Ezekiel 2:7 Ulasan

What our Lord Jesus said to St. Paul (Act 26:16) may fitly be applied to the prophet Ezekiel, to whom the same Jesus is here speaking, "Rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister." We have here Ezekiel's ordination to his office, which the vision was designed to fit him for, not to entertain his curiosity with uncommon speculations, but to put him into business. Now here, I. He is commissioned to go as a prophet to the house of Israel, now captives in Babylon, and to deliver God's messages to them from time to time (Eze 2:1-5). II. He is cautioned not to be afraid of them (Eze 2:6). III. He is instructed what to say to them, and has words put into his mouth, signified by the vision of a roll, which he was ordered to eat (Eze 2:7-10), and which, in the next chapter, we find he did eat.

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 2 This chapter contains me prophet's call, commission, and instruction to prophesy. The preparation to it is in Eze 2:1; being fallen upon his face, he is bid to stand upon his feet, with a promise to speak to him; and the Spirit entering into him, he is set by him on his feet, and he hears what is spoken to him; then follows his mission to the children of Israel, who are described as rebellious, impudent, and stiff-hearted; and to whom he is sent, to render them inexcusable, Eze 2:3; and he is exhorted not to be afraid of their words, nor dismayed at their looks, however fierce and furious they might be; but faithfully declare his message, and not be discouraged, should it be without success, Eze 2:6; and he is instructed not to be rebellious, as they were; but open his mouth and eat what should be given him, Eze 2:8; when, in a visionary way, a hand was seen, and a roll in it, and this spread before him, written within and without, full of lamentation, mourning, and woes, as a symbol of the substance of his prophecy, Eze 2:9.

And thou shall speak my words unto them,.... Not his own words, but those the Lord should put into his mouth. The Targum is, "and thou shall prophesy the words of my prophecy unto them:'' whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; See Gill on Eze 2:5; for they are most rebellious; or "rebellion" (c) itself; as the carnal mind is said to be "enmity" itself against God, Rom 8:7; which aggravates their character and state. (c) "rebellio ipsi", Montanus, Polanus, Starckius; "inobedientia sunt", Cocceius.

(Vers. 7, 8.) And you shall speak my words to them: if perhaps they will hear, and be afraid, or be quiet, since they are provokers. But you, son of man, hear what I speak to you. Therefore, you must not cease, although they are wicked to whom we speak; indeed, according to the Apostle (II Tim. IV), we must preach the word of God opportune and importune, because it is possible that even a stubborn person may be corrected to gentleness, and someone who is obedient, with a change of will, may not hear. Do not be exasperating, as the house is exasperating. Once we said to put exasperation, or irritation, seventy bitterness. Therefore, what he says is this: You should not imitate those whom you are sent to correct, lest you deserve a similar sin and punishment. Open your mouth and eat what I give you. Be worthy, he says, to my words, and receive spiritual food, so that as it is said in the Gospel: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8); and here it is said: He who has an open mouth to eat, let him eat. Hence the Lord speaks to the Psalmist: Open your mouth, and I will fill it (Psalm 81:10). And he responded: I opened my mouth and drew in the spirit (Psalm 119:131). And the Apostle Paul, who had in himself the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and in whom the Lord Christ spoke, writes to the Corinthians: My mouth is open to you, O Corinthians (2 Cor. VI, 11). And Matthew reports about the Savior: Opening his mouth, he taught the disciples (Matt. V, 2). And I saw, and behold a hand was sent to me. For the hand that is sent, they translated it as extended in the Septuagint. It is sent and extended to those who receive blessings. But it is contracted by those to whom the prophet speaks: 'Has the hand of the Lord been shortened and contracted?' (Isaiah 50:2). And in the Psalm: 'Why do you withdraw your hand and your right hand from your bosom to the end?' (Psalm 73:11). Finally, he stretched out his wings in suffering, he received the disciples, and he carried them on his shoulders, and he spoke: 'All day long I have spread out my hands to a disobedient and opposing people' (Isaiah 65:2), to gather the children of Israel, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. And by the stretching out of Moses' hands, Israel overcame Amalek (Exodus 17).

"Therefore you shall speak my words to them, if perhaps they may hear and be still, because they are provokers." Everyone who sins, what else does he do but provoke the wrath of his Creator against himself? And we know that as often as we transgress in deed, as often in word, as often in thought, we provoke God against us just as many times. But nevertheless He endures, and mercifully waits, offering patience through Himself, but through His preachers He extends to us the word of exhortation. Moreover, everyone who preaches what is right, if he is heard, appeases the wrath of the provoked Creator over the transgressing people. Hence it is necessary that he himself ought not to do evil, which is accustomed to provoke the fury of his Creator among the people.

The prophet, having been overwhelmed with the glorious vision in the preceding chapter, is here strengthened and comforted, Eze 2:1, Eze 2:2; and then commissioned to declare to the rebellious house of Israel the terrible judgments that would very shortly come upon the whole land, if they repented not; with a gracious assurance to Ezekiel that God would be constantly with him while executing the duties of his office, Eze 2:3-5. The prophet is also commanded to be fearless, resolute, and faithful in the discharge of it, Eze 2:6-8, as he must be the messenger of very unpleasing tidings, which well expose him to great persecution, Eze 2:9, Eze 2:10.

Whether they will hear - Whether they receive the message, or persecute thee for it, declare it to them, that they may be without excuse.

EZEKIEL'S COMMISSION. (Eze 2:1-10) Son of man--often applied to Ezekiel; once only to Daniel (Dan 8:17), and not to any other prophet. The phrase was no doubt taken from Chaldean usage during the sojourn of Daniel and Ezekiel in Chaldea. But the spirit who sanctioned the words of the prophet implied by it the lowliness and frailty of the prophet as man "lower than the angels," though now admitted to the vision of angels and of God Himself, "lest he should be exalted through the abundance of the revelations" (Co2 12:7). He is appropriately so called as being type of the divine "Son of man" here revealed as "man" (see on Eze 1:26). That title, as applied to Messiah, implies at once His lowliness and His exaltation, in His manifestations as the Representative man, at His first and second comings respectively (Psa 8:4-8; Mat 16:13; Mat 20:18; and on the other hand, Dan 7:13-14; Mat 26:64; Joh 5:27).

most rebellious--literally, "rebellion" itself: its very essence.

Call of Ezekiel to the Prophetic Office - Eze 2:1 and Eze 2:2. Upon the manifestation of the Lord follows the word of vocation. Having, in the feeling of his weakness and sinfulness, fallen to the ground before the terrible revelation of Jehovah's glory, Ezekiel is first of all raised up again by the voice of God, to hear the word which calls him to the prophetic function. - Eze 2:1. And He said to me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, I will speak with thee. Eze 2:2. Then came spirit unto me as He spake unto me, and it placed me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking unto me. - The address בּן־אדם occurs so frequently in Ezekiel, that it must be regarded as one of the peculiarities of his prophecies. Elsewhere it occurs only once, Dan 8:17. That it is significant, is generally recognised, although its meaning is variously given. Most expositors take it as a reminder of the weakness and frailness of human nature; Coccejus and Kliefoth, on the contrary, connect it with the circumstance that God appears to Ezekiel in human form, and find in it a τεκμήριον amicitiae, that God speaks in him as man to man, converses with him as a man with his friend. This last interpretation, however, has against it the usus loquendi. As בּן־אדם denotes man according to his natural condition, it is used throughout as a synonym with אנושׁ, denoting the weakness and fragility of man in opposition to God; cf. Psa 8:5; Job 25:6; Isa 51:12; Isa 56:2; and Num 23:19. This is the meaning also of בּן־אדם in the address, as may be distinctly seen from the various addresses in Daniel. Daniel is addressed, where comfort is to be imparted to him, as אישׁׁ חמדות, "man greatly beloved," Dan 10:11, Dan 10:19, cf. Dan 9:23; but, on the contrary, in Eze 8:17, where he has fallen on his face in terror before the appearance of Gabriel, with the words, "Understand, O son of man," in order to remind him of his human weakness. This is also the case in our verse, where Ezekiel, too, had fallen upon his face, and by God's word spoken to him, is again raised to his feet. It is only in Ezekiel that this address is constantly employed to mark the distance between the human weakness of his nature and the divine power which gives him the capacity and the impulse to speak. Not, however, with the design, mentioned by Jerome on Dan 8:17, "that he may not be elated on account of his high calling," because, as Hvernick subjoins, Ezekiel's extremely powerful and forcible nature may have needed to be perpetually reminded of what it is in reality before God. If this were the meaning and object of this address, it would also probably occur in the writings of several of the other prophets, as the supposition that the nature of Ezekiel was more powerful and forcible than that of the other prophets is altogether without foundation. The constant use of this form of address in Ezekiel is connected rather with the manner and fashion in which most of the revelations were imparted to him, that is, with the prevalence of "vision," in which the distinction between God and man comes out more prominently than in ordinary inspiration or revelation, effected by means of an impression upon the inner faculties of man. The bringing prominently forward, however, of the distance between God and men is to remind the prophet, as well as the people to whom he communicated his revelations, not merely of the weakness of humanity, but to show them, at the same time, how powerfully the word of God operates in feeble man, and also that God, who has selected the prophet as the organ of His will, possesses also the power to redeem the people, that were lying powerless under the oppression of the heathen, from their misery, and to raise them up again. - At the word of the Lord, "Stand upon thy feet," came רוּח into the prophet, which raised him to his feet. רוּח here is not "life consciousness" (Hitzig), but the spirit-power which proceeds from God, and which is conveyed through the word which imparted to him the strength to stand before the face of God, and to undertake His command. מדּבּר, partic. Hithpa., properly "collocutor," occurs here and in Eze 43:6, and in Num 7:89; elsewhere, only in Sa2 14:13.