Ezekiel Chapter 2

Monday, 12/15/25 at 08:47
Solitary Man
solitaryman.substack.com

20250828

Eze 2:1 And he said unto me, Son (bane) of man (aw-dawm), stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.

We have now completed an initial study into this singular and unique vision granted to Ezekiel by the Most High. We have done our best to try and impart the sense of awe and dread that this event must have conferred upon the prophet. What could have possibly prepared him for such an experience? Why God chose this one man for such an unprecedented honor is not for us to know. Only that it indeed did occur, and that we will have to wait until we get to the other side to truly understand what Ezekiel tried so valiantly to describe.

We are now about to undertake a journey. A journey into the holy word of God that is wholly unique, save for perhaps the book of Jeremiah. A journey that will challenge our modern preconceptions of the character and nature of God. We will be thrust into the midst of a boiling cauldron of the fierce anger and wrath of God, such as the modern believer will most likely never have heard about in their local congregation.

If there is one truth that I wish to establish before we go any further, it is this. Do you remember the first time or two that you read through books such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel? Also the historical books, such as 1st and 2nd Kings? How about Judges? I bet I know a common thought that all of us new Christians had as we first encountered these works. And it probably went something like this:

How could those Israelites be so sinful and stubborn? They would sin, and God would deliver them. But soon they would sin again. And not just some minor sin, but falling down before idols of other gods! And God would send miracles, and prophets to harshly warn them, and yet they mostly would never listen. And God spent hundreds of years trying to get them to obey, but it seemed that at almost no time in their history would they choose to serve him with a whole heart. Boy, those Jews were certainly a unique class of sinners, were they not?

Because we had not yet travelled very far with the Lord, we were still in our honeymoon period with Jesus. We were probably witnessing regularly, and couldn’t wait to be in church every time the doors opened! We loved to fellowship with other Christians, and were learning so many neat things from the bible. We had not yet experienced seasons of dryness, extreme temptations and trials, any real persecution, and most importantly, no church politics to sour our mood and pop our fantasy bubble as to how the Christian life should be simply peaches and cream, rainbows and unicorns. Thus, during this season, we just couldn’t understand how those Hebrews could choose to sin again and again and again. So, we kind of glossed over these prophetic books of judgment. We simply couldn’t relate. And since our churches never preached on them, we kind of put them out of sight and out of mind.

But as we entered into the 21st century, after a few decades of the heresy filled, apostate Laodicean church in the west corrupting all that it touched, we began to slowly realize that maybe we weren’t all that different from all those sinful Jews that the bible would so continually condemn. Maybe it took us awhile to break free from our false churches, where we still pretended that all we needed to know was that God loved us, was never really angry with us, and only wanted to give us good things, and wasn’t too concerned with our recurring sins, since Jesus paid for all that at the cross, did he not? So maybe we kept ignoring the majority of the bible, whose main theme was warning against the sinful, unrepentant life.

Now here we are in 2025. We have just survived one of the most deceptive, malicious, and vile plots in humanity’s history – the deliberate depopulation agenda of covid. The trial run for deception and deceit at an unprecedented scale that encompassed the entire planet. We have come face to face with the true nature of evil, and those of us with eyes to see have come to realize that we are in the midst of a level and depth of wickedness that we are still having great difficulty coming to terms with.

So maybe, just maybe, those wicked Israelites were not so singularly uniquely evil after all. Maybe their level of wickedness is not so uncommon. Maybe we are as evil as them. Could this be true?

Yes, yes, and yes! I wish to state that we are far, far worse than the Judeans of Ezekiel’s time. And why is that? Because of the light that has been given to us in the west, especially in North America. Having 2000 years of Christianity and all its benefits to draw from, it is simply inexcusable as to how far we have fallen as individuals, as churches, as nations, and as a civilization. What kind of excuse can we possibly have for the blasphemy and rebellion of the alphabet crowd, the groomers, the pedophiles, the idolatry of the internet, the rejection of biblical morality in all its forms and facets, the extreme compromises of the church, the cowardice of the preachers, and the refusal to believe and obey the clear commands of scripture?

Having being born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, having the full revelation of Christ and his redemptive work given to us in the New Testament, our advantages over the Judeans in Ezekiel’s day are immense. And yet, have we not as supposedly ‘Christian’ nations turned our backs on the infallible, eternal truths of God’s word? Is it not much worse, to know the truth, and consciously reject it, than to not know it at all? Do not the words of Jesus ring in our ears when we think of this truth:

Luk_12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk_12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

I speak of these things because of what we are about to discover in this most timely of books. We are going to encounter language so harsh, words so offensive to modern sensibilities, that many of you will be tempted to either quit reading, or tune the worst of it out and skip right by, or simply wallow in unbelief, thinking that these extremely disturbing utterances by Yehovah himself cannot possibly have anything to do with me!

Well I just want to set the record straight right off the bat. Each and every one of these pronouncements of doom, woe, and calamity are meant for all of us. None of us are exempt. As we are a part of our apostate nations, so we must share in the responsibility for the spiritual state that we are in. Just because you may not have committed some of the more grievous sins that are now common in the land, does not mean that God does not hold us collectively responsible. And what is also plainly made clear in this book and others like it, is that we will all participate in the dreadful judgments that are our rightful due. While God may choose to protect each and every one of us to a varying degree, according to his will and not ours, yet even the prophets who brought these terrible messages were not exempt from suffering the consequences to one degree or another.

As we have learned, if you were with me in the study of Jeremiah, is that Jeremiah was beaten, put in the stocks, thrown into a miry pit, put under house arrest, slandered and lied about, and generally hated by his peers. He had to watch Jerusalem and the temple burn to the ground. He was spirited away by a rebellious faction after this destruction, all the way to Egypt against his will. And on and on it went.

Ezekiel will fare a little better. While there is no record of him being beaten or jailed, his message was rejected just the same. But in his personal life, God dealt with him in what we might consider a very harsh manner. God suddenly took his wife away one day, and he was not allowed to mourn, all to make a spiritual point to his rebellious listeners. God made him lie on his side for hundreds of days, eating the exact same thing and amount every day, as an object lesson to the people. Ezekiel was asked to perform other symbolic acts that I am sure made him a laughingstock, and would have others question his sanity. But this was the path that Yahweh had for this man, and he walked it. To top everything off, he was called upon to deliver the harshest words of judgment that you will find in the entire word of God.

I hope you are grasping the spiritual principle that I believe Yahweh wants us to grasp. This book is for us. While America may be experiencing a bit of a renaissance in this season, know this for a certainly that any revitalization of this once great nation is only temporary. As with other western nations, her sins have piled high to heaven, and the day of reckoning is certain, but the timing is not. Do not be deceived into thinking that the bill for America’s transgressions has somehow been fully paid. The bill has hardly begun to be recompensed. While we may be grateful and enjoy this temporary reversal, let us never forget that heaven’s just recompense will not delay forever. Even as in Judah’s day, there were some kings, most notably Josiah, whose actions managed to delay the final reckoning. But once he was gone, the final destruction of Judah and Jerusalem immediately commenced. Thus it shall also be in America. The sins of Manasseh were of such a nature, that God was not willing to forgive, regardless of how many righteous kings such as Josiah reigned. Sooner or later, the price had to be paid. It is called consequences. Look at what was said of Josiah and Manasseh:

2Ki 23:25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
2Ki 23:26 Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.
2Ki 23:27 And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.
2Ki 23:28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

2Ki_24:3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

2Ch_33:9 So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.
2Ch_33:10 And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.

Jer_15:4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.

All of these scriptures speak of the absolute inevitability of the judgment of the Lord. A nation can sin to such an extent, that no matter how much a subsequent king works righteousness, the best that can be accomplished is a delay of the total judgment, but never the elimination of what has been decreed in heaven. There was never such a king as Josiah, but even he could not reverse the decree of heaven.

I believe that many words have been given as to the certainly of judgment upon America, Canada, and the west. There have been delays, but the time is far past for reversals of these decrees. I do not need to recount the countless sins of our nations in order to prove my point. Suffice it to say that we have been warned for several years now to brace ourselves, and embrace the reality of what is certain to come.

It is my fervent desire that our study of the book of Ezekiel will help us to prepare, in every way possible, for what is about to fall upon us. As we contemplate the awful fate that awaits a truly apostate nation, we shall see many parallels to our own situation. Judah’s sins will become our sins. We shall see that we are all not that much different. If anything, we are worse, because of the knowledge that we do have, which makes us more guilty than these Israelites of old.

Phew! Now that I have gotten that off my chest, let us dive into the text.

At the end of chapter one, we have left Ezekiel flat on his face. He has seen something which no man has ever seen. The experience has prostrated him, but now a voice was about to speak.

