Ezekiel 12:2
Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 12:2 describes a rebellious house that possesses eyes to see and ears to hear yet willfully fails to perceive, understand, and heed what God shows and tells them. This blindness comes from working away from principles and refusing them until the conscience has been so long perverted that truth is no longer truth to them, so that the hardest work is to make them see those principles. It is a refusal to cooperate with the Holy Spirit even though the Spirit is given to draw them to Christ and help them and Christ pleads with them and presents their obligations, so with eyes seeing not, ears hearing not, and hearts refusing to understand, moral agency remains paralyzed instead of being quickened and reinvigorated with spiritual life.
In that condition people are not molded after the divine pattern, not placed on vantage ground through the imputed righteousness of Christ, not made lights to direct souls to Jesus, and not made channels through whom the Holy Spirit can work to bring souls into the kingdom, so Christ pleads in vain and His work is disappointed. Mere intellect does not ensure recognition of truth, for trusting human wisdom and empty, vain philosophy keeps people from discerning the beauty, power, and mystery of redemption in the gospel treasure. Despite repeated evidence of God's work, such people fail to discern where and how God is working and do not understand the things of God.
The verse applies to rulers and counselors who hear the plan of salvation yet lack personal experience of turning from sin, receiving Christ's righteousness, and bearing the divine likeness. It also describes churchgoers who are more loyal to their minister than to God and stay away from truth because their ministers warn them against hearing it. Since no one can compel the unwilling to hear, gaining their ear comes first, and when they are led to contemplate the cross of Calvary and the great plan of redemption the soul is won and the heart becomes willing to perceive wonderful things from God's law.
The verse applies to believers who know God's will and have received repeated warnings about the nearness of the end yet remain selfish, careless, and indifferent to surrounding souls, neglecting their given work and left inactive by their failure to see and understand. It shows the condition of churches that have had every spiritual advantage and the most solemn present truths yet do not live the truth or do the Word, having become hardened like Pharaoh and cold and dead at heart with no burden, love, or sympathy for souls for whom Christ died. They refuse the life-giving water of life whether they listen or not, grumble at time spent seeking and hunting up the lost sheep, complain against burden-bearers for souls, and expect to be nursed like sick infants instead of craving pure spiritual nourishment like newborn babes and laboring for those convicted and longing for converting power.
With eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear, and hearts that do not feel, the warnings, reproofs, corrections, and encouragements God has revealed come in vain. Although God has honored His people as depositaries of truth under sacred obligation to spread and diffuse the light to those in darkness, the solemn, sacred work of preaching the final truths to perishing souls as chosen vessels and agents of the last message of mercy cannot be done in such a blind, deaf, and unfeeling state. Ezekiel 12 is to be studied carefully by people who have received much light but refused instruction, for their resistance and hardened hearts place them in danger and they must turn from their wrongs or face God's rejection.