Do we love God’s word even when it hurts?
Ezekiel 3:3
Ezekiel 1-3 should be taken together as Ezekiel’s call to ministry as a prophet of the Lord. Ezekiel 1 consists of an overwhelming vision of the glory of God which leaves him face down on the ground, undoubtedly breathless and overwhelmed. Ezekiel 2 is God’s formal call to Ezekiel to speak the words of God to Israel, a rebellious nation, whether they listen or fail to listen. In Ezekiel 3, God gives to the prophet a scroll with writing on both sides of it, words that describe lamentation, mourning, and woe—the sorrows of the impending judgments God will bring on Israel for their sins. “Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth” (Ezekiel 3:3). Ezekiel, like all the prophets before and after him, was called on to speak harsh words of judgment to a stubborn and rebellious people which will bring him great suffering when the people refuse to listen. The question for him would be whether he would be obedient to God or rebel like the Jewish nation.
Even though it contained harsh words of impending judgment, the scroll tasted as sweet as honey in his mouth.
The words of judgment written on the scroll were handed to Ezekiel by a hand extended to him from God himself. He was commanded to eat that scroll and fill his stomach with it. Even though it contained harsh words of impending judgment, the scroll tasted as sweet as honey in his mouth. This is an amazing detail, worthy of deep meditation by the people of God. The sins of the human race have resulted in the entire planet being under a curse of destruction and ultimate death. When all the judgments of God are fully and finally unleashed (as described in the Book of Revelation), it will result in the total destruction of all material things that God originally made very good. This beautiful world—its rivers and oceans and mountains and valleys, its various plants, flowers, trees, and fruits, its birds and beasts and sea creatures—all this magnificent creation was spoken into existence by the breath of God and crafted by the hand of God for his glory. Man’s sin has brought the curse of God down upon it, and in the end, creation will be consumed in the fire of his righteous judgments. As Peter said, “The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). How terrible will that final day be, all brought about by thousands of years of wickedness by the human race! Those judgments are written by the sovereign pen of God in his book of decrees, and nothing can change them. Ezekiel’s scroll is a small representation of the final judgments that God’s holiness will bring on this world. The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple are a symbol of the ultimate destruction of this present world. The scroll is God’s prediction of that destruction. When Ezekiel ate it, it filled his stomach.
But for some mysterious reason, it tasted as sweet as honey in his mouth. Jeremiah said the same thing about the words of God that were entrusted to him: “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty” (Jeremiah 15:16). Every word from God is ultimately for his own glory and for the good of his chosen people. Even the harshest judgments which cause everything we see with our eyes to ignite in the fire of his holiness ultimately clear the way for the New Heavens and New Earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13). The sweetness comes from what the judgments will ultimately bring about: a perfect world in which there is no darkness, only light. The sweetness comes from the fulfillment of God’s ultimate purpose: “My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Ezekiel 37:27).
In the meantime, the scroll of God’s judgments will carry many words of lamentation, mourning, and woe. We will see human beings in torment, buildings in flames, the works of their hands destroyed, their songs swallowed up in cries of pain. When the Apostle John was handed a scroll and told to eat it, he also experienced the sweetness on his tongue, but it turned his stomach sour. It will sicken us temporarily to see the outcome of human rebellion in the judgments of God. But the world that will come will be eternally sweet to the tongue, melodious to the ear, ravishing to the eye, fragrant to the nose and luxurious to the touch. “Come, Lord Jesus! Make it so!”
