What is the context?
The Spirit lifts Ezekiel, and he hears a great rumbling behind him: a blessing of the Lord’s glory, the movement of wings and the sound of the wheels. The vision’s departure is as powerful as its arrival.
He goes in bitterness and anger of spirit, with the Lord’s strong hand upon him. At Tel-abib by the Kebar, he sits among the exiles for seven days, overwhelmed.
The account records the weight of what he has received before the next word comes. It places the commissioned prophet among the very people to whom he must carry the warning.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Henry understands Ezekiel as burdened by the sins and misery of his people and overpowered by the vision. Wesley emphasizes his distress at the difficult task and the discouragement he expects to encounter.
They therefore give different reasons for his bitterness, while both recognizing the burden of the commission and the strength of the Lord’s hand. Neither explanation makes the overwhelming experience a reason for abandoning the work.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.