Ezekiel 3: 1 – 4
‘What’s for dinner?’ - Part 1
“1 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.3 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. 4 Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.
As you search the Scriptures, the Word of God can be compared to a great meal. There are significant stages of growth in a individual’s physical and spiritual maturity. The nourishment a baby receives come from one source – milk. Similarly, a new Christian is fed by milk of the Word. A baby Christian grows in the basic fundamentals of their new faith. So, milk is used to describe this first stage of a Christian’s new life as indicated by some of these Scriptures:
1 Corinthians 3: 1 – 2, “1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;”
Hebrews 5: 12 – 13, ”12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.”
1 Peter 2: 1 – 3, “1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
As the infant grows he/she is introduced to solid food. Crackers, bread, and cut up fruits and vegetables are now given to the child. The Word of God for the growing Christian is described as the solid food – bread.
Matthew 6: 11, “11Give us today our daily bread.”
John 6: 31 – 58, “31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” 41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
1 Corinthians 10: 16 – 17, “16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.”
Luke 4: 4, 14 “4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
“14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
My how quickly time passes. Before you know it, you are all grown. Who does not enjoy a nice steak dinner with baked beans and steak fries – yum, yum. Similarly, when a believer makes it their aim to search the Scriptures daily, he/she will derive solid and deep truths as pointed out to us in these verses;
Exodus 16: 6 – 8, “6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.”
Psalm 78: 20 – 27, “20 Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?” 21 Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel. 22 Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, 24 Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven. 25 Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full. 26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind. 27 He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;”
Proverbs 1: 1 – 6, “1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; 4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion— 5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.”
1 Corinthians 3: 1 – 4, “1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?”
1 Corinthians 10: 1- 5, “1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”
After you have enjoyed a delicious meal there is one more thing to look forward to – desert!
I enjoy observing people. One thing that amuses me is how some people at a social event go through the serving line. They must have had eaten at home before they came to the gathering because you watch them take these really small portions. Right! I am sure that is how they eat at home like birds. To be kind in this analysis let me assure to you that they are not models I am referring to. It appears that their main interest lies in the desert table. As soon as they see the desert table open for business they are usually the first in line to grab up these sweet goodies.
In the Bible we read of the sweet taste of honey of one who loves to dig deep into God’s Word.
Psalm 19: 9 – 11, “9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.”
Psalm 119: 103, “103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
God served up Ezekiel something sweet. This should arouse your interest to ask, why was the scroll sweet to him? Didn’t it contain the charges against the people as indicated in verse 10 of chapter 2,
“10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.”
Jeremiah was known as the ‘Weeping Prophet’. He also saw the destruction of the people and the city of Jerusalem, yet he says some uplifting things in chapter 15 verse 16 of his book,
“16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.”
Our Bible today in its modern form is also a scroll from God. The action to eat was symbolic of fully digesting its contents. Can we say today that we likewise fully digest His Word? How silly of us for not realizing that we have the direct message from God. This is the ultimate insult. God has spoken and we leave His message on the bookshelf or as a table ornament.
I am sure that you heard this statement in your life when you were young and did not finish your dinner. “There are people starving in the world, you know, who don’t have the opportunity to have food like you do!”
We need to feed ourselves daily both physically and spiritually. I am sure that you know that if you do not take into your bodies the proper nutritional sustenance then you are going to experience some major illnesses or diseases in the future. Similarly, if we do not make a conscientious attempt to spend time daily with our God enjoying the hearty spiritual meals that He distributes we will show similar problems. We will pick up diseases. Our souls will be dis-eased [not at ease]. We will incur different forms of emotional issues. If we walk the walk and not just talk the talk about making our relationship with God our top priority then our faith will grow stronger to handle life’s situations and His Wisdom will help make our lives more sweeter.
Whoever fully eats and digests the Words of the Bible as described in Psalm 119: 9 – 16 will do well in this life.
