You Shall Eat What I Give You

Message #6

You Shall Eat What I Give You[1]

Ezekiel 2:8-3:3

(All Scripture quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted[2])

Key Principle: God’s Word is not a smorgasbord where individual items can be chosen or ignored. Faithful believers are committed to discovering and obeying all of God’s commands by faith, not just the ones that appeal to them.

Introduction: You Shall Eat.

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving. It was a far different Thanksgiving than the ones we have celebrated in the past. The pandemic made travel difficult and we had to avoid the traditional large gatherings of family and friends. Here at the church, we chose not to have a Thanksgiving Fellowship. Earlier this year we chose to cancel our Resurrection Sunday [Easter Sunday] breakfast out of caution and a concern for one another.

Growing up, I always looked forward to Thanksgiving. There would be an abundance of good food. There was turkey and all the trimmings. Then there were countless side dishes. Each one seemed to complete with the other for a lavish display of crème, sugar, cheese, etc. Then there were the desserts plural! There was no calorie counting on that day or in the days to follow as the overabundance of calories were consumed.

In most homes Thanksgiving is treated as a traditional smorgasbord. You can pick and choose what you will eat. On the whole that was true in my family’s house while I was growing up. There was an exception. If we were visiting in someone else’s home we were required to eat what was set before us, no exceptions. We were carefully instructed not to offend our host or hostess.

One Thanksgiving we were invited to the home of my Mother’s best friend from college. This was a treat. My “Aunt” Almira made some the best candy you have ever tasted. However, I was in for a surprise during the feast itself. Aunt Almira had prepared sweet potatoes. I love candied sweet potatoes. How was I to know that she had prepared them with a novel orange glaze and not brown sugar and butter?

I took a hearty portion. Then I tasted them. I immediately had a dilemma. It would be rough eating them. However, I knew I had no choice. I dared not offend our hostess. I applied a bit of wisdom I had learned earlier. Eat the food you like least first so that it will not leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Its like the old saying. “Eat a toad for breakfast and everything else will taste good [in comparison] for the rest of the day.” Ezekiel was asked to eat a bitter meal, if you will. Surprisingly, it would be sweet to the taste and filling.

Ezekiel 2:8–3:3 (NKJV) - 8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

9 Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

3 Moreover He 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 that scroll.

3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.

It is good to examine a biblical text from different viewpoints. Here is how Daniel I. Block translates this passage.

Ezekiel 2:8-3:3 - 8 “As for you, human, listen to whatever I declare to you. Do not be rebellious, like that rebellious household. Open your mouth and eat whatever I give to you.” 9 Then I noticed a hand stretched out toward me, and in it was a rolled-up scroll. 10 He unrolled it before me; it was full of writing, front and back. Inscribed on it were laments,54 moaning, and wailing.

3:1 Then he said to me, “Human, whatever you find here, eat.56 Eat this scroll. And go, speak to the household of Israel.”

2 So I opened my mouth and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 He said to me, “Human, gorge your stomach; and fill your belly with this scroll that I am handing you.”

So, I ate it, and it turned sweet as honey in my mouth.[3]

Faithful believers understand that God’s Word is not a smorgasbord where they can pick and choose what to believe. Instead, by faith they seek to discover and obey all the commands in God’s Word (Ezekiel 2:8-3:3; Matthew 28:18-20).

Here is another way of stating the same truth. “It takes the whole Bible to make a whole Christian.” I do not know who first made this statement but it hits the bulls eye. First, note the composition of the scroll. It was written on the front and the back.

This probably means it was a papyrus scroll. At that time, they did not have the ability to write on the front and back of a scroll made from animal skins. That is a sidenote. Here is the key point. There was no room for Ezekiel to add his own thoughts or opinions. There was room only for the revelation of the LORD. God commanded Ezekiel to eat all of it. He was not allowed to pick and choose on whether or not to obey any of God’s clear commands. Jesus stressed this same truth with these words.

Matthew 28:18–20 (NKJV) - 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

I. Do Not Rebel.

Ezekiel 2:8 (NKJV) - 8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

In our study of Ezekiel, we will discover that Ezekiel’s fellow priests, rulers, and the common people were wretched rebels against God and His Word. It is fascinating to note that rebellion and false worship typically go hand in hand. King Saul, Israel’s first king, had committed this grave sin.

