Eat What I Give You

Ezekiel 2:1-3:3
 

In Ezekiel 1 we read that he had seen “visions of God” (Ez. 1:1).  At the end of chapter 1 Ezekiel “fell facedown” when he saw “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (Ez. 1:28).  This is where we come to our story today in Ezekiel 2.        
 
He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” – Ezekiel 2:1

God was speaking to someone who was going through a tremendous trial that they did not choose.  When I have gone through trials, my mind will sometimes just stay stuck on the trial.  My attention and my hope is focused on the elimination of my trial.  In that state of mind, it is hard to think about the Lord or listen to what he has to say. 
 
As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. – Ezekiel 2:2
 
That must have been a powerful experience.  The Spirit of God is into raising people.  He raised Ezekiel up from the ground.  In Romans 8:11 Paul says, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”
 
He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. – Ezekiel 2:3-7
 
That is not a very encouraging ministry assignment is it?  As a young believer, on numerous occasions, I would have a clear picture of what danger was ahead for a person if they kept going down the path they were going.  I thought they would listen to my advice and it would save them much trouble.  Much of the time people would not listen.  Then they would end up in the trouble I said they would be in.  I took it personal.  I felt rejected.  I felt like they did not respect me. They did not think enough of me to listen to me.  Little did I know that these events would be a training ground for me.  These days, I share God word with a lot of people.  Some listen, some do not.  Some respond well, some do not.  Some show up to be discipled, some do not.  I have learned that the measure of success does not lie in peoples’ responses.  It rests on being faithful in saying what God wants me to say and saying it the way he wants me to share it.
Here are a few points about Ezekiel’s mission:
 

1. He did not have to come up with the message.  He just needed to be faithful to deliver it.
2. The measurement for success in doing God’s will was not associated with the peoples’ responses.  Success, in God’s eyes, was for Ezekiel to be faithful to deliver the message.
3. Ezekiel was not allowed to use the excuse of fear in keeping him from sharing the message.

 
But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. – Ezekiel 2:8-10
 
God talked to Ezekiel about what he was supposed to say.  Now, God was talking to Ezekiel himself.  When you talk to your children you may say something like, “I’m talking to you.  Look me in the eyes.”  You are not aiming to help your child just change their behavior.  You are aiming for their heart.  God is not interested in our activity.  He is interested winning our heart just as a father is interested in winning his son’s heart “My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways…” (Prov. 23:26) The Apostle Paul had given Timothy a mission and a message as well.  But he wanted to address Timothy’s heart as well when he said, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching…” (1 Tim. 4:16) NASB.  It looks like God is having a similar conversation with Ezekiel, “Pay attention to the message and pay attention to yourself.”
 
God says to Ezekiel, “open your mouth and eat what I give you…”  The heart of the messenger is important.  The message needs to be internalized. 
 
And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. – Ezekiel 3:1-3
 
When I was a little kid me and a couple friends decided that we were going to eat a wad of paper.  That was one of the most unpleasant experiences I have ever had.  We chewed and chewed and chewed and chewed.  It seemed like forever.  Then the outer portion of the paper became a soggy, pasty, nasty mess.  I hardly ever gag at anything.  But this was making me gag.  It felt like my mouth was producing a gallon of water per minute.  My mouth is watering right now as I think about it.  The inside portion became extremely dense because of the constant compaction.  As much as I hated to give up, I gave up.  If I had a whole entire scroll given to me to eat, I would have been overwhelmed.  I probably would have thought, “This is going to be an unpleasant experience.”   But when Ezekiel started eating, it was a wonderful surprise.  It tasted like honey.  
 
I do not know exactly why it tasted like honey.  But I thought about it a lot.  In the Scriptures, God’s words are described as food.  In the days of Ezekiel, honey was sought for.  The promised land was described as flowing with milk and honey.  There is just something satisfying about connecting with God as we internalize his word no matter if it is about judgment or not.  Who knows?  Maybe God was giving Ezekiel a hint of promise in the midst of judgment.
 
Through visions and appearances, God has given a mission and message to many people from Genesis to Revelation.  For Ezekiel, the incredible experience he had with God was not meant to be kept to himself.  He told Ezekiel to “go and speak”.  It is interesting to see the progression of God interacting with Abraham.  In Genesis 12 God spoke to Abraham.  In Genesis 15 God gave Abraham a vision.  In Genesis 17 God appeared before Abraham.  God’s command to Abraham was to leave his country.  God was going to bless him, his family, and the nations.  As Abraham connected with God in those surreal experiences God had a purpose in mind.  It did not just involve Abraham.  It did not just involve his family.  It involved the nations.  God had a plan for the nations even from the beginning. 
 
In Exodus 3 Moses connected with God in what must have been a life changing experience.  The LORD appeared to him in a burning bush.  He spoke to Moses directly.  What purpose did God have in mind as Moses stood in his presence?  It was not just for Moses’ on personal connection with God.  God wanted Moses to deliver the people of Israel out of captivity.  God had salvation in mind for a very large group of people.
 
Ezekiel had an unbelievable experience with God.  But the experience was not just for Ezekiel to internalize.  God had a purpose.  He wanted his words to be delivered to the people of Israel.
 
As you move forward to Acts 9, Paul had a personal experience with Jesus.  Paul was not a Christian at the time.  He was persecuting Christians.  Jesus appeared to Paul as he was going to Damascus.  Jesus had already died and rose from the dead.  He had ascended to the Father.  But he made an appearance to Paul.  Again, God had a purpose behind this encounter.  Jesus said of Paul, “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”  Paul’s experience was not just to internalize.  God had a plan for the nations.
 
In Acts 2 Peter is preaching and he shares prophecies from the book of Joel, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”  Those are amazing experiences that God is promising...to prophesy, to see visions, to dream dreams.  But in the midst of that he talks about all people receiving the Spirit.  Later on, Peter is preaching about the gift of the Holy Spirit, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39) If you have the Holy Spirit living in you, then he is there for your own personal experience with the Father.  But that is not all.  He wants your children to receive the Holy Spirit as well.  You have people around you that you are close with.  The Bible calls it your “household”.  In the Greek, it is the word “oikos”.  It could be your family, your close friends, or your close neighbors.  He wants them to have the Holy Spirit as well.  But that is not all either.  He wants the nations to receive the Spirit. 

If you are not sure if you have received the Spirit or not, then my encouragement would be to get alone with God today and read Ephesians 1:13-14.  It shows how you can receive him.  If you know you have the Spirit, then he wants others to experience what you have experienced.  But how can they experience it if no one explains it to them.  You have a personal story with God.  You have internalized the gospel.  Most people do not know what or who the Spirit is or what he does.  They do not know anything about the story of God.  Paul said it this way, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Rom. 10:14)
 
Ezekiel did not choose this mission.  He was probably preparing to do the work of a priest in the temple.  He was supposed to start serving in the temple at age thirty as Numbers 8 talks about.  But, he was taken captive at age 25.  God’s vision came in Ezekiel’s thirtieth year.  God chose him.  One thing you might be able to think about in light of Ezekiel’s example is to ask the questions, “Do I know the message God has given to us, have I internalized it, and who can I share it with this week?”