Here in verse one, Ezekiel now hears a sound that he can understand. The first thing that Yehovah tells him is to get up! But we shall see that Ezekiel cannot get up on his own.

Eze 2:2 And the spirit (ruach) entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard (shama – to hear intelligently, with the idea of obeying) him that spake unto me.

When the glory of God overwhelms you, human strength is of no help. We see that God’s Spirit had to enter Ezekiel in order to give him the ability to stand in the direct presence of God’s glory.

Theologians like to try and fully explain how a man with an unredeemed, non born again sin nature can have the Holy Spirit enter them. Some go so far as to say that the Spirit never actually entered anyone in the Old Testament, but that he only fell upon them. Until Jesus came and somehow ‘recreated’ our spirits, as 2 Cor 5:17 seems to imply (we are now new creations in Christ), that God could not dwell within a man.

Well, this verse, and several others like it, clearly state that is not the case. While I am no expert in Hebrew, there are far too many verses in the OT that clearly state the Spirit of God enters into a man (or woman). Maybe he doesn’t dwell in there forever, but God is able to enter a man, in order to inspire him to speak and/or do some thing. Let us not quibble over something that is truly unknowable (ie, how God can dwell within sinful man). But rather let us learn what God wants us to learn. And that is, that no one can abide in the real presence of Yehovah without the Holy Spirit’s help and direct presence. God set Ezekiel back on his feet. He strengthened him. The strength of man was of no use.

The second point is that Ezekiel shama’d the voice. That is, he was not going to simply hear the words, but he had every intention of obeying whatever was going to be said. This is what God expects of each and every one of us. To shama him at all times. When God speaks, he demands we shama. To not only hear, but to hear and obey.

Eze 2:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children (bane) of Israel (yis-raw-ale – he will rule as god), to a rebellious (maw-rad) nation (goy – normally Gentiles, also heathen, people, nation) that hath rebelled (maw-rad) against me: they and their fathers (awb – patrimony) have transgressed (paw-shah – broken away, apostasize, revolted) against me, even unto this very day.

I love the way Yehovah communicates with man. No small talk. No initial greeting. No asking about Ezekiel’s health, if all is well with him. No, when God shows up, he doesn’t waste time. Not his time, and not ours. A huge red flag is when someone supposedly has a word for you, and it’s all filled with flowery speech, and syrupy words that do nothing but build self esteem. God does not visit you in order to build your self esteem. If he shows up, and if he speaks, it is always about kingdom business.

Israel, his chosen people, has become a reproach to heaven itself. Their name was supposed to mean a people who should rule themselves as God would rule them. Instead, God calls them goy. He actually calls them Gentile pagans! They are nothing but rebellious Gentile heathen pagans! Their fathers, or their leaders, have apostasized. And it continues to this very day.

Eze 2:4 For they are impudent (kaw-sheh paw-neem – churlish, cruel, grievous, hard hearted, stubborn to the face) children (bane – sons) and stiffhearted (khaw-zawk labe – hard, stiff, impudent heart). I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD (Adonai Yehovah) .

Now God gets into name calling. He says they are impudent. That is, they are churlish, cruel, grievous, hard hearted, and stubborn. And all of this behavior is right in his face! Their hearts are stiff, hard, and not soft. In other words, their hearts are not moved with compassion and mercy, as tender hearts would be. Instead, their hearts are like stones.

Therefore God has decided to send Ezekiel to proclaim the word of Adonai Yehovah.

Eze 2:5 And they, whether they will hear (shama), or whether they will forbear (khaw-dal – be flabby, desist, idle, leave off, be unoccupied), (for they are a rebellious (mer-ee – bitter, from a root to be provocative) house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet (naw-bee – inspired man) among them.

God never leaves his people without ample witness. None of these Jews could ever say that God never warned them. Whether or not they repented would not be the deciding factor as to whether or not God would send his spokesman. This is a very important point. Ezekiel may have rightly wondered that if God knew that they wouldn’t listen, then why bother sending me in the first place? Wouldn’t that simply be a waste of time? I will probably get beat up and maybe much worse, so why should I go if you know that it won’t do any good?

I think there is something to glean here from the word for forbear. Khaw-dal seems to have the nuance of something idle, some fat boy lying on the couch eating his Doritos and refusing to clean his room, that sort of thing. It’s not as if they are screaming defiance in Yahweh’s face, or even necessarily disagreeing with his word, but that they are simply too lazy and flabby in their devotion to him to make much of an effort.