When the prophet Samuel did not show up to offer a sacrifice when King Saul thought Samuel should show up, King Saul took matters into his own hands literally. He offered the sacrifice that only a priest should offer. He mixed worship with rebellion. Please note that Saul justified his sin as “worship.” Hear God’s rebuke through Samuel.

1 Samuel 15:22–23 (NKJV) - 22 So Samuel said:

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

As in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

And to heed than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,

And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

He also has rejected you from being king.”

Faithful believers strive, by faith, to worship God according to His revealed Word. They understand that the failure to believe and obey is an act of rebellion that can be compared to witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:22, 23).

Ezekiel understood this powerful truth. We will witness one faithful act of worship after another by Ezekiel in this study. Ezekiel’s life was in sharp contrast with most of his contemporaries.

II. Lamentations, Mourning, and Woe!

“History does not repeat itself but it does rhyme.” This quote is typically attributed to Mark Twain. This reflects a biblical truth.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NKJV)

9 That which has been is what will be,

That which is done is what will be done,

And there is nothing new under the sun.

Men and women from each generation respond to challenges and hardships either with faith in God’s revealed Word or in sinful rebellion and self-delusion (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

At the beginning of our current study of Ezekiel I emphasized this important point. God is gracious and longsuffering. God began warning the Jewish people in the days of Moses that they would be judged and go into captivity if they fell into idolatry, the worship of false gods. These warnings continued for some 800 years.

God sent Ezekiel to warn these rebels that the day of judgment had finally come. The captivity had already begun and Jerusalem with its Temple was about to be destroyed.

[Show the two slides on the captivity and how Ezekiel was a contemporary to Jeremiah and Daniel.]

Ezekiel was given the difficult message of warning these hard-headed, hard-hearted, rebellious sinners who had no intention of hearing anything that they did not want to hear. Tragically, these rebels viewed God’s Word as an optional smorgasbord.

Ezekiel 2:8–10 (NKJV) - 8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

9 Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

Ezekiel’s message to his Jewish brethren was a message of lamentations and mourning and woe because they were a rebellious people (Ezekiel 2:8-10).

We began by mentioning the Thanksgiving holiday that just passed. We are now looking forward to the Christmas season yet to come. There are parallels to Ezekiel’s day and to the time of Jesus’ birth. Listen to this prophecy spoken by Simeon as he held the baby Jesus.

Luke 2:25–35 (NKJV) - 25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,

According to Your word;

30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation

31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,

And the glory of Your people Israel.”

33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

At Jesus’ First Coming, the vast majority rejected Him as their Messiah. A message of hope and peace became a message of woe for those who refused to come to Jesus by faith (Luke 2:25-35).

People may have said that they were looking for their coming Messiah when Jesus was born but this was only true of a few. Only the shepherds came to worship Jesus at His birth. The wise men did not show up till over a year later. The only other believers we see coming to Jesus as an infant were Simeon and Anna when Mary and Joseph had the baby Jesus dedicated in the Temple.

When Jesus walked the earth, His greatest enemies were the Pharisees. What was their sin? The Pharisees were remarkably similar to Ezekiel’s contemporaries.

The Pharisees thought that they could invent their own ways of coming to God in worship. They did not worship according to faith in God’s revealed Word. This continued to be a problem in the early church. The Preacher in Hebrews has to warn almost believing fellow Jews with these words.

Hebrews 3:7–16 (NKJV) - 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,

8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

In the day of trial in the wilderness,

9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,

And saw My works forty years.

10 Therefore I was angry with that generation,

And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,

And they have not known My ways.’

11 So I swore in My wrath,

‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?

Believers must clearly warn others that salvation is only possible when sinners come to Christ by faith in response to the clear, written Word of God (Hebrews 3:7-16).

Our stubborn, self-centered human hearts love to invent acts of “worship” that are not focused on God at all. Instead, these false acts of worship exalt our sinful selves at God’s expense. Jesus spoke of the Pharisees who tithed in ways that others would see them or prayed on street corners for the same reason.

