Ezekiel 3:11

And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. THY PEOPLE - who ought to be better disposed to hearken to thee, their fellow-countryman, than hadst thou been a foreigner (Ezekiel 3:5)....

Now it is added, _that he may go and proceed to the captivity, to the children of his own people _We see, then, that God does not regard the Prophet so much as the Israelites, because they had never willingly yielded to the Prophet when he brought a message by no means pleasing. For nothing could be more sad and hateful to them than to hear threats and curses. Because, then, they had never willingly bent to obedience, he is sent with a testimony that he had learnt what he uttered in God’s school; then that he had so learnt from God, that he adds nothing of his own; lastly, that he so speaks, that; the obstinacy of the people is not _overcome: Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, do thou nevertheless go forward _Wherefore? _Thou shalt say, thus saith the Lord. _We have already explained the meaning of this phrase, namely, where we are persuaded that our labor is pleasing...

1-11 Ezekiel was to receive the truths of God as the food for his soul, and to feed upon them by faith, and he would be strengthened. Gracious souls can receive those truths of God with delight, which speak terror to the wicked. He must speak all that, and that only, which God spake to him. How can we better speak God's mind than with his words? If disappointed as to his people, he must not be offended. The Ninevites were wrought upon by Jonah's preaching, when Israel was unhumbled and unreformed. We must leave this unto the Divine sovereignty, and say, Lord, thy judgments are a great deep. They will not regard the word of the prophet, for they will not regard the rod of God. Christ promises to strengthen him. He must continue earnest in preaching, whatever the success might be....

THY PEOPLE - God’s people....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 3:1 EAT THAT THOU FINDEST, etc. The iteration of the command of Ezekiel 2:8 seems to imply, like the words, "be not thou rebellious," in that verse, some reluctance on the prophet's part. In substance the command was equivalent to that of Revelation 22:18, Revelation 22:19. The true prophet does not choose his message (Acts 4:20); his "meat" is to do his Lord's will (John 4:34), and he takes what he "f

AND GO, GET THEE TO THEM OF THE CAPTIVITY,.... Not in the times of Hoshea king of Israel, by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, for these were placed in the cities of the Medes, 2 Kings 17:6; but in the times of Jeconiah king of Judah, Ezekiel 1:2; UNTO THE CHILDREN OF THY PEOPLE; the Jews, which were in the land of Chaldea: AND SPEAK UNTO THEM, AND TELL THEM: the words the Lord spoke to him: THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; WHETHER THEY WILL HEAR, OR WHETHER THEY WILL FORBEAR: Ezekiel 2:5....

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. PREDICTIONS BEFORE THE FALL OF JERUSALEM A. judgment Predictions Concerning Jerusalem (1-24) Chapter S 1:1-3:14 The Vision of Glory and the Call of the Prophet _ 1. The introduction (Ezekiel 1:1) _ 2. The vision of glory (Ezekiel 1:4) 3. Ezekiel's call and commission (Ezekiel 2:1) 4. The roll eaten and the repeated commission (Ezekiel 2:9; Ezekiel 3:1) Ezekiel 1:1. The introductory words give

EZEKIEL 2:8 TO EZEKIEL 3:15. His inspiration is suggestively described by the symbolical swallowing of a book-roll. In Jer. (Jeremiah 1:9) it is more immediately conceived as due to the touch of the Divine Hand upon the prophet's lips: but by the publication of Dt. thirty years before (621 B.C.) the book had begun to hold a place in the religion of Israel which it had never held before (p. 90), and it is significant, not to say ominous, that Ezekiel is represented as owing his message and his inspiration to a book. The lamentations, mourning, and woe (Ezekiel 2:10) inscribed in the visionary book do, in point of fact, faithfully describe the gene

CAPTIVITY. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of Adjunct), App-6, for captives. UNTO THE CHILDREN OF. The 1611 edition of the Authorized Version omits these words. CHILDREN. sons. THE LORD GOD. Hebrew. _Adonai Jehovah_. App-4 WHETHER, &c. See note on Ezekiel 2:7....

The Prophet's Particular Mission to the Exiles at Tel Abib Though Ezekiel's mission, like that of all the prophets, was to the house of Israel as a whole (Ezekiel 3:5), yet immediately his work lay among the captives in the midst of whom he lived. It is remarkable, however, how little reference is made in his prophecies to the particular circumstances of the exiles. The attention of the prophet, as well as those around him in captivity, seems to have been engrossed by the events occurring in Palestine, and especially in the capital. And the truths spoken by him, though uttered in the ears of the exiles, bear reference to all Israel. Though he occasionally draws a distinction between those left in the land and the exiles carried away with Jehoiachin, of whom he was one (ch. Ezekiel 11:15), in general he regard