Ezekiel 12:1-2

Ezekiel's Depiction of the Coming Great Escape That Will Fail.

‘The word of Yahweh also came to me saying, “Son of man, you dwell among the rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and do not see, who have ears to hear, but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.” '

Again ‘the word of Yahweh came to' Ezekiel, the indication of a new prophecy, and a reminder that he could only speak when he had a word from Yahweh. Otherwise he must remain dumb (Ezekiel 3:26). And He spoke of the difficulties that Ezekiel was facing, the difficulties of ministering to a people who would not hear.

That is always the most difficult and heartless of tasks. And Yahweh offered little hope. They were, he said, a rebellious group of people, who did not want to hear the truth. While they would not listen to His word, they wanted comfort and assurance that they would soon return to their homeland. They could not believe that Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed. They could not believe that God would allow it. They could not bring themselves to accept that it was what they deserved.

Yahweh's words may have reference to their treatment of Ezekiel's description of his visions, or to their treatment of his overall message that God has deserted Jerusalem so that its fate was sealed, or indeed to both. They just would not and could not accept it.

‘Eyes to see' may have specific reference to the acted out prophecies that Ezekiel has already performed. They had seen him bound up and lying on his side, eating starvation rations, they had watched him grow thinner and thinner and develop the inevitable painful sores, they had seen him depict the fall of Jerusalem, but they had refused to see in that the certainty of the downfall of Jerusalem, and of Israel and Judah. And they had heard what he had to tell them, both in his visions and through the word that Yahweh had spoken to him. But they were sceptical and unbelieving. They did not accept what he said. And why? Because, said God, their hearts were rebellious. That is why they would not believe that what he said was possible. Because it did not fit in with their idea of Yahweh, and they did not want to know what God had to say about it (compare Ezekiel 2:4; Isaiah 6:9; Jeremiah 5:21).

How easily we can fall into such a state. We can be so convinced that we are right that we do not subject our ideas fully to Scriptural examination.

So it would now be necessary for Ezekiel again to act out vividly and graphically what was about to happen.