#1129 Ezekiel 4 Ezekiel 4:9 Bread

 

“And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. 2 And put siege works against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. 3 And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.

4 “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment. 5 For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah. Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. 7 And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. 8 And behold, I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege.

9 “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer, and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them. During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from day to day you shall eat it. 11 And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; from day to day you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.” 13 And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” 14 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself. From my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has tainted meat come into my mouth.” 15 Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” 16 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. 17 I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and rot away because of their punishment. Ezekiel 4 ESV

Ezekiel 4 The Sign of Jerusalem's Siege

1-3. Take a brick and lay it before you - These were made of clay, and here he will use one to model the siege of Jerusalem.

“The practice of sketching a city plan on a clay brick is confirmed by several exemplars discovered by archeologists. One of these represents a 2nd-millennium plan of the city of Nippur, the predecessor of the very city in the vicinity of which the exiles were settled.” (Block)

This is a sign for the house of Israel - Ezekiel is in exile in Babylon, and back home in Jerusalem they are resisting Babylonian rule. God has decided against this city because of it's sin, yet it has not been completely torn down, nor has the temple been destroyed at this time. There are still false prophets who are declaring to the exiles that Jerusalem will not be taken and that the exile will be over in a short time. God is telling Ezekiel to build a scale model of the city on a clay tablet and the figures representing the siege. 

4-7. Then lie on your left side - Many commentators believe that this was done at a certain time every day, not all day, but that he acted this out before the people as a sign. This would be quite a spectacle, and people would begin to talk, just as in the days of Noah, who is this idiot building this massive boat where there is no body of water to float it? Remember, Isaiah was also called to make a spectacle of himself in humiliating fashion. 

Stripped

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.  Genesis 6: 11-14

…6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Hebrews 11: 6-7

…4For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight; 6if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;… 2 Peter 2: 4-6

You shall bear their punishment - There is much symbolism at play here, Christ will later come and be wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace will be upon Him. 

“He now plays the role of the priest, carrying the burden of his people’s sins on his shoulder.” (Block)

390 Days - 

Many different explanations have been given for these 390 and 40 years. Probably the best one was stated by Wiersbe: “When you add the years of the reigns of the kings of Judah from Rehoboam to Zedekiah, as recorded in 1 and 2 Kings, you have a total of 394 years. Since during three of the years of his reign Rehoboam walked with God (2 Chron. 11:16–17), we end up with a number very close to Ezekiel’s 390 years.”

ii. “Verse 4 makes it plain that the period must not represent the time of Israel’s sinning, but the period during which the nation bears its iniquity and is punished.” (Feinberg)

With your arm bared - No longer concealed, the strong arm of the Lord is fit both to deliver and to judge. They refused to repent unto His deliverance, so now He will send Babylon, yet be sure this is from God.

…11As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed. 12When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. 13So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his army with the sword.… Exodus 17: 11-13

9-17. Make your bread from them - This would lead one to believe that he was not lying on the floor all day, but for a certain time each day, for he also had to make his bread. This is the famous Ezekiel 4:9 bread, I like the one with the sesame seed coating.

20 shekels and sixth part of a hin - A hin is 5.5 quarts so less than a quart of water, and approximately 8 ounces of bread. This is good bread, but these are meager quantities for the day, and one could not be very active on this amount of calories and fluid. This is to show siege type of rations, and though he is not in Jerusalem, surely he has born their griefs and carried their sorrows. 

On human dung - This will be even more shocking to him in that era than would be to us as westerners in this time. We typically don't save our feces, but during the siege on Jerusalem this would become fuel after all the wood is used up. Sadly, after the rations were gone, their children became their food. For a practicing Jew this would be a sign of uncleanness, and during the siege they would not have the luxury of pretending at cleanness through the law and rituals, but their outside would now match their insides. 

