2:3
“Son of man” is ben Adam and literally simply means mankind, or human being. Dan 7:13 gives it its messianic meaning. Ezekiel is sent on a mission by God as a man. God knows he is “just” a man, there is nothing special about Ezekiel, except that Ezekiel is sent by God, chosen by God. Jesus, as we all know, used the term “son of man” as His favoured term in referring to Himself. Mankind derives his uniqueness and power from God alone, otherwise we are nothing. God leaves Ezekiel in no doubt as to the nature of his task. He is not sending him to a people desperate to receive the word of God, but to a rebellious people, a people long practiced in revolt.
2:4
The people are “obstinate and stubborn”. Today when talking about evangelism things are often couched in terms of a people desperate to hear, a people who will readily accept the good news if only they hear it. This is not a very biblical picture! Even so, Ezekiel is to say “This is what the Sovereign Lord says”. We are to preach the gospel not because people want to hear it, byt because God wants the people to hear it. Now I have painted a rather negative picture, I am just stressing this side of things because it is a side that is so often ignored. The other side is that God is in the business of salvation, of saving a rebellious people. We need to be Biblically grounded, not humanistically grounded.
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