We are all sinners (Romans 3:23). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Only Jesus could pay that debt for us (Isaiah 53:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Only those who repent and trust in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection will be saved (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

As believers, we are to obey our Lord and Savior. However, we are powerless to do any kind of work that would earn our salvation. Jesus had to do this for us. It is only when we believe in Jesus’ finished work that we are saved. His Holy Spirit then comes to live within us and grant us the power that we so desperately need to overcome sin and obey His righteous commands.

III. Do Be Filled.

The opposite of rebellion is submission. By faith Ezekiel fully submitted to God and His revealed Word. Ezekiel 37 is a remarkable chapter. There Ezekiel describes the Jewish people as dried, lifeless bones because of their lack of faith. Then Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy, to share the spoken Word of God.

Amazingly, the bones take on flesh. Yet the bones and flesh were still lifeless. Again, Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy. Only when the Holy Spirit enters these bodies do they truly alive.

In the New Testament it is clear that it is the Holy Spirit who brings new life into sin-deadened souls (John 3, Titus 3, etc.). This new life only occurs when sinners hear the spoken Word and come to Christ by faith. One saved, we must continue to worship and serve by faith in dependence upon the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Believers daily seek to be controlled by the Holy Spirit in obedience to the clear, revealed Word of God (Ephesians 5:18).

Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV) - 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

I have confronted sinning professed believers with the Word. This is the loving thing to do. Tragically, I have heard some say, “Well that is your opinion, not mine.” I strive not to simply share my own opinions. If you can show me where I am doing that it is my resolve to repent.

Here is the point. Come Judgment Day your opinion or mine will be worthless. Only those things that we have done by faith according to the revealed Word of God will stand. To those who would say, “You have your opinions and I have mine” I say this. Personal opinions will prove worthless before the throne of Christ. Faith in God’s revealed Word will be all that matters.

Implementation: You Shall Speak.

Injustice and rebellion in this life will give way to justice and a reward for the faithful in the life to come. Ezekiel was commanded to eat the scroll set before him.

The scroll symbolized the Word of God. It was written on the front and the back. It was complete. There was no room for Ezekiel’s opinions or the opinions of anyone else.

Ezekiel 2:8–3:3 (NKJV) - 8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

9 Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

3 Moreover He 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 that scroll.

3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So, I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.

Ezekiel’s enemies would make his life miserable. They would insist on living according to their own opinions, their own stubborn ways. God reminded Ezekiel in this passage that all wrongs will be made right on Judgment Day. There will be sweet deliverance for all who come to Christ by faith in the clearly revealed Word of God, not personal opinions.

In the face of life’s harshest trials believers can strengthen themselves by studying and grasping by faith the sure promise of vindication in the judgment to come (Ezekiel 2:8-3:3).

Last week we focused in on this command from God to Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 2:7 (NKJV) - 7 You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious.

Believers must warn unbelievers that the only way to prepare for the coming judgment is to trust in Jesus in this life (Ezekiel 2:7; 1 John 5:11, 12).

The more things change the more things stay the same. There is nothing new under the sun. History may not repeat itself but it does rhyme. Thankfully, I do not believe America has sunk to the level of rebellion that was true in Ezekiel’s day but that rebellion is growing.

How many of the people you know took time to truly thank God for who He is and the blessings He bestows this past week? A failure to be thankful is a clear sign of rebellion.

Romans 1:20–21 (NKJV) - 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

How many of the people you know are looking forward to Christmas genuinely trusting in and delighting in Jesus’ finished work on the cross? The gifts under the tree hold no true, lasting value if the people receiving them do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord.

As the Christmas season approaches once again, let us as believers rejoice in the sure hope in this life and for the life to come. Let us then be faithfully in sharing this Good News of Christ with those who are till lost in their sins.

Benediction:

Psalm 107:2 (NKJV)

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy

[1] A message prepared by Pastor Don Ibbotson for the 11:00 a.m. service, Sunday, November 22, 2020.

[2] The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

[3] Block, D. I. (1997). The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 1–24 (pp. 122–123). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.