And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will
speak unto thee. And the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto
me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of
Israel, to rebellious nations which have rebelled against me: they
and their fathers have transgressed against me, unto this very day.
For they are impudent and hard hearted. I do send thee unto them;
and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith The Lord Jehovah. And they,
whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear (for they are a
rebellious house), yet shall know that there hath been a prophet
among them.
And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of
their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost
dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be
dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou
shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear or whether
they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. 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 (chapter
ii:1-8).
The great vision left Ezekiel prostrate upon his face. He was affected
by it in the same way as Daniel and others were. Then the voice spoke.
It was not one of the Cherubim whose voice the Prophet heard. The
Cherubim speak in the book of Revelation; in Ezekiel they are silent. It
was Jehovah Himself, who in the vision appeared in the likeness of a
man, and addressed Ezekiel. Jehovah addressed him as "Son of Man." This
title is found exactly one hundred times in the book. Only Daniel,
besides Ezekiel, is called by that name in the Old Testament (Dan.
viii:17). Our Lord called Himself by that title. Eighty-six times we
find Him using this title of Himself, as the rejected One. In Suffering,
in Exaltation, in Glory and in His Second Coming He is the the Son of
Man. Ezekiel passed through much suffering. As we shall find in our
exposition he had to bear in his person symbolically what was to come
upon the nation. Suffering and shame was connected with it which he
endured and despised. He must have, therefore, been called by the title
"Son of Man," because he is a type of the rejected Messiah, who took
Israel's sin and shame upon Himself.
The voice commanded that the Prophet was to stand upon his feet, and He,
who spoke the word supplied the power to do it. "And the Spirit entered
into me _when He spoke unto me_." Thus the Spirit and the Word are
intimately connected. After the Spirit had entered into him the Prophet
distinguished the words which Jehovah spoke, "and I heard Him that spake
unto me." Hearing and knowing the Word is made possible by the Spirit.
Then Ezekiel received his commission. A comparison with Isaiah's and
Jeremiah's commission shows them to be like Ezekiel's. Isaiah had a
great vision. He too saw the Lord of Glory and the Seraphim, which
differ from the Cherubim, crying their three-fold "Holy." Then follows
the effect upon him, and the commission. "And He said, Go, and tell this
people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed and
perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears
heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and
understand with their heart, and be converted and healed" (Isaiah
vi:1-11). He was chosen to pronounce hardening judgments upon the
nation. Jeremiah had no vision at all; but he also was chosen to declare
unto God's people their wicked ways and the impending judgments
(Jeremiah i). And so Ezekiel. He is sent by Jehovah to the children of
Israel, to a rebellious nation. The word used here in Hebrew for nation
is the same, which has been translated "heathen." It is "gojim";
indicating that the children of Israel had sunken as low as the heathen,
who surrounded them. It is noteworthy that the word "rebellious" and
"rebelled" is found seven times. This had become the leading
characteristic of the favored people. They had turned away from Jehovah
and His Word, and now the time had come when, ripe for judgment, God was
to deal with them. May we think here of that solemn warning given to
Christendom in Romans xi:21: "For if God spared not the natural
branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee." God dealt with Israel
on account of their unbelief and rebellious spirit. And now Gentile
Christians are plunging into the same unbelief and apostasy; nominal
Christendom is rebellious. A greater judgment is therefore coming upon
Christendom than that which came upon the rebellious people.
To this impudent and hard-hearted people Ezekiel was sent. The very
first thing he was to say to them was that great statement which appears
hundreds of times in the Old Testament scriptures, "Thus saith Jehovah
God." The sender is Jehovah-God; the commission and the message are from
Him. In the days of the darkest apostasy with judgment about to come,
the Lord told the prophet to face these conditions and to stand in the
midst of the rebellious nation with a positive "Thus saith Jehovah God."
He was His mouthpiece. Such positiveness is demanded to-day. Oh! for men
who, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, speak to-day the Word, "Thus saith
Jehovah God."
And Jehovah who calls and sends forth His servant gives also assurance
and encouragement. He told Ezekiel not to be afraid of them or of their
words. Even so the Lord had encouraged Jeremiah (chapter i:7-8). Every
servant of the Lord can rest in this assurance that if he is faithful
and obedient the Lord will strengthen and keep him. "Speak my words unto
them;" not his own words, but Jehovah's words. Thus he heard the same
command, which is given to the Lord's servants in the days when sound
doctrine is no longer endured: "Preach the Word" (2 Tim. iv:1-3).