Ezekiel 2:3

Children of Israel. Here begins the commission to Ezekiel. Basically, his message was to the exiles of Judah, however, in its wider scope it embraced the ten tribes who, more than 100 years before, had been carried into captivity by the Assyrians. Changing fortunes had given to Babylon and Media the territories of Assyria, so that when the Babylonian captivity swallowed up the remnant of Judah the 12 tribes were in a sense reunited, all now being under a foreign yoke (see Jer. 50:17, 18, 33).

A rebellious nation. Literally, “nations that are rebellious.” The word rendered “nation” is the one frequently translated “heathen.” So low had Israel sunk in her willful departure from God that she, who was to have been the royal nation, the kingdom of priests (see Ex. 19:6), is now addressed by the derogatory title “heathen,” and that with the additional epithet “rebellious.” The prophet is further reminded that Israel’s defection is of long standing.