…24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.… Matthew 23: 24-26

Ah Lord God, behold, I have never defiled myself - This was hard thing for Ezekiel, and so he petitioned the Lord and the Lord provided a substitute. Ezekiel 4:9 bread would be cooked over cows dung instead, leaving Ezekiel's record untarnished. We should all pray that we would not falter for His name's sake, that we are called Christians because we follow Him, that should give us much desire to remain unsoiled by the world.

…26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. 27Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1: 26-27

Ancients (and some in today’s world) would use dung to fuel a fire, but according to Feinberg, normally dung would not be used for a fire to bake bread. It was considered unclean whether it was animal dung or human dung. God allowed Ezekiel to lessen the offense, but not take it away.

ii. Meyer saw a lesson in God’s response to Ezekiel’s appeal. “We may be feeling that certain trials are insupportable, or certain demands beyond our power to meet. At such hours of bitter anguish it is quite permissible for us to go into the secret place of the Most High and gasp out our complaint, saying, ‘Ah, Lord God!’”

Look at one another in dismay - Their pride will turn to anxiety, and they will not have an answer for each other. They did not heed the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah or any of the other true prophets, but here God is emphasizing once again that the siege will come, Jerusalem will be destroyed and the captivity will continue. 

#1128 Ezekiel 3 Part 2 Blood Guilt

 

16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

22 And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face. 24 But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 3: 16 - 27

Ezekiel 3: 16-27 A Watchman

9Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest. 10Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber. 11Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:… Isaiah 56: 9-11

The word of the Lord came to me - These first 3 chapters are almost like the longest interview ever, but not, for they basically find Ezekiel smack dab in the midst of his orientation. God has told him the job, made him sturdy against the stubbornness that he will contend with, and for seven days he has been dumbfounded. He has seen a vision of heaven, an image of the Son of Man, a lot to take in, and now God speaks to him again.

I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel - A watchman was someone who stood in a tower or high place that afforded a good view all around, and could see things coming from a distance. He reports what he sees, an army approaching, a rider, a storm, a fire lit in the distance that signals to the viewer to prepare, more is coming. He needs to be alert and he needs to be accurate in his report, so that those hearing can make a wise decision. 

…11Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the LORD—vengeance for His temple. 12Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon; post the guard; station the watchmen; prepare the ambush. For the LORD has both devised and accomplished what He spoke against the people of Babylon. 13You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.… Jeremiah 51: 11-13

…16This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’ 17I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.’ But they answered, ‘We will not listen!’ 18Therefore hear, O nations, and learn, O congregations, what will happen to them.… Jeremiah 6: 16-18

1A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain. 2In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.… Psalm 127: 1-2

Whenever you hear a word from My mouth - The warning is not mere words, but they are words from God so they precede decisive action. If the prophet warns it is of something imminent or certain to take place if measures are not taken. 

You give him no warning - If you don't warn the wicked he will die regardless. If he is heading towards the pit and cannot see it, and you can from your vantage point, but you say nothing, well ignorance is not bliss. The cliff doesn't form because your eyes are on it, the danger in the path is not their because someone can see it. "That wicked person shall die for his iniquity", the wages of sin is death. 

…11The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. 12There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. 13Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow.… Proverbs 14: 11-13

…22And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.… Romans 3: 22-24

But his blood I will require at your hand - Now this gets debated much, how should we warn and who should we warn? Who am I responsible to tell? There are some things so blatant in Scripture, and remember ignorance is not bliss. I thought of this a lot, and I would much rather be liked in almost every sphere of influence, whether home, work or friends, but I cannot say I love them truly, by God's measure if I am unwilling to receive their displeasure. The more I read the Scriptures, the more I realized that I would not be innocent of the blood of my own children. Children are given to their parents, not the state, and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. How much of God's word had they heard from me, or from watching me, how important would they say God was to me? Did I bathe my wife in God's word? When someone ask me point blank, are you religious, are you a spiritual person, what do you believe about this matter? Am I ashamed of the gospel, or do I proclaim to them what God says? Do I hold my tongue because I really believe this is the way to unity? I want to be innocent of your blood, and I believe the Bible to be God's word and therefore above every thought or wish of man. 

