John Gill Commentary Ezekiel 2

And he said to me
The glorious Person who sat upon the throne, whose appearance is described in the latter part of the preceding chapter.

son of man ;
as he was to be that spoke to him; and so it may denote relation, affection, and familiarity; or otherwise it is expressive of humiliation; of the frail, mean, and low estate of man, through the fall, (Psalms 8:4).

wherefore some think Ezekiel is thus addressed, lest he should be lifted up, and think himself as one of the angels, because he had seen so great a vision; just as the Apostle Paul was humbled, lest he should be exalted above measure, through the visions and revelations he had, (2 Corinthians 12:7).

Kimchi mentions this, but assigns another reason; that because he saw the face of a man in the above vision, he let him know that he was right and good in the eye of God; and was the son of man, and not the son of a lion which is exceeding weak and trifling.

Abendana, besides these, mentions some other reasons given; as that because he saw the "mercavah" or chariot, and ascended to the dignity of the angels on high, it is as if it was said, there is none born of a woman, as this; or because he was carried out of the holy land, as Adam was drove out of Eden; and therefore called the son of the first Adam, being drove out of Jerusalem, and out of the temple, where he was a priest.

It may be observed, that this is a name which our Lord frequently took to himself in his state of humiliation; and that none but Ezekiel, excepting once the Prophet Daniel, is called by this name; and no doubt the reason of it is, because he was an eminent type of Christ; and particularly in his mission and commission, as a prophet, to the rebellious house of Israel.

stand upon your feet ;
for he was fallen upon his face, at the sight of the vision, (Ezekiel 1:28) ; when a divine Person speaks, men ought to stand and hear, and be in a readiness to do his pleasure.

and I will speak to you ;
which is said for his encouragement, being spoken by him who has the words of truth and grace, and of eternal life.

And the spirit entered into me
Not his own spirit or soul; for it does not appear that that went out of him upon the sight of the vision;nor any of the ministering spirits, the angels, who are never said to enter into the prophets or people ofGod; but the Holy Spirit of God; the same Spirit that was in the living creatures, and in the wheels; in theministers, and in the churches; who entered with his gifts to qualify him for his office as a prophet; andwho enters with his graces into the hearts of all the saints, to quicken, renew, comfort, and sanctify them.

when he spoke to me ;
at the same time the Spirit went along with the word; and when the word of Christ is attended with thedemonstration of the Spirit and of power, it is effectual.

and he set me upon my feet ;
not he that spoke with him, and bid him stand on his feet; but the Spirit; for the word, though it is theword of God, and of Christ, yet is ineffectual without the Spirit; when he enters, he gives the word a place,and it works effectually; when he enters, as the Spirit of life from Christ, the soul is quickened andstrengthened; and such that are fallen down stand up; yea, such as are dead arise and stand upon their feet.

that I heard him that spoke to me ;
so as to understand; for the Spirit, who searches the deep things of God, reveals them to his ministers, andcauses them to understand the word of Christ, that they may be able to instruct others in it.

And he said unto me, son of man
Now follow his mission and commission, and an account of the persons to whom he was sent: I sendthee to the children of Israel ;
that were captives in Babylon, in Jehoiakim's captivity; so Christ was sent only to the lost sheep of thehouse of Israel, (Matthew 15:24) ;

to a rebellious nation, that has rebelled againstme ;
or, "rebellious Gentiles", ^F21 ; not the nations of the earth, though Ezekiel did prophesy manythings concerning them; but the Jews, the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; or the twelve tribes of Israel,called Gentiles, because they joined with them in their idolatries; and, as Kimchi says, were divided intheir evil works; some worshipping the gods of the Ammonites; and some the gods of the Moabites; and allguilty of rebellion and treason in so doing against the God of heaven:

they and their fathershave transgressed against me, [even] unto this
very day ;
which is an aggravation of their rebellion; their fathers had sinned, and they had followed their illexamples, and had continued therein to that day; and as they, did to the times of Christ, when they wereabout to till up the measure of their iniquity, (Matthew 23:31Matthew 23:32) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (Mydrwmh Mywg la) "ad gentes, rebelles",Junius & Tremellius, Polanus, Starckius.

For [they are] impudent children
"Hard of face" ^F23 ; as is commonly said of impudent persons, that they are brasen faced; they had a whore's forehead, and refused to be ashamed, and made their faces harder than a rock, (Jeremiah 3:3) (5:3) ; they declared their sin as Sodam, and hid it not; they sinned openly, and could not blush at it:

and stiffhearted ;
or, "strong of heart" ^F24 ; whose hearts were like an adamant stone, and harder than the nether millstone; impenitent, obdurate, and inflexible; they were not only stiff-necked, as Stephen says they were in his time, and always had been; but stiff-hearted; they were not subject to the law of God now, nor would they submit to the Gospel and ordinances of Christ in his time, and in the times of his apostles, nor to his righteousness, (Romans 10:3) ;

I do send thee unto them ;
even to such as they are: this is a repetition, and a confirmation, of his mission; and suggests, that though they were such, he should not refuse to go to them, since he had sent him:

and thou shalt say unto them, thus saith the Lord God :
that what he said came from the Lord, and was spoken in his name.

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: (Mynp yvq) "duri facie", Pagninus, Vatablus, Calvin, Cocceius, Starckius.
• F24: (bl yqzx) "duri corde", Pagninus, Montanus; "fortes carde", Vatablus, Polanus.

And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear , &c.] Or "cease" ^F25 ; that is, from hearing, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; or from sinning, as the Targum. The sense is, whether they would hear the word of the Lord, as spoken by the prophet, attend unto it, receive it, and obey it; or whether they would reject it, turn their backs on it, and discontinue hearing it; or whether they would so hear as to leave their sinful course of life, or not: this the prophet could not know beforehand, nor should he be concerned about it, or be discouraged if his ministry should be fruitless; since he could not expect much from them:

(for they [are] a rebellious house) ; Or, "a house of rebellion" ^F26 ; a most rebellious one; hard of heart, face, and neck:

yet shall know that there has been a prophet among them ; so that they were left without excuse, which was the end of the prophet's being sent unto them; there was little or no hope of reclaiming them; but, however, by such a step taken, they could not say that they had no prophet sent to reprove them for their sins, and warn them of their danger; had they, they would have listened to him, and so have escaped the evils that came upon them,

FOOTNOTES:

• F25: (wldxy) "cessaverint", Pagninas, Montanus, Starckius; "desistent", Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
• F26: (yrm tyb) "domus rebellionis", Montanus, Calvin, Piscator, Junius & Tremellius, Starckius.