Ezekiel 3:1

1 He said to me, Son of man, eat that which you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Yisra'el.

Ezekiel 3:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 3:1

Moreover he said unto me
The same glorious Person who had been speaking all along in the preceding chapter; and who was seen by the prophet on a sapphire throne, and described in ( Ezekiel 1:26-28 ) ; the first fifteen verses of this chapter are by Junius and Tremellius made a part of the second: son of man, eat that thou findest;
not anything, but what he found in the hand sent unto him; wherefore the Targum is,

``son of man, receive what is given thee;''

which was the roll, as follows: eat this roll;
not literally, but figuratively, as John is bid to eat the little book, ( Revelation 10:9 Revelation 10:10 ) ; that is, read it, meditate upon the things contained therein; and digest them, that he might be able to impart them, and make them known to others: it is explained in ( Ezekiel 3:10 ) ; by hearing and receiving the words of the prophecy; and so the Targum,

``receive what is written in this roll;''

this is to eat it; as great readers of books are called "helluones librorum", eaters of books, gluttons at them; read them greedily, deeply meditate upon what is in them, and thoroughly digest them; so it becomes all good men to eat the word, to mix it with faith, to receive it in the love of it, and constantly meditate on it, ( Psalms 1:1 Psalms 1:2 ) ; and especially ministers of the Gospel, ( 1 Thessalonians 4:15 ) ; and go, speak unto the house of Israel;
or, as the Targum,

``go, and prophesy to the house of Israel;''

for by eating the roll, in the sense given, he was fit for it; and when ministers of the word have read, and thought of, and digested the truths of the Gospel themselves, then they are prepared to go and enter upon their work, and feed others with knowledge and understanding.

Ezekiel 3:1 In-Context

1 He said to me, Son of man, eat that which you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Yisra'el.

2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the scroll.

3 He said to me, Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

4 He said to me, Son of man, go, get you to the house of Yisra'el, and speak with my words to them.

5 For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Yisra'el;