…5Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them. 6Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. 7The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.… Proverbs 22: 5-7

…3“that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6: 3-4

…8And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today? 9Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren. 10The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach them to their children.”… Deuteronomy 4: 8-10

…4Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy? 5Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed. 6The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.… Proverbs 27: 4-6

…25Now I know that none of you among whom I have preached the kingdom will see my face again. 26Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.… Acts 20: 25-27

But you will have delivered your soul - All you had to do is say what God has said, warn them, and God will either change their heart or bring judgement, but you will be innocent. We can't honestly say we love God when we are unwilling to do as He ask, or that we love people if we are unwilling to tell them the truth. My unwillingness stems from pride, self worship, I want you to like me, and I just want everyone to "be happy." I don't want to be bothered or have to forgive, no matter how much I try to sell my complacency as compassion, as caring, and open minded, its really about what's convenient for me.

…9The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness. 10Discipline is harsh for him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die. 11Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD—how much more the hearts of men!… Proverbs 15: 9-11

1A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery. 2When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.… Proverbs 29: 1-2

Men tell us that our preaching should be positive and not negative, that we can preach the truth without attacking error. But if we follow that advice we shall have to close our Bible and desert its teachings. The New Testament is a polemic book almost from beginning to end. - J. Gresham Machen

The glory of the Lord stood there - This returned him to a prostrate position, and God once again has to stand him up. This awe is a gift, to see this is spectacular, for it was in times past concealed.

1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. 2Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.… Psalm 19:1-2

…19For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.… Romans 1: 19-21

…5For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.… 2 Corinthians 4: 5-7

And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth - Ezekiel wasn't always under command to speak, but when the time came God would give him the words and this happened quite often. Sometimes our silence speaks volumes, and when a person is newly saved he or she will often find themselves pulling away from old friends, not because we no longer care, but because we can no longer walk that path. Tell the truth, but remember it is the Holy Spirit Who must convict and draw men to God. We are merely messengers, so tell the message, the whole message, leave nothing out, nor add anything that would alter it.

6After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. 7And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.… Acts 16: 6-8

Let him refuse - We don't get to pick the message, nor do we pick the response, but let God work that out and may we be faithful ministers to our families, friends and enemies.

…15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”… Romans 9: 15-17

36A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; 38and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.… Matthew 10: 36-38

#1127 Ezekiel 3 Part 1 Meet The Flint Stones

 

And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

4 And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. 8 Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. 11 And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” 13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. 14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. 15 And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

A Watchman for Israel

16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

22 And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face. 24 But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 3 ESV

Ezekiel 3: 1-15 

1Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.… 1 Peter 2: 1-3

…12Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food! 13For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.… Hebrews 5: 12-14

Eat this scroll and go speak to the house of Israel - God doesn't just hand him words to repeat, but to digest, as there is no true believer who has ever grown apart from these means. A pastor should never preach to those he has not prayed for, or preach a message he has not first preached to himself. Those that downplay the word of God given to us in Scripture, they are most certainly false teachers, pointing men to themselves just as their father desired to ascend to the throne of the Most High. Do not be hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

…14“Return, O faithless children,” declares the LORD, “for I am your master, and I will take you—one from a city and two from a family—and bring you to Zion. 15Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” 16“In those days, when you multiply and increase in the land,” declares the LORD, “they will no longer discuss the ark of the covenant of the LORD. It will never come to mind, and no one will remember it or miss it, nor will another one be made.… Jeremiah 3: 14-16

And it was in my mouth as sweet as honey - He is in a line of prophets sent to warn the people, many of whom have still not repented. They missed the city of Jerusalem, didn't mind rituals, especially feasts, but they were obstinate towards God and still took no individual responsibility. So the message that Ezekiel receives from God will be a bitter one, yet since it is from God, His word, it is sweet to Ezekiel's taste. The Spirit of God has caused him to love it.

Even though the message was judgment on Israel, the scroll was sweet because it was God's word, and because it vindicated God in holiness, righteousness, glory and faithfulness, in which Jeremiah also delighted. - J Mac

…15You understand, O LORD; remember me and attend to me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In Your patience, do not take me away. Know that I endure reproach for Your honor. 16Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts. 17I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.… Jeremiah 15: 15-17

You are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a strange language - Ezekiel is being sent to his own people, Jews, of the same spiritual heritage and language. This should be easy, think of all they have in common, the law, the prophets, the feasts, the sacrifices, many a picture, many a hearing of the word read in the synagogues, but God tells him he would get a better reception from heathens where he suffered one of  the most difficult barriers of language. What? I grew up in church my whole life, and you are saying that I may be more difficult to reach? 

…10He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—… John 1: 10-12

For they are not willing to listen to Me - It's not because they hate you, Ezekiel, they hate Me, and would love to get their hands on God, but that time is not yet here. 

17This is My command to you: Love one another. 18If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. 19If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.… John 15: 17-19

Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead - Some have it as adamant stone, like grinding stones. If they were going butt him like rams then God was going to make him impervious to it. He would not be intimidated into holding it in, when God caused him to speak it would flow regardless of the hardness of their hearts, his head was even more stubborn than theirs. If God calls you to warn people then He will give you the words and the courage in them. Those who run with their own message do not understand the first part of this chapter, you must eat the message first yourself, and if you find no good in it, then you are not set like a flint.

“Make your face like adamant if their hearts are like adamant; if they are not ashamed to sin do not you be ashamed to warn them; if they are not ashamed of their unbelief, be not you ashamed of your faith in the divine testimony.” (Spurgeon)

…6I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle. 7Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame. 8The One who vindicates Me is near. Who will dare to contend with Me? Let us confront each other! Who has a case against Me? Let him approach Me!… Isaiah 50: 6-8

50“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.” 51 As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.… Luke 9: 50-52

Whether they hear of refuse to hear - You just deliver the message, if you said what God said, but they stopped their ears, that is not an invitation to change the message, to play to the crowd, no, say what God said, study to find the Author's intent, don't succumb to the culture.

I went in bitterness - similar to John's experience. We love Holy Scripture because it is God's word, the call to repent is the call of the gospel, but it is with great heaviness when we consider that so few will heed the message, or many will make up a new message that they prefer, but does not save.

…9And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” 10So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter. 11And they told me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”… Revelation 10: 9-11

And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days - 7 is the number of perfection, completeness, also the time of mourning. It is a lot for him to process.

“Perhaps it is not without significance that seven days was the period for the consecration of a priest (Lev. 8:33) and Ezekiel may have regarded this as the preparation for his ordination to a prophetic priesthood.” (Taylor)

#1126 Ezekiel 2 Son of Man

 

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. Ezekiel 2 ESV

Ezekiel 2 Ezekiel's Call

“The phrase son of man is a Hebraism which emphasizes Ezekiel’s insignificance or mere humanity. ‘Son of’ indicates ‘partaking of the nature of’ and so when combined with adam, ‘man’, it means nothing more than ‘human being’.” (Taylor)

ii. Son of Man was also a phrase Jesus used to refer to Himself, recorded some 80 times in the Gospels. Yet Jesus’ use of the phrase is more connected with the idea from Daniel 7:13, where Son of Man describes the divine Messiah. - E Word

Son of Man - Ezekiel is being addressed as a son of Adam, and on behalf of mankind, everyone who hears the message he is going to receive. He is in a sense a representative, selected from all by God to be an ambassador to His people. God the Father will later prepare a body for God the Son to mediate a new covenant with man, and Christ will refer to Himself in these same terms, Son of Man. There are heresies that deny the deity of Christ, but also those that deny his human nature as well. The prophets all foreshadow Christ, and their ministries are a great representation because the world will hate Christ just as it hates them. 

…2The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. 3All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. 4Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.… Psalm 14: 2-4

Stand on your feet - Remember we left Ezekiel prostrate in the last chapter.

The Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet - When God calls a man he also enables him. Think about this carefully, remember Isaiah's encounter with God in Isaiah 6, when he encounters God's holiness? He doesn't say, "Oh cool, check this out," no, he says, "woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips", in other words, You are different than me, and in a scary way, You are holy and I am not. God has an angel stick a burning coal on Isaiah's lips to purify them, to set them apart for His service. Ezekiel might as well be a dead man, like Lazarus, unable to stand before this vision of God's glory, but the Spirit makes him alive to this task. The Spirit of God overcomes this paralysis, as Christ overcomes this chasm, this void between God and man. Here is Jacob's ladder. It's too much by himself, he can't survive this vision on his own. If you enjoy the books and movies people write and make about their experiences walking with God in heaven, I feel sorry for you, you are easily misled. These false teachers that boast about rooms with Rolls Royce, spare body parts, money that Jesus walks around and points out to them, just waiting to be claimed in heaven, they have never seen God nor a vision of God; they don't know the God of the Bible.

…4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.” 6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.… Isaiah 6: 4-6

Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel - He is going to be God's messenger to His rebellious people, and for this he will also need the Spirit of the Lord. This is the call of a preacher, but most prefer to preach to the choir, to hear the amen, no one wants to go to the rebels with the message they don't want to hear. It's not a call to be lifted up on everyone's shoulders, but rather cursed as everyone who hangs on a tree.

“The people are further described as impudent and stubborn (4, RSV; lit. ‘hard of face and firm of heart’). The first phrase suggests the shameless attitude of the man who will not lower his gaze but prefers to brazen it out; the second describes the stubborn, unyielding will that refuses point-blank to give way even when found guilty.” (Taylor)

You shall say to them - He doesn't need Ezekiel, but here is the opportunity, the honor, and the message will be from God, just repeat what He says. God doesn't need our style, our looks, clothes, title, those are the things He has allowed for us to have, but He does not need us. He doesn't need my humor, for me to be liked, those are things I would like to be remembered for, but it is the Holy Spirit that regenerates men, convicts the heart, God, Who gives the gift of faith that comes by hearing, so you, dear Ezekiel, just give them God's word. If they don't repent so be it. You are not authorized to change the message.

…16But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. 18But I ask, did they not hear? Indeed they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”… Romans 10: 16-18

1O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? 3Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh?… Galatians 3: 1-3

They will know that a prophet has been among them - Imagine the face on the Pharisees after the temple was torn down, just like Jesus said, though He spoke of His own body as well, yet not one stone was left upon another. 

“This vindication will obviously not come through masses of repentant converts, and probably not through the commendation of other prophets. All that remains is the traditional sign of a true prophet—the fulfillment of his predictions.” (Block)

ii. “By this they shall be assured of two things: 1. That God in his mercy had given them due warning. 2. That themselves were inexcusable, for not taking it.” (Clarke)

Though briars and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions - This is the yield of his work, not a beautiful, fruitful garden, but men and women that prick, that do not give way, but make the path painful. This is the reward for speaking on behalf of Yahweh. You will not be well received, and they will search for things to hurt you back, words that sting like a scorpion, insult and injury. This is your call.

Open your mouth and eat what I give you - This is similar to Jeremiah's call, and regardless of what these people do, Ezekiel is being set apart to give God's word. He is bringing them the lament, the message of sorrow and woe, for they should mourn over their sin that got them here, yes, God has brought you to this place, but it is for your sins. This also reminds me of a verse from Jeremiah that my wife split and had each half inscribed on my daughters' study Bibles. Your words were found and I ate them.

…15You understand, O LORD; remember me and attend to me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In Your patience, do not take me away. Know that I endure reproach for Your honor. 16Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts. 17I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.… Jeremiah 15: 15-17