Ezekiel 3:1

1 He said to me, O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.

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, O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.

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

3 He said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.

4 He said to me: Mortal, go to the house of Israel and speak my very words to them.

5 For you are not sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel—