Although Jeremiah comes before Ezekiel in the listing of Bible books, Ezekiel comes before Jeremiah on the timeline of history. In the three “waves” of deportation into exile in Babylon, Ezekiel was one of the first to go (Ezekiel 1:1), while Jeremiah was still in Jerusalem. Ezekiel’s call began with an astonishing vision, the famous four angelic creatures and wheel within a wheel, covered with a dome, topped with the throne of God’s glory (1:4-28). Ezekiel fell on his face in worship (1:28).

God told Ezekiel, “I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me” (2:3), to a people who are impudent and stubborn (2:4) and rebellious (2:5). “But you, mortal, hear what I say to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house” (2:8).

In order to convey to the people the word of the Lord, Ezekiel would need to be courageous: “do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words, and do not be dismayed at their looks” (2:6). He would also need to have the word of God in his mouth, and in his inmost being. God directed him, “Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it” (3:3). So Ezekiel ate it, and discovered that it was sweet as honey in his mouth (3:3).

We also need courage: and especially we need to be nourished and sustained by the word of God. Ezekiel’s testimony was that the book is sweet: but we seem to be afraid it won’t taste all that good. We fear that it might be bland or boring, or that it might not all be sweet for us – and indeed, like Ezekiel we will find that sometimes it contains words of lamentation, mourning and woe (2:10). Yet if we will feed our souls on the word, we might even now discover it to be as life-changing as Ezekiel did.

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Like our ancestors in the Exile, O God, we are impudent, stubborn, and rebellious. And we hardly know what a steady diet of your word would taste like, for we hesitate so much to feed on it from day to day. Grant us grace to obey your command, to feed on the book, that we too may find strength and joy in it.