After the Lord had pointed out to the prophet the difficulties of the call laid upon him, He prepared him for the performance of his office, by inspiring him with the divine word which he is to announce. - Ezekiel 2:8. And thou, son of man, hear what I say to thee, Be not stiff-necked like the stiff-necked race; open thy mouth, and eat what I give unto thee. Ezekiel 2:9. Then I saw, and, lo, a hand outstretched towards me; and, lo, in the same a roll of a book. Ezekiel 2:10. And He spread it out before me; the same was written upon the front and back: and there were written upon it lamentations, and sighing, and woe. Ezekiel 3:1. And He said to me: Son of man, what thou findest eat; eat the roll, and go and speak to the house of Israel. Ezekiel 3:2. Then opened I my mouth, and He gave me this roll to eat. Ezekiel 3:3. And said to me: Son of man, feed thy belly, and fill thy body with this roll which I give thee. And I ate it, and it was in my mouth as honey and sweetness. - The prophet is to announce to the people of Israel only that which the Lord inspires him to announce. This thought is embodied in symbol, in such a way that an outstretched hand reaches to him a book, which he is to swallow, and which also, at God's command, he does swallow; cf. Revelation 10:9. This roll was inscribed on both sides with lamentations, sighing, and woe (הי is either abbreviated from נהי, not equals אי, or as Ewald, 101c, thinks, is only a more distinct form of הוי or הו). The meaning is not, that upon the roll was inscribed a multitude of mournful expressions of every kind, but that there was written upon it all that the prophet was to announce, and what we now read in his book. These contents were of a mournful nature, for they related to the destruction of the kingdom, the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple. That Ezekiel may look over the contents, the roll is spread out before his eyes, and then handed to him to be eaten, with the words, "Go and speak to the children of Israel," i.e., announce to the children of Israel what you have received into yourself, or as it is termed in Ezekiel 3:4, דּברי, "my words." The words in Ezekiel 3:3 were spoken by God while handing to the prophet the roll to be eaten. He is not merely to eat, i.e., take it into his mouth, but he is to fill his body and belly therewith, i.e., he is to receive into his innermost being the word of God presented to him, to change it, as it were, into sap and blood. Whilst eating it, it was sweet in his mouth. The sweet taste must not, with Kliefoth, be explained away into a sweet "after-taste," and made to bear this reference, that the destruction of Jerusalem would be followed by a more glorious restoration. The roll, inscribed with lamentation, sorrow, and woe, tasted to him sweetly, because its contents was God's word, which sufficed for the joy and gladness of his heart (Jeremiah 15:16); for it is "infinitely sweet and lovely to be the organ and spokesman of the Omnipotent," and even the most painful of divine truths possess to a spiritually-minded man a joyful and quickening side (Hengstenberg on Revelation 10:9). To this it is added, that the divine penal judgments reveal not only the holiness and righteousness of God, but also prepare the way for the revelation of salvation, and minister to the saving of the soul.

Ezekiel 3:12 Parallel Commentaries

spirit

Ezekiel 3:14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit...

Ezekiel 2:2 And the spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me on my feet, that I heard him that spoke to me.

Ezekiel 8:3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven...

Ezekiel 11:1,24 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me to the east gate of the LORD's house, which looks eastward...

Ezekiel 40:1,2 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month...

1 Kings 18:12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry you where I know not...

2 Kings 2:16 And they said to him, Behold now, there be with your servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray you, and seek your master...

Acts 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more...

a voice

Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Revelation 1:10,15 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet...

Blessed

Psalm 72:18,19 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things...

Psalm 103:20,21 Bless the LORD, you his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word...

Psalm 148:2 Praise you him, all his angels: praise you him, all his hosts.

Isaiah 6:3 And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Revelation 5:11-14 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders...

Revelation 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunder, saying...

glory

Ezekiel 9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house...

Ezekiel 10:4,18,19 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud...

Ezekiel 11:22,23 Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above...

Exodus 40:34,35 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle...

1 Samuel 4:21,22 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken...