him.
2. A people
persistently rebellious against God. Observe
the repetition of
this charge against them in vs. 3, 5-8. Their
rebelliousness had
existed long. Generation after generation they had been revolters against
Jehovah. “They and their fathers have transgressed against
me unto this
very day.” The children trod in the sinful steps of their
rebellious fathers.
Unless restrained by the grace of God, children will
imitate their parents,
however wicked they may be. Let parents remember the power
of their
example over their children, and so live that their
children may imitate them
with advantage.
3. A people openly obdulate in wickedness. “They are impudent children,
and stiff-hearted.” They were hard of face; they had lost
shame; they had
ceased to blush by reason of their sins. “Were they ashamed
when they had
committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed,
neither could
they blush” (Jeremiah 6:15). And they were “stiff-hearted” —
an
expression which denotes steadfastness and determination in
their evil
ways; they were hardened in wickedness.
4. A people
resolutely hostile to the Lord’s
prophets. “Briers and thorns be
with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions; be not
afraid of their
words, nor be dismayed at their looks.” Three ideas are
suggested
concerning the people.
(1) Their
barrenness. They were as destitute of the fruits of righteousness
as dry thorns.
(2) Their
injuriousness. They would prick and sting as briers and thorns.
(3) Their
venomousness. Like scorpions, they would seek to poison the
heart and life of the prophet. They would assail him with
envenomed
words, and scowling, threatening looks. The life of a
prophet of Jehovah
was generally one of trial and persecution. Ezekiel is here
forewarned of
the pains and penalties awaiting him in his future course.
In like manner our
Lord made known to the twelve apostles the persecutions
they would have
to encounter in the fulfilment of
their mission (Matthew 10:16-22).
What an evidence it is of the mercy of God that he should
send his prophet
to so rebellious a people (compare Hosea 11:7-9)!
II. THE
SUBLIME CHARACTER OF PROPHETIC SERVICE. It
involves two main functions.
1. Reception of
Divine communications. “Son of man, hear what I say unto
thee.” The prophet must be a devout listener in the
glorious temple of
God’s great universe. His spiritual ear must be keenly
sensitive even to the
whispers of the Divine voice.
2. Publication of
Divine communications. “Thou shalt say unto them,
Thus
saith the Lord God” (v. 4). “And thou shalt
speak my words unto them.”
It is his business neither to expound the systems of other
men, nor to
propound his own opinions, but to declare the Word of the
Lord. He must
speak what he receives from God; and he must speak it in
his Name and by
his authority. The Christian minister is an ambassador of
the Lord Jesus
Christ, offering his pardon, etc. (compare II Corinthians
5:20).
III. THE
UNCERTAIN RECEPTION OF PROPHETIC SERVICE.
“Thou shalt speak my words unto
them, whether: they will hear, or
whether they will forbear.” It was not granted to Ezekiel
to know how his
message would be regarded by his fellow countrymen. He
received no
assurance that they would hear and. heed it. Rather it was
suggested to him
that they might refuse to hear his testimony. Nevertheless,
he must deliver
to them the words which he received from God. He must
“Learn a
prophet’s duty:
For this
cause is he born, and for this cause,
For this
cause comes he to the world — to bear
Witness.”
And now the ministers of Jesus Christ must speak his Word
faithfully,
irrespective of the treatment which is given to that Word.
The treatment
which the gospel receives from their hearers they are not
responsible for;
but for fidelity in the proclamation of that gospel they
will be held
responsible (compare ch. 3:16-21).
IV. THE
DIVINE ENCOURAGEMENT IN PROPHETIC SERVICE.
1. Obedience to the
Divine call demands this service. “I send thee to the
children of
thou rebellious” (v. 8). The true prophet, whether Hebrew
or Christian,
is called of God. He cannot decline the service without
grievous
unfaithfulness and disobedience. He is encouraged to fulfill
it by the fact of
the Divine commission; for he who calls strengthens and
sustains his
servants.
2. Attention to the
Divine exhortations strengthens for this service. “Be
not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words,” etc.
(v. 6). This
exhortation implies that he who gives it will defend his
servant. “Be not
afraid of their faces; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord”
(Jeremiah 1:8; and see Matthew 10:26-31).
3. The assurance of
its vindication encourages in this service. “They,
whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, yet
shall know that
there hath been a prophet among them.” Because of his
covenant relation
to the children of
testimony, the tidings from him, must be heard in the midst
of
declaration of that testimony was a proof of the fidelity
of the Lord to his
covenant engagements. And the people should know the
genuineness of
that testimony. Those who truly heard it would know, by
blessed
experience of the results of obedience, that a prophet had
been among
them. And those who rejected it would know by bitter
experience, know to
their confusion, that a prophet had been among them, and
that his words
were true. So also shall the mission of every true
Christian minister be
vindicated, as we see from II Corinthians 2:14-16.
CONCLUSION:
1. Let those who
have received a mission from the Lord be encouraged to
fulfill it. (compare II Timothy 2:1.)
2. Let those to
whom the Word of the Lord is preached “take
heed how
they hear.”
The Vision of the Roll; or, A View
of the Prophetic Message
(v.
9 to ch. 3:3)
“And when I locked, behold, an hand was sent unto me,” etc.
This section
concerning the roll of prophecy must be looked upon as
being of the nature
of vision. It pertained not to the external and material,
but to the internal
and spiritual. It suggests the following observations
concerning the
prophetic message.
