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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
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 Dan_8:17. As used elsewhere, e.g. in Num_23:19; Psa_8:4; Job_25:6; Isa_51:12; Isa_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 Gen_2:7; Gen_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 Dan_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 (Mat_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 Eze_3:24; Eze_43:3, Eze_43:5; Dan_8:18).
Eze_2:2
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 Eze_1:20, Eze_1:21 (comp. Eze_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 (comp. Num_24:2; Jdg_11:29; 1Sa_10:6, 1Sa_10:10; Isa_11:2, etc.)
Eze_2:3
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 Eze_28:22. Judah and Israel may be thought of as having fallen to the level of the heathen. Part of Ezekiel's work was actually addressed to the heathen as such (ch. 25-32.). The word may, however, be used in the plural to include both Judah and the remnant of the northern kingdom. They and their fathers. The words anticipate the teaching of Eze_18:1-32. 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 (Num_14:9; Jos_22:18).
Eze_2:4
Impudent children and stiff-hearted; literally, hard of face (i.e. callous to their shame) and stiff of heart. The LXX. gives aptly, σκληροπρόσωποι και σκληροκάρδιοι (compare the "past feeling" of Eph_4:19). Thus saith the Lord God. In the Hebrew, Adonai Jehovah; which the LXX. represents by Κύριος Κύριος , and Luther by "der Herr Herr." The two highest names of the God of Israel were 'used to denote the fulness of the prophet's inspiration. The same formula occurs in Eze_3:11, Eze_3:27 : Eze_13:8; Eze_22:28, and passim. So also in 2Sa_7:18, 2Sa_7:19, 2Sa_7:20, 2Sa_7:29; and elsewhere.
Eze_2:5
Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, etc. The latter word is used in the sense of "cease" or "desist," as in 1Co_9:6 and Eph_6:9. The same formula meets us in Eph_6:7; Eze_3:11, Eze_3:27. 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 2Co_2:15, 2Co_2:16. 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 fulfilment 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 (comp. Eze_33:33; Jer_28:9). We note that it is the first time that Ezekiel claims that name for himself.
Eze_2:6
Though briers and thorns be with thee. The two Hebrew nouns are not found elsewhere, and have consequently puzzled translators. The LXX. gives two verbs, παροιστρήσπυσιν καὶ ἐπισυστήσονται ἐπὶ σὲ ; 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 Eze_28:24, and there the LXX. gives σκόλοψ , and the Vulgate, spina. A like figurative use of "scorpions" is found in 1Ki_12:11 and Ecclesiasticus 26:7 (compare also our Lord's words in Luk_10:19). Be not afraid Compare the like command in Jer_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.
Eze_2:7
Thou shalt speak my words, etc. The words conveyed
(1) a ground of encouragement in the fact that the words would be given by Jehovah (romp. Jer_1:7, Jer_1:17; Mat_10:19, Mat_10:20); and
(2) a warning against the intermingling of lower thoughts and a self-originated message (Eze_13:7; Eze_22:28). They are most rebellious; literally, the Hebrew being a noun, they are rebellion, or stubbornness, itself.
Eze_2:8
Be not thou rebellious, etc. The words convey a warning against the prophet's natural weakness. Instinctively he shrank, as Moses had done (Exo_3:11; Exo_4:10-13) and Isaiah (Isa_6:5) and Jeremiah (Jer_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 Rev_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" (Deu_6:3), but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of Jehovah.
Eze_2:9
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 (Eze_1:26), nor of one of the four living creatures (Eze_1:8), but one appearing mysteriously by itself, as in the history of Belshazzar's feast (Dan_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 Psa_40:7; Jer_36:2; Zec_5:1; like those which are still used in Jewish synagogues.
Eze_2:10
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 (Exo_32:15), was written, as a symbol of the fulness 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 Jerusalem. Ezekiel's work was to be of a like nature. The word meets us again (Eze_19:1, Eze_19:14; Eze_26:17; Eze_27:2, Eze_27:32; Eze_28:12; Eze_32:2, Eze_32:16) as the keynote of his writings. Out of such a book, though the glad tidings were to come afterwards, his own prophetic work was to be evolved.
I. GOD SPEAKING. God speaks to Ezekiel:
1. 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.
2. 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.
