The Strand Study Bible

EZEKIEL

EZEKIEL

1251

2:2 b God always enables you to do what He calls and commands you to do ( and set me upon my feet – Phil 4:13). 2:2c The more you obey His will the better you’ll know His voice ( I heard him ). THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Those who will “hear” His Word will “know” His voice 3:1 The reason God wants men to “consume” ( eat this roll ) His Word is because physical sustenance is never enough to nourish the needs of mankind (Lk 4:1-4). According to the Bible, man needs more than the physical to truly survive; he needs the spiritual as well (Heb 4:12). The Word of God not only nourishes man spiritually, it nurtures (heals and cares for him - Psa 107:20 and Lk 4:16-18). NOTE – God’s Word, inspired by God’s SPIRIT (II Pet 1:20-21), can be “consumed” by man seven different ways: 1. Through individual reading (II Tim 3:16) 2. Through other’s reading (Neh 8:1-8, I Tim 4:13 and Lk 4:16-18) 3. Through other’s preaching (Neh 8:9-12, I Tim 4:13, II Tim 4:1-2 and Mt 4:17) 4. Through other’s teaching (I Tim 4:13 and Mt 11:1 & 28:19) 5. Through individual studying (Neh 8:13-18, I Tim 4:13 and II Tim 2:15 & 3:16) 6. Through individual memorization (Psa 119:11) 7. Through individual meditation (Ezk 3:1, Jere 15:16, Psa 1:1-3 and Josh 1:8) 3:2 By “eating” the roll ( So I opened my mouth ), which contained the Word of God, Ezekiel was accepting the responsibility of his calling. 3:3 The Bible is compared to four kinds of foods: 3:6 Why is it that people who are not familiar with the Word of God are more easily influenced by it (t hey would have hearkened unto thee ) than those who have had access to it for a long time (Acts 13:46-47/Isa 49:6 and Rom 9:1-5)? Why is it that people get accustomed to the Word of God and end up taking it for granted? Because the Word of God is compared to “light” (Prov 6:23 and Psa 119:105), and those who have experienced that light get accustomed to it, those who see it and hear it for the first time are usually captivated by it (Acts 13:48). The warning here, of course, is to never take “light” for granted. To do so is to lose what light you have and to spend the rest of your life in desolation, destruction, and distress (regret – Prov 1:22-33 and Heb 6:4-6 & 10:26-31 ). There are four “lights” that we are told about in Scripture that we are never to take “lightly:” 1. God (Psa 27:1 and I Jn 1:5) GOD THE FATHER is light ( Isa 10:16-17 ) GOD THE SON is light ( Gen 1:3b , Exo 13:21 & 25:31-37, Isa 9:2 & 42:6 & 49:6 & 60:1,19-20, Jn 1:1-4 & 8:12 & 9:5 and Rev 21:23 ) GOD THE SPIRIT is light ( I Cor 3:16 and Jn 14:16-18 ) 2. God’s Word (II Pet 1:19) 3. God’s signs (Gen 1:14-18 and Jere 31:35) The sun, moon, and stars are signs that are not to be ignored ( Gen 1:14b ) 4. God’s people (Mt 5:14-16, Jn 12:36 and Eph 5:8) Spending time with the people of God (attending Church – Heb 10:25), learning to love them (I Jn 3:14 and III Jn 5-8), and learning from them (Prov 27:17 and II Jn 1-4) and their mistakes (I Cor 5:1-5 and II Cor 2:1-11) is no small matter before God. NOTE - To experience the “light” of God (be it God Himself, His Word, His signs, or the testimony of His people) and to get use to it and then ignore it is to bring great darkness (regret) into your life, whether you are saved (Mt 6:22-24) or unsaved (Lk 16:19-31, II Pet 2:17, Jude 11-13 and Rev 20:11-15). Those who have experienced the “light” are clearly more responsible for it than those who have not (Mt 11:20-24). To whom much “light” is given, of him shall be much required (Lk 12:48). If the spiritual insight of a believer is dim due to a preoccupation with the temporal, then according to Christ in Matthew 6:22-24, his insight will be as dark, if not darker ( how great is that darkness - Deut 28:15,28-34,45 and II Chro 33:1-9), than that of an unsaved person’s insight. 1. honey (Ezk 3:3) 2. milk (I Pet 2:2) 3. bread (Mt 4:4) 4. meat (Heb 5:14)