Ezekiel 3:1. Eat that thou findest— Eat that which is reached out to thee. Houbigant. The Chaldee, instead of eat, reads receive, as it is explained in the 10th verse, receive in thine heart. read more
1. eat . . . and . . . speak—God's messenger must first inwardly appropriate God's truth himself, before he "speaks" it to others (see on :-). Symbolic actions were, when possible and proper, performed outwardly; otherwise, internally and in spiritual vision, the action so narrated making the naked statement more intuitive and impressive by presenting the subject in a concentrated, embodied form. read more
The Lord told Ezekiel to eat the scroll, a symbolic way of telling him to consume mentally and assimilate emotionally its contents. [Note: E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, p. 826.] After he did this he was to go and speak to the Israelites, to tell them what the Lord had revealed. So the prophet consumed the contents of the scroll as the Lord fed it to him. The words of the Lord were sweet to Ezekiel’s taste as he took them in (cf. Revelation 10:9-10). The word of God has... read more
The Restoration of the Temple WorshipThis chapter describes God’s return to the Temple (Ezekiel 43:1-12), and His directions as to the construction (Ezekiel 43:13-17), and dedication (Ezekiel 43:18-26) of the altar of burnt offering. When these directions were carried out God’s sacrificial intercourse with Israel would be resumed (Ezekiel 43:27). The outer eastern gateway, by which God’s glory returned, was to be permanently shut (Ezekiel 44:1-8).(a) God’s Return to the Temple (Ezekiel... read more
The Assimilation of Doctrine Ezekiel 3:1 I. The mere swallowing of food is not enough unless it be assimilated and digested; yet it is a necessary condition of digestion. So with our beliefs; we swallow them wholesale by an act of extrinsic faith based on the word of others; and such faith is like the prop that supports a plant till it strikes root downwards and becomes self-supporting. They are not ours fully save in the measure that we have worked them into the fabric of our life and... read more
EZEKIEL’S PROPHETIC COMMISSIONEzekiel 2:1-10; Ezekiel 3:1-27THE call of a prophet and the vision of God which sometimes accompanied it are the two sides of one complex experience. The man who has truly seen God necessarily has a message to men. Not only are his spiritual perceptions quickened and all the powers of his being stirred to the highest activity, but there is laid on his conscience the burden of a sacred duty and a lifelong vocation to the service of God and man. The true prophet... read more
Ezekiel 2:9-10 ; Ezekiel 3:1-14 . Compare the roll here with Zechariah 5:1-4 ; with the one of Revelation 5:1-14 , which the Lamb receives and opens, and the little roll in Revelation 10:9-10 . These rolls have the same meaning, namely, the Word itself, the message of tribulation and judgment, which is written therein. The Word must be received and eaten, that is the spiritual lesson. Ezekiel obeyed. It was self surrender and though the message was a hard message, yet it was sweet unto him.... read more
3:1 Moreover he said to me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; {a} eat this scroll, and go speak to the house of Israel.(a) By which is meant that no one is fit to be God’s messenger before he has received the word of God in his heart, as in Ezekiel 3:10 and has a zeal to it, and delight in it, as in Jeremiah 15:16, Revelation 10:10 . read more
HIS CALL AND PREPARATION Ezekiel was carried to Babylon with King Jehoiachin, as we gather by comparing Ezekiel 1:1 ; Ezekiel 33:21 ; Ezekiel 40:1 with 2 Kings 24:11-16 ; and lived with the exiles on the river Chebar probably at Tel-abib (Ezekiel 1:1 ; Ezekiel 1:3 ; Ezekiel 3:15 ). Unlike Jeremiah, he was married and had a stated residence (Ezekiel 8:1 ; Ezekiel 24:1 ; Ezekiel 24:18 ). His ministry began in the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity, and seven before the capture of Jerusalem... read more
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Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Ezekiel 3:1
EZEKIEL'S COMMISSION CONCLUDEDIn this chapter we have: (1) Ezekiel commanded to eat the roll of the book (Ezekiel 3:1-3); (2) God promises Ezekiel power to overcome the difficulties of his mission (Ezekiel 3:4-9); (3) Ezekiel is brought to the place where he is to labor (Ezekiel 3:10-15); (4) Ezekiel is warned of his responsibility for the souls entrusted to his watchfulness (Ezekiel 3:16-21); and (5) we have the conclusion (the third phase) of Ezekiel's divine commission to Israel (Ezekiel... read more