Ezekiel 2

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==Ezekiel 2:1:

And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.”

We are mortal. God addresses the Prophet Ezekiel as mortal. The literal phrase is “Son of Man,” which is a Hebrew way of saying “mortal.” God, the Eternal One speaks to the mortal Ezekiel. That the eternal God speaks to the mortal Ezekiel giving him the task of preaching to the people of Israel demonstrates that mortality does not lead to futility. Even though we live only a handful of decades, God is with us and in the mix of human history. In fact, God loves creation so much, that God will not allow creation to end, but in God’s own good time he will renew it. St. Paul writes to the Romans, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (8:19-21).
Our mortal life will end, to be sure; but it is a purpose-filled life. That is why the Psalmist could say to God,
Let your work be manifest to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands--
O prosper the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:16-17).
Life matters. God has made it so. -Alan R Bevere

==Ezekiel 2:2-6:

Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.
3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.
4 For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’
5 As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
6 “And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

The passage begins with the Spirit of God coming into Ezekiel, lifting him up and setting him on his feet. God identifies the people to whom Ezekiel is being sent as "rebellious" and "obstinate". Ezekiel is commanded to go to these people and speak God's words to them, whether they listen or not. God tells Ezekiel not to be afraid of the people, their words, or the difficult circumstances they face (likened to briers, thorns, and scorpions). The primary purpose is not necessarily for the people to obey, but for them to know that a prophet of God has been among them

==Ezekiel 2:7:

And thou shalt speak my words unto them whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.

His message would go forth and was not dependent upon whether they would listen or not.

==Ezekiel 2:8-10:

8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
9 Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.
10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

God commands the prophet Ezekiel not to be rebellious like the people he is being sent to. To fully internalize his mission, Ezekiel is told to eat a scroll delivered to him that is covered with "lamentations, mourning, and woe".
The command to eat the scroll is a symbolic act representing the prophet internalizing God's word completely, making it a part of his very being before he delivers it to others. This idea is echoed in Jeremiah 15:16 and Revelation 10:9-10. The fact that the scroll is filled with "lamentations, mourning, and woe" shows the prophet the difficult and heavy message he is called to deliver to the Israelites. They were a "rebellious house" whose sins would lead to severe judgment.
Written on both sides: The detail that the scroll was written on both the inside and outside emphasizes the completeness of the message. God's message of judgment was full and left no room for additions or alterations.
God tells Ezekiel to "not be rebellious like that rebellious people". This is a warning for Ezekiel to obey God's command to speak the difficult truth, unlike the Israelites who refused to listen and rebelled against God's word. By consuming the message, Ezekiel is fortified for the painful and challenging ministry ahead. This ensures that he speaks God's words, not his own, and that he fully embraces the difficult nature of his prophetic calling.