“Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak...

Ezekiel 2:1-3:10 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

2 Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” ² As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. ³ Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. ⁴ I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵ As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

⁸ “Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” ⁹ Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. ¹⁰ When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.

3 Then 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 fed me this scroll. ³ 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.

⁴ Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. ⁵ For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, ⁶ nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; ⁷ yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely.

As for them, whether they listen or not… When God calls one of His servants to do something, He does not hold them responsible for the results. From the very beginning when God gave Adam dominion over all of creation, -  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28), God chose to work on earth through man. God doesn’t need anyone to do anything for Him, rather He gives His servants the opportunity and privilege of joining with Him in His work. Jesus Himself said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing…(John 5:19-20)  In the same way God reveals to us, His servants, what His will is and how we can join Him in His work.

God is omniscient, all knowing, He knows in advance who will respond to His word in a favorable way. We are not responsible for the reaction of others, that’s the job of the Holy Spirit. It is He who,  will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; (John 16:8) God desires and requires only that we be faithful to sow the seed of the word which He gives us. Ecclesiastes 11:6 says: Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.  When we become result oriented rather than simply staying true to the call to sow the seed of the word, we tend to change, modify or adjust the message to bring about the results we hope for. We need to remember that it is God’s will, God’s work, we are just to join Him, being faithful to do the work He calls us to.

The prophet Ezekiel, in today’s text, had to eat the scroll, to ingest the written word, in order to have the word of God to speak.  Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 10:18-20.  You will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. ²⁰ For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.    In John 14:26 Jesus says:  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.     So, it is the Holy Spirit who will speak for us. We do though have a part to play, some things we need to do in order to be faithful messengers of God’s word. We need to yield to the Holy Spirit, remembering that it is the Spirit who is responsible for the results of the words we speak and sow.  Jesus says also though that the Spirit will bring to our remembrance all that He said. In order for us to remember what Jesus said we need to have heard it. Like the prophet, we too must fill ourselves with God’s word so that we can share it.

We need to read and study God’s written Word, we need to fill ourselves with it so that the Spirit can bring it forth from us. We also though need to remember that Jesus is “the Word made flesh.” Jesus says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh."(John 6:51) We don’t literally eat the physical body of Christ, but as the prophet ingested the scroll, we need to become one with Jesus, we need to be in Christ.    The psalmist says: Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.(Psalm 37:4) Along with reading and studying God’s Word we need also to spend time in His presence. When we are in the presence of God, in prayer, worship and communion with Him, we become more like Him. When we delight in Him, our will becomes subject to His will. Our ways and thoughts become subject to His. We then, knowing the will, the word, the very mind and heart of God become faithful messengers of His Word.

In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul encouraged Timothy and us to:  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. We are not responsible for the results. We are only responsible, privileged, to join God in His work. Be ready. Be filled, both with the Spirit and the word. Delight in the Lord, that His will becomes your will, that your prayer becomes the Lord’s prayer; Your kingdom come, your will be done,
 on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread; that we would become faithful messengers of His word.   Amen.