If we should search our hearts, would our devotion to Jesus be found to be flabby?

I think there are 2 things to note here. First, God does not necessarily tell Ezekiel in this verse as to whether or not they will listen. But that is not relevant. Second, God wants them to know that he has sent a genuine prophet amongst them. For however that serves the divine sense of justice, God will not have his own people try to claim that he never warned them.

We could get into a discussion as to whether or not God also does this to every tribe and race of people. Paul in Romans chapter one does claim that creation is the universal witness of a great designer, so there is definitely that. How God shall judge all the heathen throughout history, that have had varying degrees of direct witness, is something that we cannot speak of with any certainty. Let us stick to the things that the bible directly addresses, and leave the unknowable mysteries to the speculations of others.

Sometimes we may judge the bolder brethren amongst us, those who dare to confront the pagan in public. They get yelled at, spit upon, manhandled, sworn at, assaulted, and maybe even arrested and convicted. Some of us more timid folks have the uncharitable thought that this was not very wise of them. Don’t they know that these people are hostile to the moral precepts of scripture? Should we not simply be nice to them and try to love them as best we can? Let Jesus speak to them about their flagrant sins, we’re supposed to live at peace with all men, are we not?

Well, no. God knew that these apostate Jews were not going to listen, but he sent him to speak anyway. If God has told someone to go and speak to the homosexual, the transsexual, the lesbian, the sodomite and the profane, in order to warn them of the wrath to come, then let him obey. When he suffers the consequence, let us support them, and not smugly tell one another that we knew they were going to suffer! Even if we think he spoke presumptuously, is it not better to step out in faith and try to spread the truth of the bible, rather than wanting so many confirmations before we act as to render us permanently on the sidelines? I salute all those who are willing to suffer for telling the truth, even if they are doing it without specifically hearing God tell them to. We need more truth tellers, not less.

Eze 2:6 And thou, son (bane) of man (aw-dawm), be not afraid (yaw-ray – dread) of them, neither be afraid (yaw-ray) of their words, though briers (saw-rawb – to sting, thistle, only time in OT) and thorns (sil-lone -prickle) be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions (ak-rawb – scourge, knotted whip): be not afraid (yaw-ray) of their words, nor be dismayed (khaw-thath – to prostrate, be confused, terrified) at their looks (paw-neem – the face), though they be a rebellious (mer-ee) house.

The first thing God tells Ezekiel is to not fear. And isn’t that the first thing we all must hear? We will probably not be called to be an end times prophet, but we are called to be witnesses. And sometimes just witnessing to a relative or a friend or a stranger can be a very terrifying proposition! Some of us find it very hard to speak to someone when there is a good chance we are only going to make them mad. For some, giving offence causes great stress. Someone said that the command to not fear can be found up to 365 times in the bible, one for every day of the year! Fear is such a common thing, all of us will have to fight this spirit til the day we die.

We need to come to grips with the fact that in these last days, the Christian message will become more and more offensive. Not just the salvation message, but the eternal, unchangeable moral precepts that all men are to live by. People can make us afraid. Their words can make us afraid, especially in this age of social media, where words rule so many.

Our opponents’ words and actions are likened to briers and thorns and scorpions. Their opposition will sting, will tear, and will poison. Lies about us will poison the minds of others. Their hurtful sayings may tear at your very soul. Those whom you love the most may exhibit increased acts of rebellion, once you witness the truth to them. And God says to not be dismayed at people’s reactions when you speak in my name.

Eze 2:7 And thou shalt speak (daw-bar – declare, command, words) my words (daw-bar) unto them, whether they will hear (shama), or whether they will forbear (khaw-dal): for they are most rebellious (mer-ee).

God reiterates that no matter what you see or what you hear, or what anyone chooses to do to you, you must obey your God. If he commands you to speak, then woe unto you if you do not shama! If Ezekiel is perceiving that they are not listening, it does not matter. He is to continue to obey God, and speak everything that God tells him to speak. God knows that these people are rebellious. In fact, he uses the same word mer-ee over and over again when describing them. In other words, God is sending Ezekiel to harshly rebuke an entire nation of rebels. You can probably guess how that’s going to turn out, can’t you?

No matter, even as you see those all around you react in open hostility, our job is to continue to obey God until what he has told us to do is done.