I. THE
PROPHETIC MESSAGE IS RECEIVED FROM THE LORD.
“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.” The volume
was unrolled
before him that he might become acquainted with the Divine
commission
given to him; “undertake his mission with a clear
consciousness of its
difficulty;” and know the Word of the Lord which he was to
proclaim. He
was not to promulgate his own thoughts, opinions, or
convictions however
true or noble they might have been); but the things which
were revealed to
him by God. “Thou shalt say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord God....And
thou shall speak my words unto them” (vs. 4, 7). And the
Christian
minister is to “preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15), to “preach
the Word”
(II Timothy 4:2), after the example of the apostles who, “when
they had
preached the Word of the Lord, returned to
gospel,” etc. (Acts 8:25). “They ceased not to teach and
preach Jesus
Christ” (ibid. ch. 5:42; and compare 1 Corinthians 1:23; II Corinthians
4:5; Ephesians 3:8; Colossians 1:27-28).
II. THE
PROPHETIC MESSAGE IS BOTH LONG AND MOURNFUL.
The roll was “written within and without: and there was
written therein
lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” This roll is intended
to represent
the book of the prophet.
1. It was long. “Written
within and without.” Such was the extent and
fulness of the revelation that the one side, which generally was
alone used
for writing on, was insufficient to contain it; both sides
were required.
2. It was mournful.
“There was written therein lamentations, and
mourning, and woe.” A correct description of many of the
prophecies of
this book. How mournful was the moral condition of the
people as set
forth by the prophet! How woeful the judgments which he
proclaimed unto
them! Very often the Word of the Lord by the prophets was
in fact a heavy
“burden” (compare Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; Nahum 1:1;
Habakkuk 1:1;
Zechariah 9:1; 12:1; Malachi 1:1). And the Word of the Lord
to the rebellious
and the hardened (such as the Israelites were) is still a
stern word — a word of
condemnation and woe. The true prophet cannot prophesy
smooth things to
stiff-necked sinners. To such characters he must proclaim “the
severity of God.”
III. THE
PROPHETIC MESSAGE MUST BE WELL DIGESTED BY
THE PROPHET. “Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat
that thou
fin, test; eat this roll,” etc. (ch.
3:1-3). The meaning of this is given
in ch. 3:10, “Son of man, all my
words that I shall speak unto thee receive
in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.” He must receive it, meditate upon
it, appropriate it, make it a part of his being. “Here we
have the right
expression,” says Umbreit on
eating the roll, “to enable us to form a
judgment and estimate of true inspiration. The Divine does
not remain as a
strange element in the man; it becomes his own feeling
thoroughly,
penetrates him entirely, just as food becomes a part of his
bodily frame.”
There is need of a similar appropriation of the Word of God
by Christian
preachers today. That Word should be in them not only by
intellectual
apprehension, but by spiritual assimilation also. It should
be not merely on
their lips, but in their hearts. This will give the accent
and power of
conviction to their words when they publish it.
IV. THE
PROPHETIC MESSAGE WAS DELIGHTFUL UNTO THE
PROPHET. “Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as
honey for
sweetness.” “Thy words were found, and I did eat them,”
etc.
(Jeremiah 15:16). It seems strange that this roll of “lamentations,
and
mourning, and woe” should be sweet to Ezekiel. It was so
probably:
1. Because it was
the Word of the Lord. (compare Psalm
19:10; 119:103.)
2. Because of the honour conferred upon him in making him the agent of
the Lord in hearing and speaking that Word. “It is infinitely sweet and
lovely to be the organ and the spokesman of the Most High”
(Hengstenberg).
3. Because even its
severest portions were righteous. There was nothing
that would clash with his sense of justice and truth. Says
Calvin, “The
sweet taste means Ezekiel’s approbation of God’s judgment
and
commands.”
4. Because behind
the severest judgments there was the grace of the Lord
God. In the roll there
were promises of mercy and restoration to the
penitent. “Athwart the cloud,” says Hengstenberg,
“the rainbow gleams.
Better to be condemned by God than comforted by the world.
For he who
smites can also heal, and will heal, if his proclamation of
judgment, and the
judgment itself, be met by penitence; while, on the other
hand, the comfort
of the world is vain.” So the roll was in the prophet’s “mouth
as honey for
sweetness.” Yet there were times when his stern message and
his arduous
mission were not sweet to him, and he “went in bitterness,
in the heat of his
spirit” (ch. 3:14; and compare Revelation
10:9-10). The work of the
Christian preacher has its sweetness and bitterness; its
high and holy joys,
and its deep and heart-rending sorrows.
V. THE
PROPHETIC MESSAGE MUST BE FAITHFULLY
DELIVERED. “Son of man, eat this roll, and go speak unto
the house of
sent, he must discharge his mission with fidelity (compare
ch.3:4-11, the
meaning of which is very similar to that of the paragraph, Ezekiel
2:3-8,
which has already engaged our attention). And it is
required of the
ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ that they be
faithful to the great trust
which is committed to them (1 Corinthians 4:1-2; Ephesians
6:21;
Colossians 1:7; 4:7; II Timothy 2:2). Blessed are they who
in the
review of their life can humbly declare, with
the glorious deposit which was entrusted to them (compare1
Timothy 1:11;
II Timothy 4:7).