Ezekiel Receives His Mission

 "Listen then, son of man, to what I say, and don't be a rebel among rebels.  Open your mouth and take in what I'M about to say.

I looked and saw a hand stretched out in front of me holding a scroll.  HE unrolled it before me; on both sides were written lamentations, groaning and woes.

HE said to me. 'Son of man, eat what is given to you.  Eat this scroll and then go; speak to the people of Israel.'  I opened my mouth and HE made me eat the scroll; and then HE said to me, 'Eat and fill yourself with this scroll that I'M giving you.'  I ate it; and it tasted as sweet as honey.

He said, 'Son of man, go to the Israelites; speak to them with MY words." - Ezekiel 2:8-3:4

(This is similar to what has been expressed by earlier prophets.  When the LORD sent Isaiah, HE told him only about the counter-productive effect of his mission: the people will become hardened.  In Ezekiel's case, there is more optimism: sent to rebels, he must be firmer and more persistent that they are to break through the shell of their hardened hearts.  In fact, Ezekiel will be constantly arguing and fighting.  Paul will say later that those who evangelize must teach whether the time is right or not [2 Timothy 4:2] without ever losing heart.

Eat this scroll.  The vision of the scroll symbolically describes the call from YAHWEH, giving Ezekiel his mission.

Fill yourself with this scroll that I'M giving you.  The prophet is not a parrot that repeats words dropped from heaven: he has been given a global view of events, an understanding of the meaning of history.  He is possessed with fury, which is the fury of GOD against sin.  All this is signified by the scroll [such were the ancient books] which he had to eat.

For several years Ezekiel gives only predictions of death.  This explains why the book centers on woes and lamentations.

It tasted as sweet as honey.  Ezekiel eats these predictions of misfortune which seem sweet to him: the prophet has taken YAHWEH's side and he totally accepts HIS plans, however terrible they may seem to the people.  In sharing YAHWEH 's anger, Jeremiah kept his human heart and he suffered because of the suffering of HIS people.  Ezekiel, on the contrary, does not feel torn.

Thus, with the examples of several prophets, Scripture shows us how GOD's Word separates believers from their own people [Matthew 10:34].  All who are called to speak to others or lead them, begin to experience this conflict.  They do not say what people want to hear, nor are they disturbed by the complaints of cowards, and of the comfortable who ask to be left alone to live the way they want.  It will always be hard to lose the security we have from agreeing with everyone else.  True believers willingly take GOD's side, which means, at times, going against the grain.)

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