One can enter into a debate about whether the bible teaches that we should warn the pagan of his sin, as well as the church. One could easily take either side, based on the scripture. If you see Israel as always God’s people, even in a state of apostasy, then you may argue that words of judgment should only be spoken to the church. But conversely, if you see nations like America and Canada as nations that made a covenant with God at their founding, then perhaps you view the entire nation in the same light as Israel, and the entire nation needs to hear the word of judgment. The prophets certainly spoke to all the land, even if primarily to the leaders, and even when they had completely apostasized.

Additionally, did not Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other minor prophets not speak a word of judgment even to heathen nations such as Edom, Egypt, Babylon, etc? Of course they did. I don’t think it is tenable to think that words of judgment are only meant for the church. If God could send Jonah to Nineveh, God can send anyone he likes to any nation that he so chooses. I know that most pastors roundly condemn and disassociate themselves from anyone who stands up and speaks a word of judgment to the heathen, whether they be politicians or sodomites. Often they do this out of a sense of guilt that they do not have the courage to do such a thing.

Most are not called to do this. But never should we turn our back on someone who feels that this is what the Lord wants them to do. Even if you don’t like their abrasive personality, even if there is a doctrinal point or two you might quibble over, if they follow Jesus then they are all our brothers. Let us always support those who are being persecuted, even if we think they might have brought a bit of it upon themselves by their own imprudent actions.

Eze 2:8 But thou, son of man, hear (shama) what I say (daw-bar) unto thee; Be not thou rebellious (mer-ee) like that rebellious (mer-ee) house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

Yehovah feels that he needs to warn Ezekiel not to be anything like his audience. Do not think that just because you are not an idolater or engaged in some base form of immorality, that God will hold you guiltless if you refuse his direct orders. No, this verse is warning Ezekiel to not rebel as his own nation rebelled. Ezekiel, you must choose to open your mouth and eat whatever I give.

What God is about to give the man is a scroll that contains nothing but the judgments of the Lord. It is full of misery, evil, and woe. If Ezekiel were to refuse to eat (ie, embrace and accept) the judgments of the Lord, that would be considered an act of rebellion.

So it is with the church. If we refuse to consume the word of judgment when the season of judgment has come, God considers that an act of rebellion.

Eze 2:9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll (meg-il-law – volume) of a book (say-fer – scroll) was therein;

The imagery of chapter one is now briefly brought back into focus with the mention of a hand being outstretched to the prophet. Most likely this is one of those hands which were spoken of that was somehow under the wing of the cherubim. This extended hand contained a scroll that Ezekiel was supposed to take.

Eze 2:10 And he spread (laid it open) it before me; and it was written within (paw-neem – on the face) and without (aw-khore – the hinder part, the west): and there was written therein lamentations (kee-naw – dirge, accompanied by beating the breast), and mourning (heh-geh – muttering sighing), and woe (he – lamentation, from a root meaning to wail, only time in OT).

Somehow this scroll was opened so that Ezekiel could observe the entire contents, even though it had writing both on the front and back. He must have been given some time to peruse it, as he was able to give a succinct summary of what he saw therein.

What he saw was judgment, and nothing but judgment. Lamentations, mourning, and woe. These are all evil things, and they are all given to him from the hand of God’s most holy messenger of heaven itself.

The woe would be all the calamities that were to befall a rebellious nation. All this evil would cause immeasurable lamentation and mourning. The message the prophet would bring would cause nothing but a vale of tears. There would be very little hope. Not until the very end of the messages, when Ezekiel turns his attention to the distant future, would there be anything positive to speak about.

What a burden this must have been! At least God did seem to spread it all out beforehand, so that Ezekiel knew exactly what he was getting himself into. Most of the time God does no such thing. He gives us the next step, and expects us to obey. When we accomplish that, then the next step is given. Perhaps because of the enormity of the task, Ezekiel is seemingly given more of a window into the future, to help him to prepare himself for the task ahead.

It still feels like we are sort of in the pre game show, does it not? No actual prophecies have yet been given, but we are sure getting a lot of scene setting!

In some ways, the next three chapters may also be considered as a bit of preliminary action before the main messages are uttered. But what we will find is that God seems to demand the most bizarre and strange behavior that Ezekiel will ever be asked to undertake, all at the outset of his ministry! Yahweh does not want him to work up to greater and greater acts of obedience, he wants to test this man’s character right off the bat. We shall see that in the next three chapters, Ezekiel’s ministry sort of explodes onto the scene, with antics that will surely make him the talk of the town for the foreseeable future.

Solitary Man
https://solitaryman.substack.com/