“9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments. 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I have declared. All the judgments of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.”
We will know what is right and wrong, or in other words, we will know the truth. Our questions will be answered and our fears and doubts eliminated.
So, back to the ‘why’ did God’s Words taste sweet to Ezekiel and Jeremiah yet not so with the apostle John as described in the book of Revelation 10: 8 – 11
“8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” 9 So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
I believe the answer lies in the book of Matthew 24: 4 – 22. Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us about the Great Tribulation. It will be a time so horrible that no time previously or ever will be so much devastation.
“4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
The answer that allows Ezekiel and Jeremiah to derive sweetness from God’s Word, but not in John’s case, can be summed up in one word – hope!
In the show ‘Annie’ that was on Broadway in New York city and a movie was made of the production, one of the key songs was ‘Tomorrow’. I love the song which lyrics goes as follow;
‘The sun’ll come out Tomorrow bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun!
Just thinkin’ about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs, and the sorrow ’Til there’s none!
When I’m stuck on a day that’s gray, and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin, and say, Oh!
The sun’ll come out tomorrow so ya gotta hang on ’til tomorrow come what may. Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya tomorrow! You’re always a day away!”
Orphan Annie had hope that her life would be better in the future. Likewise, even though God had to take serious measures against His people, He also pointed out to the future as being bright and sunny again. We will read later on in the book of Ezekiel how God will restore His people to blessings again. The book of Revelation describes the wrath of our God being poured out on sinful mankind until the full cup is emptied completely.
No one seems to be getting the message today to our Jewish friends that they still have to face the time of Jacob’s Trouble. In WWII one-third of the Jewish people living in the world were brutally killed. In Holocaust part 2 that the bible tells us in Zechariah 13 verses 8 and 9 this,
“8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says the LORD, “ That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it: 9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
Ezekiel was instructed to go to the people of the combined nation of Israel [ all twelve tribes ] in exile.
I have heard statements from some Jewish men relative to the Jews being God’s Elect. They sarcastically wish that God would go and pick somebody else to be His Elect. I am sure they do not understand these words that they are saying. We all know of all the persecution these people have endured throughout the ages and even to our present day.
God loves the Jewish people and He Is not finished with them and will be their Deliverer and Savior also. Our God has been amazingly Faithful to His chosen people, the Jews. What has happened to the Jewish people should make us wake up for if He did not spare the true branches, how much will he not also cut off the wild branches that He so loving has grafted into His Kingdom. That’s us folks.
God is Good! We are evil. If we turn back to Him we can enjoy blessings from Him now and in the future to come. He has sent messengers to warn us from the danger that we are running towards. He wants us to stop and listen to Him - To turn around and choose His path to life eternal.
The people had become as verse 8 records, ‘hard-hearted’. Remember the Parable of our Lord Jesus used about the four seeds. which refer to listening and digesting God’s Word of Salvation. The gospel of Luke chapter 8 verses 4 through 15 say,
”4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” 10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘ Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”.
The people were like the first type of seed scattered. They were so hardened that nothing could penetrate their hearts and minds.
Have you ever been jealous before? Someone was out to take a loved one from you. It’s not a good place to be emotionally.
Our Lord in His great love used jealousy to ascertain if His people still cared about Him. He wanted them to know that He still cared about them. If the people would not come back to Him then he tried to arouse an emotion of jealousy in them as described. He would go to the gentiles. Look at these references in the Scriptures:
Romans 10:9, “9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Matthew 15: 21 – 28, ”21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”
Acts 7: 51 – 53, ”51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
Acts 13: 38 – 52, “38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. 40 Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you: 41 ‘ Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.’” 42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. 44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘ I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
Our Lord Jesus calls out to you and me today for similar reasons. Do we love Him? Doe we want Him in our Lives? Let us close as we see our beloved Lord ask Peter these same questions from the Gospel of John, chapter 21 verses 15 through 17:
”15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”
