Ezekiel 2--Ezekiel's Call

Ezekiel 2
English Standard Version

Ezekiel's Call
2 And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

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It is only after the vision of the LORD's holiness that the LORD calls Ezekiel to stand up so that His message could be delivered to him.  Note that Ezekiel says that as the LORD was speaking to Him, the Spirit entered him and caused him to stand us (he did not have the strength to obey the LORD's commandment on his own).  It is also only by the work of the Spirit that Ezekiel was able to go and proclaim the message he was going to be given--to proclaim to the people of Israel and all that Gentile nations that they all alike are sinners who stand condemned before a just a holy God.  The Day of the LORD will be a day of judgment that is coming for all people of all nations, Jews and Gentiles alike, for there are none who will be ignorant on that day who are not willfully ignorant.  They have chosen that they do not want to know God or His Law, for they do not want to obey His commandments.  

The Jews and the Gentiles alike will hate him, and want to kill him for the message that he brings, but the LROD will keep him safe.  Ezekiel is to speak the LORD's words to them whether they choose to hear them or reject them.  It is only his duty to faithfully speak the words that he has been given.  The rebellious will bring judgment upon themselves in this manner, for they will be without excuse on the day of judgment, for the LORD sent prophets to them, and most of the time, they rejected their words.

Alongside that is a command from the LORD for Ezekiel to not be rebellious in another way.  He is not to desire another message to speak, though this message may be a bitter one.  He is say exactly what the LORD tells him to, leaving nothing out, and adding nothing to it.  When Ezekiel was shown the scroll of the message that was written front and back (they did not waste paper in that day, so this was a long book), it was a message of lament, sorrow, and mourning.  It was not a happy message--it was much like the message of Jeremiah that he too was told would be rejected by the people that wanted to hear something that would tickle their ears.  God's message is one the people need to hear, though it is often not what they want to hear.