Commentary - Ezekiel 3:1-3

Bird's-eye view

In these opening verses of the third chapter, Ezekiel's commissioning as a prophet continues with a startling and visceral command. Having been overwhelmed by the vision of God's glory in the previous chapters, he is now brought back to his feet and given his essential task. But before he can speak for God, he must first be filled with the very words of God. This is not a mere intellectual exercise, not a simple memorization of talking points. The prophet must ingest the message. The Word of God must become part of him, coursing through his system, before he can deliver it to the rebellious house of Israel. This act of eating the scroll is a profound metaphor for the nature of true prophetic ministry. The message is not the prophet's own; it is given to him. And yet, he must make it his own, internalizing it completely. The fact that the scroll, which contains words of lamentation and woe, tastes as sweet as honey is a glorious paradox, revealing the deep goodness of God's truth, even when that truth is a word of judgment.

This passage sets the stage for the entire prophetic task. The Word of God is not something to be trifled with or delivered at arm's length. It must be consumed, digested, and assimilated. It is sweet to the messenger because it comes from God and reveals His glorious character, but it will be bitter to the hearers who are in rebellion. This is the fundamental nature of preaching the gospel in a fallen world. The truth is life and peace to those who receive it, but it is a stumbling block and an offense to those who persist in their sin. Ezekiel's experience here is a pattern for all who would faithfully proclaim the Word of the Lord.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

Chapter 3 flows directly from the commissioning of Ezekiel that began in chapter 2. God has just informed Ezekiel that he is being sent to a rebellious nation, a hardheaded and stubborn people who will not listen (Ezek 2:3-7). The prophet is warned not to be rebellious himself. It is in this immediate context that God presents him with a scroll, written on both sides with "lamentations and mourning and woe" (Ezek 2:10). The command to eat this scroll, therefore, is not an abstract lesson. It is the necessary preparation for a ministry that will be filled with conflict and rejection. Ezekiel is being fortified for the hard task ahead. He must be so thoroughly saturated with the divine message that the opposition of men cannot deter him. This event is foundational; the authority and the substance of Ezekiel's entire ministry are established here.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 1 Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”

The address "Son of man" is God's customary way of speaking to Ezekiel, appearing some ninety times in the book. It serves to emphasize his humanity, his creatureliness, in the face of the overwhelming divine glory he has just witnessed. He is a man, a son of Adam, dust and ashes, yet he is being called to be a spokesman for the living God. There is no room for pride here. The prophet is nothing but a vessel.

The command is direct and strange: "eat what you find." This is not a buffet. There is one thing before him, the scroll from God. This is what he is to take in. The Christian life is not about picking and choosing the bits of Scripture we find palatable. We are to take all of it. "Eat this scroll." This is the Word of God, the message of judgment and hope that God has revealed. Before Ezekiel can "go, speak," he must first eat. Preaching is not the overflow of a man's native wit or clever opinions. True preaching is the result of having first feasted on the Word of God. The minister must be a man who has so thoroughly ingested the Scriptures that when he speaks, he speaks not his own words, but God's. The sequence is non-negotiable: eat, then go speak. You cannot give out what you have not taken in.

v. 2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll.

Ezekiel's response is one of simple, immediate obedience. He "opened his mouth." This is the posture of a creature receiving from his Creator. It is the posture of a baby bird, helpless and dependent, waiting for its mother to provide food. This is the proper stance for every believer before the Word of God. We do not come to the Bible to critique it, to negotiate with it, or to offer our suggestions. We come to it with our mouths open, ready to be fed. We must be receptive.

And notice, "He fed me this scroll." Ezekiel does not snatch it. God Himself places the Word in his mouth. The ability to receive, understand, and assimilate the Word of God is itself a gift of God. We cannot force-feed ourselves spiritually. We open our mouths in obedient expectation, and the Lord is faithful to give us our portion. This is a divine transaction. God provides the Word, and He provides the ability to receive it.

v. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

The command is intensified. It is not enough to simply taste the scroll or have it in his mouth. He must "feed your stomach and fill your body." The Word is not to be a superficial acquaintance; it must be deeply and thoroughly internalized. It must get down into the gut. It is to become the prophet's very substance, the fuel that drives him, the nourishment that builds him up. The Word must be digested, broken down, and assimilated into every part of his being. This is what it means to meditate on the Word day and night. It is to make it the very stuff of your thoughts, your affections, and your will.

"Then I ate it." Again, simple obedience. And the result is astonishing. "It was sweet as honey in my mouth." Remember what was written on this scroll: lamentations, mourning, and woe. It was a message of judgment against a sinful people. How can this be sweet? It is sweet because it is the truth. It is sweet because it comes from the hand of a holy and righteous God. Every word from God, because it is from God, is good and right and therefore sweet to the regenerate heart. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, more to be desired than gold, and sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:9-10). The faithful man delights in the law of God, even when that law condemns the sin he sees in the world and in himself. The sweetness is in the revelation of God's character. To know Him, even in His wrath and justice, is a sweet thing for the one who loves Him.

Application

The principle here is straightforward and cuts to the heart of our modern, shallow evangelicalism. We cannot be spokesmen for God if we are not first eaters of His Word. Many today want to "go, speak" without having done the hard work of eating. They offer the world their own half-baked ideas, their sentimental platitudes, their therapeutic advice, but they have not filled their bellies with the scroll of God.

The Word of God must be our daily food. We are to ingest it, meditate on it, and let it become part of us. We must learn to love all of it, not just the comforting parts, but the hard parts, the judgmental parts. We must find the words of woe and lamentation to be sweet as honey, because they reveal the holiness of God and the seriousness of sin. When we find God's Word sweet, we know that our hearts are rightly tuned.

And when we have truly eaten, then and only then are we ready to speak. Our message will not be our own, but His. It will carry the authority of the one who fed us. And we should not be surprised if the world finds our sweet message to be bitter in their own stomachs. The gospel is a savor of life unto life for those who are being saved, but it is a savor of death unto death for those who are perishing. Our task is not to make the message palatable, but to eat it ourselves and then deliver it faithfully.