Ezekiel 2:1

Yahweh instructed Ezekiel to stand on his feet because the Lord wanted to speak with him.

"Not paralysis before him is desired by God, but reasonable service. . . . It is man erect, man in his manhood, with whom God will have fellowship and with whom he will speak." [Note: A. B. Davidson, The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, p. 15.]

"The expression "son of man" [Heb. ben ’ish] is a common Semitic way of indicating an individual man (Psalms 4:2; Psalms 57:4; Psalms 58:1; Psalms 144:3; Jeremiah 49:18; Jeremiah 49:33; Jeremiah 50:40; Jeremiah 51:43)." [Note: The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 840.]

"Son of man" (Heb. ben ’adam) is a distinctive title in this prophecy and stresses the humanity of the prophet in contrast to the supernatural creatures and the deity of the glorious Lord. The Hebrew title appears 93 times in Ezekiel and only once elsewhere in the Old Testament (Daniel 8:17). In Daniel 8:17, this title, ben ’adam, describes Daniel. In the New Testament, "son of man" describes a person who is both God and man (cf. Daniel 7:13, ben ’ish). This was the favorite title that Jesus used of Himself in the Gospels (Matthew 8:20; Matthew 9:6; Matthew 11:19; Mark 2:28; Mark 10:45; Luke 19:10; et al.). In view of its use in the Old Testament, "son of man" stressed Jesus’ true humanity and His dependence on the Spirit of God as well as His deity. [Note: See F. F. Bruce, "The Background to the Son of Man Sayings," in Christ the Lord: Studies in Christology Presented to Donald Guthrie, pp. 50-70.] "Son of" indicates a close relationship even when it does not describe literal son-ship (e.g., "son of peace," i.e., a person associated with peace, Luke 10:6).

"By this title Ezekiel would be reminded continually that he was dependent on the Spirit’s power, which enabled him to receive the message of God (Ezekiel 2:2) and to deliver it in the power and authority of the Lord-’This is what the Sovereign LORD says’ (Ezekiel 2:4)." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 761.]