II. MAN LISTENING. Speech is useless without a hearer. For ages the "silent proclamation" of nature has been spread before the gaze of heedless witnesses. 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. The manner of the delivery of the Divine message to Ezekiel suggests the way in which it should be received.
1. 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 kilt human nature, nor destroy the kinship between the enlightened and the ignorant.
(1) Here all pride is rebuked. The prophet must not suppose that he is anything more than a man.
(2) Human interests are to be considered. The message is given to one man for the sake of his fellows.
2. 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" (Heb_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.
Eze_2:2
I. THE SPIRIT OF GOD ENTERS MAN. We can never fathom the 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. 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
(1) by an exercise of energy, or
(2) 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.
II. THE DIVINE SPIRIT ENTERS THROUGH THE DIVINE WORD. 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.
III. THE ENTRANCE OF THE SPIRIT IS A SOURCE OF 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. 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, 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.
Eze_2:3, Eze_2:4
I. TRANSGRESSORS RIPEN INTO REBELS. They and their fathers 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.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
II. GOD DOES NOT NEGLECT HIS REBEL CHILDREN.
1. 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.
2. 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 despatched 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.
Eze_2:6
1. A great mission may bring a great distress. The common people are spared; the prophet is tormented. Ezekiel has his scorpion-neighbours; St. Paul, exalted to the third heaven, receives his thorn in the flesh; Christ, the Holy One, is crowned with thorns, pierced with nails, and more terribly wounded with cruel hatred.
2. A man's worst enemies may be those of his own household. The scorpions are not pagan Babylonians, but Jews. No rancour 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
II. THE DUTY. Though scorpions infest the sphere of his labours, still the 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 neighbourhood. No, such escape is permitted to the prophet of God.
1. 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 Brighton, whose sensitive spirit was assailed by a scorpion press during his lifetime, is now recognized as a prince of Divine teachers; while the very names of his enemies—happily for them—are forgotten.
2. 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.
Eze_2:7
I. IT IS THE DUTY OF THE PREACHER TO DELIVER A MESSAGE TO ALL KINDS OF HEARERS. He cannot select his favourite audience. He has no right to wait till men ask lop 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.
II. THE DUTY TO PREACH TO UNWILLING HEARERS RESTS ON DIVINE OBLIGATIONS AND ON HUMAN NEEDS.
1. 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 sir. 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.
2. 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.
III. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PREACHER IS LIMITED TO 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 labour 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. 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. 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.
Eze_2:8
I. A SEVERE TRIAL. It is difficult to be faithful among the faithless. 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. 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 verse 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.
II. A LOFTY DUTY.
1. 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 honoured 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 Africa or in search for the north pole. Some, too, are as eager in God's service. These are God's heroes.
2. 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.
III. A SPLENDID EXAMPLE. One faithful man among a host of traitors 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. Joseph in immoral Egypt, Daniel in unprincipled Babylon, Paul at wicked Rome, Luther at Worms, Latimer at Oxford,—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.
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.—T.
Eze_2:3
I. REBELLION IMPLIES ON THE PART OF THOSE WHO ARE 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 wilful though misguided men.
II. REBELLION IMPLIES A JUST AUTHORITY AGAINST WHICH, CONTRARY TO EIGHT, 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?"
III. REBELLION AGAINST GOD INVOLVES GREAT GUILT AND 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 Israel has it been shown that they who resist Divine authority 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," and "the wages of sin is death."
IV. MAN'S GUILTY REBELLION PROMPTED INFINITE MERCY 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.
V. 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 honour, and the just sentence of death for the merciful assurance of Divine favour and eternal life.—T.
Eze_2:4, Eze_2:5
I. 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 fulfilment of his trust by the recollection that he received his authority from a court honoured 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!
II. 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."
III. 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 Rome was that "some believed the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved."
IV. 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. 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.
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 favour 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.—T.
Eze_2:8
I. IN ORDER THAT THE TEACHER MAY IMPART TO HIS 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.—T.
Eze_2:9
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.—T.
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 splendour. 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."—D.
Eze_2:2-5
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 Israel, to a rebellious nation." The possession of outward advantages, or of special Divine favours, does not ensure gratitude or obedience on the part of men. In Eden, man transgressed. In Canaan, the glory of all lands, the Hebrews rebelled. Righteousness is not 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 Israel, in Ezekiel's time, 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.—D.
Eze_2:6-8