Ezekiel 3:1

Ezekiel 3:1 says, Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.  Some people see this as a continuation of the vision that Ezekiel had in the last chapter, but we need to remember that chapters and verses were added later, so it would have been one book without divisions at one time, so though this was evidently written over a long period of time,  we may have it divided where it wasn't divided originally.  Ezekiel said that he was then instructed to eat the scroll and then to go and speak to the people of Israel.  I believe that eating the scroll may have referred to digesting the word of God spiritually instead of actually eating the scroll physically.  We may physically carry around a Bible and even read one daily, but if we don’t digest its meaning to us today, it is of little benefit.   

Verse two adds, So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.  Ezekiel said he opened his mouth and God caused him to eat the scroll.  Again, though this may have been literally eating the scroll, I believe it means God placed His word in Ezekiel’s mouth or mind so he could speak God’s word faithfully.  We must do the same as Christians today, and this is especially true of preachers.  When we as Christians witness, it must be God’s word that we share, and we must know it to share it correctly.  In order for a preacher to proclaim God’s word accurately, he must know God’s word and then allow God to speak through him.   

Verse three continues. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.  Even though this says the Ezekiel physically ate the scroll, I still believe that the greater implication was that he digested the word of God spiritually.  Ezekiel was told to eat and digest the words of the scroll that God gave him, and he did.  He then said that was as sweet as honey in his mouth. God’s word, when we digest it, should leave a sweet taste in our mouth.   

Ezekiel 2:6

Ezekiel 2:6 says, And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.  Ezekiel was told by God to not be afraid of the people of Israel, who were called a rebellious house.  He was not promised that everything would always be easy for him.  As a matter of fact, it seems that the opposite was true. Living among thorns, briers and scorpions does not seem to promise an easy life for being obedient to God.  Of course, these were not literal thorns and scorpions but referred to the character of those who Ezekiel was to prophesy to.  We may meet a lot of opposition to presenting the gospel today by those who would harm us if not destroy us, but we must not be afraid of them.   

Verse seven adds, And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.  Ezekiel was then told that he must speak God’s word to these rebellious people, whether they listened or not.  We as followers of Christ must speak God’s word, starting with proclaiming Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation, whether they hear us or not.  We can be certain that we will meet opposition from the world, but hopefully not from those who profess to be a part of the church. 

Verse eight continues, But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.  Ezekiel was called on to not be like the rebellious people of Israel but to hear and proclaim what God gave him to say.  We must hear God and believe His word if we are going to share the gospel with the world today.  It is not our responsibility to make them believe it, but it is God Who will either convict them of their sin and they will choose to come to Him, or they will choose to reject Him.   

Verse nine says, And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;  Now, instead of a vision of living creatures, Ezekiel sees a vision of a hand holding a scroll with a book written in it.  This would be God’s a written account of what God had to say to Ezekiel, which we today have in the Holy Bible.   

Verse ten adds, And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.  When the hand, which Ezekiel now refers to as He, spread the book before him, it was filled with lamentations and woes.  This is because God’s chosen people, the people of Israel, had rebelled against Him.  We cannot rebel against God as Christians without expecting to suffer woe spiritually if not physically.  The scroll was written on both sides of the paper, so it was a large list of woes and lamentations and was likely not something that Ezekiel would want to tell the people nor anything that they would want to hear, but it was God’s word to His chosen people.  Preachers may be led to tell the people of the church he pastors some things that they don’t want to hear and that he doesn’t want to proclaim, but if it is God’s message that He is preaching, he has no choice to preach it and the people should listen to what he has to say.

Ezekiel 2:1

Ezekiel 2:1 says, And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.  Ezekiel said that God told him to stand up and God would speak to him.  The title Son of man is used for no other prophet, but it is God’s ordination of Ezekiel as a prophet.  It emphasized that Ezekiel was just a human being like all others, just as the title for Jesus Christ emphasized that when He came to earth to live and die for all mankind He was as human as anyone else.  God had all the angels at His beck and call, but He was going to us a mere man to accomplish His work.  Ezekiel was seeing many visions, but God was telling him not to begin to think of himself as anything more than any other man.  When we become a follower of Christ, we don’t become something more than any other person.  We are still but a sinner saved by grace.   

Verse two adds, And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.  Ezekiel said that the Spirit entered him then and set him on his feet so that he could hear what God had to say to him.  In Ezekiel’s time, the Spirit of God was usually seen as being outside of people, where they could only feel His presence in certain places, but Ezekiel said that the Spirit entered him.  When we become a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes into us at that time and empowers us to do what God wants us to do.   

Verse three continues, 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.  Again, referring to Ezekiel as the Son of man, God said He was sending him to the children of Israel, God’s chosen people, who had rebelled against Him for at least a generation.  As followers of Christ today, we need to ensure that we don’t rebel against Him.  Ezekiel was not being sent to those who were not a part of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people.  We as Christians today need to be reaching out to the lost people of the world, and we cannot afford to find ourselves in need of someone sent from God to us to tell us that we are a rebellious people.   

Verse four states, For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.  God continued to emphasize that the people of Israel had become impudent children who were stiff-hearted or refused to listen to God.  Ezekiel was to tell them that what he was proclaiming to them was the word of God.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to pray that we never need for God to send a messenger to us to tell us that we are impudent and stiff-hearted people.  Of course, we also have the responsibility of carrying the gospel to the lost, and we need to make sure that it is God’s word that we share with them.   

Verse five adds, And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.  Ezekiel was not given assurance of his success in reaching the people, because they were a rebellious people. Still, once Ezekiel went to them and shared God’s message to them, they would know that there was a prophet among them.  Once more, we need to pray that God doesn’t have to send a messenger to people in the church today to tell us that we are a rebellious people.  Still, when we do share the gospel with others, we are never assured that we will be successful in having them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, but if we do, they should know that there has been a Christian among them sharing God's word. 

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