Ezekiel 2:1-11
1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
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.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nationa that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
4 For they are impudentb children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
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.
6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briersc 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.
7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.
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.
9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
a Hard Commission
Ezekiel 2:1-10; Ezekiel 3:1-11
The people were impudent and stiff-hearted; their words as briars and thorns; their speech like the poison of scorpions; but the prophet was commissioned to go on with his divine mission, undeterred by their opposition. Under such circumstances we must be sure of a Thus saith the Lord. But no man can stand against the continual opposition of his fellows, unless his strength is renewed, as Ezekiel's was, by eating that which God gives.
Open thy mouth, and eat that which I give thee, Ezekiel 2:8. Let us specially consider the divine denunciations of sin, that our words may be sharper than any two-edged sword. Nothing makes us so strong as feeding perpetually upon the roll of the Book, and especially on the Word within the words. We must eat the flesh and drink in the life of the Son of man, if we can deal aright with the needs of the sons of men.