1He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”
2So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the scroll.
3He said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your belly and your bowels with it.”
Then I ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. 5For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel— 6not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words you can’t understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you. 7But the house of Israel will not listen to you, for they will not listen to me; for all the house of Israel are obstinate and hard-hearted. 8Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. 9I have made your forehead as a diamond, harder than flint. Don’t be afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”
10Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, receive in your heart and hear with your ears all my words that I speak to you. 11Go to them of the captivity, to the children of your people, and speak to them, and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says,’ whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse.”
12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing, saying, “Blessed be Yahweh’s glory from his place.” 13I heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, even the noise of a great rushing. 14So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and Yahweh’s hand was strong on me. 15Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel Aviv who lived by the river Chebar, and to where they lived; and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.
16At the end of seven days, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 17“Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me. 18When I tell the wicked, ‘You will surely die;’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity; but I will require his blood at your hand. 19Yet if you warn the wicked, and he doesn’t turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.”
20“Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he will die. Because you have not given him warning, he will die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered; but I will require his blood at your hand. 21Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man, that the righteous not sin, and he does not sin, he will surely live, because he took warning; and you have delivered your soul.”
22Yahweh’s hand was there on me; and he said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and I will talk with you there.”
23Then I arose, and went out into the plain, and behold, Yahweh’s glory stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar. Then I fell on my face.
24Then the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me, and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25But you, son of man, behold, they will put ropes on you, and will bind you with them, and you will not go out among them. 26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and will not be able to correct them, for they are a rebellious house. 27But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.”
There are so many mysteries of God, and these passages we've been reading remind us that we can't understand everything about God. I don't understand why the wicked prosper. I don't understand why the righteous suffer. I don't understand why, if God wants to be known, He seems so hidden. My dad used to comfort me by just telling me, "Son, these are just part of the mystery." Perhaps the mystery of the "little book" is that it was sweet in the mouth but bitter in the belly. We have an expression to "devour something." You might be reading an exciting book and tell someone, "I got into the book, and I just devoured it." When we see prophecies coming to pass, there will be a sweetness to it. When we see the lion lying down with a lamb, it all sounds glorious and will indeed be. But to get from here to there is going to be an awful bitter journey. There is a sweetness in knowing how it will end up, but the bitterness for the Earth will be in getting there. The shepherd King, David, proclaims, 103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalms 119:103-105)
Likewise, the Prophet Ezekiel speaks of the sweetness of the word. 1He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the scroll.3 He said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your belly and your bowels with it. Then I ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth." (Ezekiel 3:1-4 WEB)
There is indeed a sweetness in God's Word. When we read it, we are refreshed. We are enlightened. We are strengthened. We are inspired. We are changed. We are empowered. We are informed, and we are transformed! We read of His lovingkindness and His mercy (chesed). But, there is a side of God's Word which promises Judgment. There is a side that speaks of vengeance and wrath that will be poured out on the nations. God is indeed perfect love, but He is perfect justice. One cannot stand without the other. To take one and ignore the other is to disregard half of God's essence. It is to deny who He is and what He desires of mankind. To see only one side of God's Word is to deny that He is Who He says that He is, and that He will do what He says He will do. What we are seeing in this passage is the bitterness of the effects of sin, but the sweetness of fellowship with Him. Reader, stay in His word. Eat of the sweetness of the Lord. If you do, out of your being will flow streams of living water (John 7:38).