CHAPTER 2 Sep. 6 
The Call of Ezekiel
He said to me, son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you. 2The spirit entered into me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. 3He said to me, Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me even to this very day. 4The children are impudent and stiff-hearted. I am sending you to them; and you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh’. 5They, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear (for they are a rebellious house), will at least know that there has been a prophet among them. 6You, son of man, don’t be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you do dwell among scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house. 7You shall speak My words to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse to hear; for they are most rebellious. 8But you, son of man, hear what I tell you; don’t be rebellious like that rebellious house: open your mouth, and eat that which I give you. 9When I looked, behold, a hand was put forth to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was therein. 10He spread it before me. It was written within and without; and there were written therein lamentations and mourning and woe.

Commentary

2:4-6 Ezekiel was shown “what the house of Israel are doing in the dark” (8:12). To pass through human life with this level of sensitivity must’ve been so hard. Psychologically and nervously, the stress would’ve been awful. It seems to me that the prophets had to be somehow psychologically strengthened by God to endure living that sensitively in this crass and unfeeling world- hence God made Ezekiel and Jeremiah as a wall and “iron pillar” to Israel, hardened their faces, so that they wouldn’t be “dismayed at [the] looks” of those who watched them with anger and consternation (. 2:4-6; 3:8,9,27; Jer. 1:18; 15:20). This psychological strengthening was not aimed at making them insensitive, but rather in strengthening them to live sensitively to sin in a sinful world without cracking up. And He will do the same for us, too.