Like Honey in Sweetness

Ezekiel 3:1-3

"Moreover He said to me, 'Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.' So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

And He said to me, 'Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.' So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness."

I think that the account of Ezekiel's call to become a prophet is my favorite. He goes into such great detail about what he saw and heard and felt when he was first admitted into the heavenly courts and given his commission as God's prophet. You should really take the time to read chapters 1 through 3 of Ezekiel sometime. The angels with wheels covered in eyes is one of my favorite wild details.

But it is the part about eating the scroll that grabbed me the most. Ezekiel was shown a scroll and literally commanded to eat it. The scroll is God's Word. And Ezekiel is told to "eat," "feed your belly," and "fill your stomach" with it.

When Ezekiel obeys by opening up his mouth, it is God that causes him to eat the scroll. Be sure to take note that Ezekiel doesn't do this eating alone. God actually plays the most significant role. Ezekiel had to participate, by actually opening up his mouth, but in this account it is God that actually causes the eating to take place.

There is so much obvious symbolism in this for you and me. We are certainly not prophets in the same way that Ezekiel was. But we should be "eating" God's Word on a regular basis. When we eat something, it is more than just a casual interaction. We are taking something, and putting it in to ourselves. By the process of eating, the thing that we have consumed literally goes into us and becomes part of who we are. That is exactly how God's Word should affect us. It should literally change us by changing who and what we are.

I'm afraid that too many of us are walking around starving, because we have not fed our bellies and filled our stomaches with God's Word. There is just no substitute for actually opening the Bible and consuming it.

To take the analogy a bit further, how can a person expect to grow if he or she does not eat? Our bodies require food, which is digested and converted into energy, which is then used by our bodies as fuel for growth and activity. In the same way, as a Christian, we require filling with God's Word for our own health and growth. We, who live here in America, have absolutely no excuses for avoiding a regular feast upon the life-giving Word of God. Bibles are everywhere.

And if we will be obedient to "open our mouths," God will certainly "cause us to eat." He has given us a helper, the Holy Spirit, by whose assistance we are changed, we are filled, we are fed and nourished.

I've saved the best detail for last. In verse 3, Ezekiel says "So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness." There was nothing unpleasant about this experience. In Ezekiel's day they didn't know about triple chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. But they did know about honey, the purest and richest sweetness of their day. And it was this delightful sweetness that Ezekiel compares eating God's Word with. You can see this same comparison of God's Word to honey-like sweetness in Revelation 10:9, Psalm 19:10 and Psalm 119:103.

As an interesting side note, did you know that honey has antibiotic properties? It is an ancient form of medicine for healing and preventing infection. Need I draw this one out, or do you see my point?

So, girls, if you are feeling a bit hungry in your spiritual life, reach for something decadent and delicious. Open up a package of God-breathed truth and gorge yourself. You should even try to gain some weight. No diets are recommended at all. Let's get fat together.

Psalm 63:5

"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips."