The only real significance of any prophet or preacher lies in his message. If what he is saying is truly that which God has sent him to say, then he has great significance. But if what he says is just in some general way derived from the Bible, but chosen by the man and arranged in its presentation by the man, then he has, at best, little significance. In many cases it would be more candid to say that such a ‘messenger’ may even have strongly negative significance. His work may impede the work of God rather than advance it.
Three times in the prophecy of Jeremiah,[1] he plainly stated that there were many so-called prophets about which Jehovah said, “I sent them not.” Consider, for example, Jeremiah 14:14.
Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
It would not be a misstatement to say that those that posed as messengers of God, but had not been sent by Jehovah, played a major role in turning Israel away from the Truth to embrace error. They heavily contributed to Israel being taken away captive to Babylon, all the while claiming to be ‘sent by God.’ It mattered then that men stood before God’s people and gave out error as Truth. And, it matters that the same thing happens in the churches today. Just because a man opens the Bible and positions himself as one saying,’ Thus saith the Lord,’ does not mean that his message is what God is truly seeking to convey to His people.
In these two chapters we are granted a precious privilege, and one that we need. There are a few such passages in God’s Word, in which we are given a look ‘behind the scenes’ as God is actually commissioning a man to be His genuine messenger amidst a slew of pretenders.[2] The LORD told Israel many times through Jeremiah that He was consistently ‘rising early’ and sending His true messengers among them.[3] Satan delights in counterfeiting every good thing that God does. God raises up one messenger and Satan raises up multitudes of false messengers.[4]
Beginning, then, in chapter two, let us see the commission given by this overwhelmingly transcendent God to His servant Ezekiel. As we consider these things it will be well if we seek to come to some understanding of how they mirror the need for the churches today to have such truly God-sent messengers.
Ezekiel 2:1-5
1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
5 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.
In His first direct personal communication with Ezekiel the Transcendent LORD uses the title ‘son of man’[5] in addressing him. The LORD uses this title ninety-three times in this book in addressing Ezekiel.[6]Clearly, it is significant in its context here. This initial statement by the LORD to Ezekiel come immediately after the vision given to him in chapter one. So, to put it in context, we can say that the Transcendent LORD whose glory was described by Ezekiel in chapter one immediately thereafter addresses Ezekiel as a ‘son of man.’
The contrast between the exalted, Transcendent LORD and Ezekiel, a mere mortal ‘son of man’ is mind-boggling. And that is exactly the LORD’s purpose in addressing him in this manner. At the root of Israel’s sin that ultimately resulted in their captivity are their low views of the LORD. No other group of human beings on the earth have surrendered such high views of the true and living God as Israel did. They had all of the writings of Moses, and a great deal more, and yet, by Ezekiel’s day they seemed to have no worthy concept of the Transcendent LORD at all.
As a result, the LORD has seen fit to permit them to be brutally taken into captivity in Babylon. Now that they are there, the Transcendent LORD appears unto Ezekiel to commission him to go to the Hebrew people in captivity and confront them with their sins.
1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
As soon as the Transcendent LORD spoke unto Ezekiel ‘the spirit entered into’ him and set him on his feet, equipping him to hear what the Transcendent LORD is going to say unto him. In the churches today the ministry of the Spirit of God is to [among other things] ‘guide [us] into all truth.’[7]
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted.
Here is the LORD’s indictment of Israel. Their rebellion is stated twice. The first Hebrew verb [translated ‘rebelled’] simply identifies the fact of their rebellion. The second [translated ‘transgressed’] includes the concept of transgression, crossing a known line. This makes clear that their rebellion was a measured decision, a choice they deliberately made. The Transcendent LORD also emphasizes that this rebellion has been a long-term reality, saying that ‘they and their fathers’ have entered into the transgression. As a result of this long-term movement away from the Truth that they had been granted, Israel had become ‘impudent’ and ‘stiffhearted.’ Taken together, these two Hebrew words identify that Israel’s obstinance had become a very potent force in their lives. The Transcendent LORD has no delusions about Israel’s sin. He sees it and names it for what it is.
4 …I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
5 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.
In these statements the Transcendent LORD commissions Ezekiel to go unto the Hebrew people in Babylon, making it clear that he is sent by the LORD God unto them. The Transcendent LORD, once again, has no illusions about the success of Ezekiel’s work among them. There is to be no such measuring of effectiveness of ministry. What will be absolute is that ‘whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear… yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.’ This is one of the clearest passages in the Bible about the true import of any man that is genuniely giving God’s Truth to anyone, at any time. Whether they will listen and heed the Truth is not the ‘issue.’ The fact is that they will know that they have heard the Truth from God’s messenger.
[1] Jeremiah 14:14 & 15; and 23:32.
[2] For example: Exodus 3- God calls and sends Moses; Joshua 1- God calls and sends Joshua; Judges 6- God calls and sends Gideon; Acts 9- God calls and sends Saul [Paul]…etc.
[3] Jeremiah siad this no less than twelve times…under direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit. [7:13, 25; 11:8; 25:3 & 4; 26:5; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14 & 15; 44:4.
[4] For example: “Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundredand fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred,which eat at Jezebel's table.” [1 Kings 18:19] One true prophet versus 450 false prophets.
[5] The capital letter ‘S’ is simply because the word ‘son’ is at the beginning of a sentence in the LORD’s direct address to Ezekiel. It does not have any theological significance.
[6] The title occurs fifteen times in the rest of the entire Old Testament.
[7] John 16:13.