Ezekiel 2:1 - Meaning and Application

The title God gives Ezekiel here is very striking, and he uses it often later as well. When God speaks to him, he calls him “son of man” (Ezekiel 2:1, 2:3). That means “son of Adam” or “son of the earth,” a reminder that Ezekiel is a weak, mortal human being.

We can understand this title in two ways. First, it is a humbling title. Ezekiel must not grow proud because of the many visions God showed him. He needed to remember that he was still only a man, and that it was pure mercy for God to reveal himself to him at all.

Even while Ezekiel stood among the holy living creatures, he was still human and dying. God had angels around his throne, ready to serve him, yet he chose Ezekiel, a son of man, to carry his message to Israel. God often uses “earthen vessels,” plain human beings, to hold his treasure, so that the power clearly comes from him. Ezekiel was a priest, but his priestly office had fallen low, and so he too must stay low, like an ordinary man.

At the same time, “son of man” can also be an honorable title. In the Old Testament, it is used for the Messiah, the promised Christ, in Daniel 7:13, where one like a son of man comes with the clouds of heaven. Since the prophets pointed ahead to Christ, Ezekiel may be given this title because of the dignity of his office. In that sense, as David the king is called the Lord’s anointed, Ezekiel the prophet is called son of man.

Ezekiel is first made to stand so he can receive his commission. God says, “Son of man, stand up on your feet” (Ezekiel 2:1). Lying face down showed deep reverence, but standing showed readiness for service. Our worship of God should never keep us from obeying him.

God’s command was joined with God’s power. The Spirit entered Ezekiel and set him on his feet (Ezekiel 2:2). This shows that God gives us the strength to do what he asks of us. We must stir ourselves to duty, and then God gives the help needed to carry it out.

The Spirit also did more than lift Ezekiel physically. He made him willing and ready to listen. Ezekiel had already heard the voice in chapter 1, but now he heard it more clearly and submitted to it. The Spirit works in us by turning our will toward obedience, and then our minds are ready to receive God’s truth. Similar help was given to Daniel and John, who were strengthened by God’s touch (Daniel 10:18; Revelation 1:17).

Then Ezekiel is sent with a message to the children of Israel (Ezekiel 2:3). God had long been sending prophets to them, rising early and sending them, but they had not listened. Now they had been taken into captivity because they abused God’s messengers, yet even there God sends another prophet to them. He does this to see whether affliction will open ears that warning could not.

The people he is sent to are rebellious. God tells Ezekiel that he is being sent to a rebellious nation, a rebellious house (Ezekiel 2:3, 2:5). They still bore the name of Israel, the name of their faithful ancestors, but their behavior was far from it. They had become like the nations around them, even like the Gentiles they were supposed to be different from. Their idolatry and false worship showed their rebellion most clearly, because they were serving another ruler instead of their rightful Lord.

They had been rebellious for a long time. God says, “They and their fathers have sinned against me.” Long-standing tradition is no proof of truth, because error can last for generations. In fact, following a sinful path because our fathers walked it only makes the sin worse. They had gone on in rebellion even to that very day. Even under God’s discipline, many of them kept sinning, and some, like Ahaz, sinned more in their distress. They had not changed, even though many things had happened to them.

They are arrogant children, bold-faced, and cannot blush. They are stubborn, set in their own way, and cannot bend or bow. They are not ashamed to sin, and they are not afraid to do it. Honor and duty will not move them. We can hope this was not true of everyone, but only of many, and perhaps of the leading men.

Notice two things here. First, God knew this about them, how hard-headed and stubborn they were. God knows every person’s true character perfectly, no matter what claims they make or how religious they seem. Second, he told the prophet this so he would know how to deal with them and what approach to take. He had to rebuke such men sharply and plainly, even if they called it rough treatment. God warned him in advance so he would not be surprised or discouraged when his preaching did not affect them as he expected.

2. The authority of the prince, by whom this ambassador is sent. First, he has authority to command the one he sends: “I am sending you to them, and therefore you shall say this and that to them” (Ezekiel 2:4). Christ has the right to send prophets and ministers and to assign their work. Paul thanked Christ Jesus, who gave him a place in the ministry (1 Timothy 1:12). As Christ was sent by the Father, so ministers are sent by him. And as he received the Spirit without limit, he gives the Spirit in measure, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

They are arrogant and rebellious, and yet I send you to them. Christ gives the means of grace to many people whom he knows will not use those means well. He puts many opportunities for wisdom into the hands of fools. They not only have no desire for it, but their hearts are turned against it. In this way, he shows the greatness of his grace, proves his judgment to be fair, leaves them without excuse, and makes their condemnation heavier.

Second, he has authority by which he commands those to whom he sends him: “You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord God.” Everything he said to them had to be spoken in God’s name, backed by his authority, and delivered as a message from him. Christ taught his doctrines with the authority of a Son: “Truly, truly, I say to you.” The prophets spoke as servants: “Thus says the Lord God,” our Master and yours. The writings of the prophets are the word of God, and we should all treat them that way.

Third, he has authority to call to account those to whom he sends his messengers. Whether they listen or refuse to listen, whether they pay attention or turn away, they will know that a prophet has been among them, and they will know it by experience. If they hear and obey, they will learn with comfort that the word that did them good came through one who had a commission from God, and that God’s power went with him in his work. Those converted through Paul’s preaching are called the proof of his apostleship (1 Corinthians 9:2). When people’s hearts burn under the word and their wills yield to it, they know within themselves that it is not the word of men, but the word of God.

If they refuse and turn a deaf ear to the word, as is feared here because they are a rebellious people, they will still be made to know that the one they dismissed was truly a prophet. They will know it through the accusations of their own consciences and through God’s just judgments for refusing him. They will know it at their own cost, to their shame, by painful experience, how dangerous it is to despise God’s messengers. They will know it when the threatened judgments come to pass, proving that the prophet who spoke them was sent by God. In that way, the word will seize hold of them (Zechariah 1:6).

So, first, those to whom God’s word is sent are being tested, whether they will listen or refuse. Their final judgment will match their response. Second, whether we are helped by the word or not, God will be glorified, and his word will be honored. Whether it becomes a saving word or a condemning word, it will still prove itself to have come from God.