John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 2:4-5

"And the children are impudent and stiffhearted: I do sent thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah. 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 2:4-5 (ASV)

God proceeds in the same discourse, but expresses in other words the great rebellion of the people, for they were not only obstinate and unbending in heart, but also of a defiant countenance; therefore, He places hardness in their face as well as in their heart. The words indeed are different, קשי keshi, and חזקי chezki, "of brazen countenance," for we may translate “winked” and “contumacious,” because this disposition appears in the countenance; nor is it objectionable to render it “impudent.” But propriety of speech must be retained. For we must speak of the strong of heart as “broken down,” or if the allusion seems more fitting, we must render it "of broken countenance," then of “broken spirits,” as we call the wicked “brazen-fronted.” The meaning is that the Jews were not only rebellious against God and puffed up with proud contempt, but their impiety was so desperate that they openly opposed God, as if they were horned oxen or furious bulls.

We know that hypocrisy often lies hidden in the mind, and although men swell with malice, they do not betray what they inwardly harbor. But the Prophet here signifies that the Israelites were so immersed in impiety, that they displayed themselves as open enemies of God in their very faces.

The result is that the Prophet, while he applied himself to perform the commands of God, ought to resolve, when he approached the people, that his teaching would not only be useless to them, because it would not be received with the reverence it deserves, but would even be exposed to many reproaches. This was because the Israelites were not only filled with a hidden contempt for God, but they openly showed their ferocity, so to speak, since they were of so brazen a front that they would undoubtedly reject the Prophet intentionally.

They are hard-hearted children, etc., yet I send you to them. Here, again, God sets His own command in response, as the Prophet simply acquiesces in this word alone, “I have a divine mission.” If he displeases men, he is content for his labor to be approved by God. This is the meaning of the phrase, now repeated a second time: I send you to them. For the Prophet might object: What can I do? For if they have a brazen heart and an iron front, I will labor in vain.

But God answers in return that the Prophet need not be anxious; it is enough to have a command. Just as a prince might not explain all his counsel to his ambassador, yet still orders him to carry out his mission, so God acts towards His servant.

We see then how God here magnifies His authority, and we must note this diligently, so that we do not always wish to bargain with Him, as we are accustomed to do. For unless God shows us the immediate fruit of our labor, we languish, and so we try to turn back and withdraw from His authority. But God counters with this single sentence: Behold, I send you. The rest I will leave until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, O Almighty God, since You have counted us worthy of enjoying the privilege of daily listening to Your word, that it may not find our hearts of stone and our minds of iron, but may we so submit ourselves to You with all due teachableness, that we may truly perceive You to be our Father, and may be confirmed in the confidence of our adoption, as long as You persevere in addressing us, until at last we enjoy not merely Your voice, but also the sight of Your glory in Your heavenly kingdom, which Your only-begotten Son has acquired for us by His blood. — Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

After God has admonished His servant about the difficulty of his mission, He now strengthens him and exhorts him to unconquered boldness. You shall say, He says, Thus says the Lord, as if He meant to say, this alone is sufficient for overcoming all obstacles: that he has to take up God’s business. For even here God does not give specific commands, which He will do later in its proper place, but the observation is general. Thus says Jehovah: that is, I bring forward nothing of myself, but faithfully relate what God has commanded. We see then the Almighty’s purpose here: namely, to set His name against the obstinacy of the people, and He orders the Prophet, when instructed by His authority, to be of a brave and fearless disposition, even though he has stern and hard-hearted enemies. Afterwards He adds, Whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, yet they shall acknowledge that a prophet has been among them.

Here, again, God exhorts His servant to persevere whatever the outcome of his labor, for if we do not succeed according to our desires, we are inclined to despair. But God wants us to continue in the course of our duty, even if all things turn out contrary to our wishes.

But He shows that there will be some fruit from our labor, even though the people, through their own depravity, reject what has been said to them. For it breaks the spirits of God’s servants when they do not perceive the usefulness of their labor, because we always desire to accomplish something worth the effort we put into it.

God therefore indicates here that He has some other purpose in view than the salvation of men: namely, to remove all pretext for error and to strip away every disguise of impiety with which men willingly clothe themselves. For even hypocrites, though they perish knowingly and willfully, still think themselves excusable unless God provides them with the light of His doctrine.

The meaning, therefore, is that although the Prophet’s teaching would not benefit the Israelites, it would still be useful in another way: namely, that they may perceive that there has been a prophet among them. In this way, there is no deficiency, although some think the Prophet's words are abrupt. For an important word seems to be missing when he says, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, because they are a rebellious house, and they shall know, etc.

For we have said that the connecting word should be understood as an adversative particle: because even then they shall know: for their perverseness will not prevent their being convinced by God. We may learn then from this passage that although the impious furiously try to reject the doctrine of God, they achieve no other outcome than the more complete manifestation of their own wickedness.

Hence, also, we may learn that God’s doctrine is precious to Himself, and that He cannot bear for us to despise it. The wicked, then, can never escape punishment when they treat the divine teaching with contempt, for it is as if they trampled upon inestimable treasure.

Those who are left without the law and the prophets will not escape God’s hand, because their conscience is sufficient to take away all excuse (Romans 2:12). But when God invites men to Himself, approaches near them, and offers Himself to them in a special way as their Father and Teacher, if they reject so remarkable a benefit, truly their ingratitude is worthy of the utmost severity.

For as often as God raises up prophets for us and faithful ministers of His doctrine, let this which has just been said come into our minds: unless we embrace such a benefit, we at last will know that a prophet has been among us, because God will exact fearful vengeance for the contempt of His great loving-kindness.