Ezekiel 2:3
And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
God sent Ezekiel to the children of Israel. Israel was a rebellious nation that with their fathers had transgressed against God, with disobedience extending across generations and continuing even unto that very day. His mission was to deliver God's message and address the people despite their persistent rebellion.
Sending human agents to a rebellious people belongs to God's perfectly ordered work, directed by infinite wisdom so that what looks intricate and unexplainable operates in harmony with every worker acting together like wheels within wheels. No worker is to seek power or control or manage what belongs to God, but each is to stand at his post of duty and act his part for this time with God as instructor, putting entire dependence upon God. God in providence prepares the way for the work to be done by human agencies and has need of every agency that holds the truth in righteousness to proclaim Christ and His message.
The verse applies to people who resist the Lord's messages: their opposition does not cancel the prophet's commission to speak God's words. The verse applies to people who firmly oppose the Lord's messages, showing that God deals with His people in the present as He did in the past.