Ezekiel 2:1-10

Ezekiel: ‘They shall know that I am God’

The *Sin of Judah and the Judgement of God

Ezekiel Chapter s 1 to 24

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 2

The *Lord sends Ezekiel to the *Israelites – Ezekiel 2:1-7

v1 He said to me, ‘*Son of man, stand up on your feet. And I will speak with you.’ v2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit came into me. He lifted me up on my feet. And I heard the *Lord as he spoke to me.

v3 He said, ‘*Son of man, I am sending you to the *Israelites. As a nation, they have *turned against me. They and their fathers have done wrong things against me. Even now, they are still against me. v4 I am sending you to people who oppose me. They refuse to obey me. Say to them, “The *LORD your King says this to you.” v5 They may listen, or they may not listen. They are people who have *turned against me. But they will know that a *prophet has been among them. v6 And you, *son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. They may surround you like *thorn bushes. And you may feel as if you live with *scorpions. But do not be afraid of what they say. Do not let the anger on their faces frighten you. They are a people who have *turned against me. v7 But speak my words to them. They may listen. But they may not listen because they *turn against me.’

Verses 1-2 Ezekiel was face down on the ground. The *vision that he saw was too wonderful for him. It filled him with terror and fear. No human person could continue to stand when the *glory of God was shining all round.

The voice told him to get up on his feet. But he did not have the strength to do so. The Spirit of God came into him. The Spirit took hold of him and lifted him up. He stood in front of the *vision of God’s *glory. Then he was ready to hear what the voice would say to him.

The voice was the voice of him who sat on the *throne. That is, the *Lord God spoke to Ezekiel. God called him ‘*son of man’ and this title appears 90 times in this book. This title would remind Ezekiel that he was a mere man. He would be so aware of his weakness as the *Lord God spoke to him. He would have to depend on the Spirit to make him strong. Only then could he do what God told him to do.

Verses 3-4 God said to Ezekiel, ‘I am sending you.’ Ezekiel is to be God’s agent to the people. God gives him his authority for the task. He must go to his own people. He must tell them what God says.

The *Israelite nation had not been loyal to God. Through their history, this nation had neglected to obey God. God had sent his servants to warn the people about their behaviour. But most people had opposed God’s message. And those who were alive were no better. They still refused to obey God. Worse than this, they had *turned to other gods. The *Israelites had become enemies of their God.

God sent Ezekiel to speak his messages to them.

Verse 5 Ezekiel had to go and speak to the people on behalf of God. It did not matter whether they listened or not. He still had to speak the words of God to them. This would be hard since the people had *turned away from God. But Ezekiel was to speak to them with God’s authority.

‘They may listen, or they may not listen.’ But it will be clear to them that Ezekiel speaks the words of God. They will have no excuse. They will know that Ezekiel is a *prophet. And they will know that God sent him.

Verses 6-7 When Ezekiel speaks, some of the people will be angry. They may reply with cruel words. They may be fierce and do awful things. But Ezekiel must not be afraid of them.

*Thorns cut into the skin. *Scorpions sting and their sting contains poison. The cuts and stings are pictures in words of things that hurt. Even if he suffers pain, Ezekiel must not be afraid. He must not be afraid, whatever the people may do. This is a command of God to Ezekiel.

The people may oppose him. They may refuse to listen. They may attack him. But Ezekiel must obey God and speak his words to them.

A *scroll with the message on it – Ezekiel 2:8-10

v8 ‘But you, *son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not *turn against me as those people do. Open your mouth! Eat what I am giving to you!’

v9 Then I looked. I saw a hand that reached out toward me. And in the hand was a *scroll. v10 The hand opened the *scroll. It had words on the front and on the back. It contained funeral songs, sad words and words about troubles.

Verse 8 Ezekiel had to hear what God said to him. He had to understand the message that God gave to him. God told Ezekiel to eat what he gave to him. This action had a special meaning. When we eat, the food becomes part of us. God’s words were to become part of Ezekiel’s life.

Verse 9 The *Lord gave Ezekiel the *scroll, which he had to eat. He saw the hand come towards him. We do not know whether this was the hand of God or the hand of a *cherub. But the hand held out the *scroll to Ezekiel.

Verse 10 In those days, people wrote books on skins of animals. They rolled up the book and it was a *scroll. Usually they would only write on one side of the skins. But here there were words on both sides of the *scroll.

The hand spread out the *scroll. Ezekiel could see what was in it. He may not have read the *scroll. But he saw that in it there were funeral songs, sad words and words about troubles. The first 32 Chapter s of this book are full of these. But the later Chapter s show a brighter (happier) future for the *Israelites.

sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.

'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
prophet ~ person who speaks for God. He can sometimes say what will happen in the future. However, false prophets are people who merely pretend to speak God’s words.'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
scorpion ~ a large insect that stings with its tail.
vision ~ something that God shows to a person but not with the physical sight. Visions are often in the form of dreams.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
throne ~ the special chair for the king.
scorpion ~ a large insect that stings with its tail.
scroll ~ a book in the form of a long piece of material which one rolls up.
cherub ~ a special angel who was in the most holy place in the temple.
angel ~ God’s special servants in heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.