Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 2:5

"And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them." — Ezekiel 2:5 (ASV)

Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. — Compare to Ezekiel 3:11. God’s word remains the same whatever reception man may accord to it; it cannot return unto Him void, but must accomplish that which He pleases (Isaiah 55:11); just as the Apostles remained unto God a sweet savour of Christ alike in them that are saved and in them that perish (2 Corinthians 2:15–16).

But while the mighty power of the Divine word must thus produce its effect, the character of the effect depends upon those to whom it comes; to the one we are a savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life. So it would be among the captives by the Chebar: some would be brought back to their allegiance to their God, and would constitute the remnant through whom He would bless His people and the world; and some, resisting the offered grace, would be thus made more obdurate than ever.

In either case, they could not remain as before. Whether for gain or for loss, they would know that there hath been a prophet among them, by the change his ministrations would produce among them. The offer of grace, imposing the responsibility of accepting or rejecting it, thus always becomes a great and terrible day of the Lord. (Malachi 4:5, compared with Matthew 17:12; Acts 2:16–22.)

A rebellious house. — Literally: a house of rebellion. This phrase, used in Ezekiel about eleven times, seems to be more than a simple epithet; it is a significant substitute for the name in which they gloried. Instead of house of Israel, the prince of God, they had come to be the house of rebellion.