Question 1

What does it mean that Ezekiel was told to eat the roll or scroll?

Accepted Answer

When God tells Ezekiel to eat the roll, He is not feeding him paper for its own sake. The picture is simple but deep: Ezekiel must take God’s message into his very self. Eating the scroll means receiving God’s words with his mind, heart, and will, until they become part of him like food becomes part of the body. Only then is he ready to speak. God’s servants are not meant to pass on second‑hand words, but to speak what they have first taken in and believed themselves.

Question 2

Why was the scroll in Ezekiel’s mouth as honey for sweetness?

Accepted Answer

Ezekiel says the scroll tasted as sweet as honey. This shows that God’s word, even when it contains hard warnings and judgment, is good and pleasant to a believing heart. He delights in receiving what God says, because it comes from God and shows God’s will. At the same time, this sweetness sits beside later bitterness, because the message includes sorrowful news for a stubborn people. For those who love God, His truth can be both sweet to receive and heavy to carry.

Question 3

Why does God say Israel will not listen to Ezekiel?

Accepted Answer

God tells Ezekiel that the house of Israel will not listen to him, because they have not listened to God Himself. The problem is not language or culture, since Ezekiel speaks their tongue and shares their background. The problem is their hearts. They are called impudent and hardhearted, meaning they are stubborn, unashamed in their sin, and unwilling to be corrected. This shows that even clear teaching does not help when people refuse to bow to God, and that rejecting God’s messengers is really rejecting God.

Question 4

What does it mean that Ezekiel’s face and forehead were made like flint?

Accepted Answer

God tells Ezekiel, “I have made thy face strong against their faces” and compares his forehead to an adamant stone, harder than flint. This picture means God is giving him courage and firmness so he will not be scared or worn down by angry looks, arguments, or mockery. The people’s hearts are hard in rebellion, so God makes His servant firm in obedience. Ezekiel is not to be rude, but steady and unmovable. This shows that when God sends someone, He also gives strength to endure opposition.

Question 5

What was Ezekiel sent to say to the exiles in this passage?

Accepted Answer

Ezekiel is told to go to “them of the captivity,” the children of his people, and say, “Thus saith the Lord GOD.” His task is not to share his own ideas, but to pass on God’s exact words. He must speak whether the people listen or refuse, because their reaction does not change God’s truth. He is first told to receive all of God’s words in his heart and hear them with his ears, then to go and relay them to the exiles. His duty is faithfulness, not managing outcomes.

Question 6

Why did Ezekiel go in bitterness and in the heat of his spirit?

Accepted Answer

After the Spirit lifts Ezekiel up and carries him away, he says he went “in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit,” while the hand of the Lord was strong on him. This shows his inner struggle. On one side, God’s call and power are holding him firm. On the other side, his human feelings are stirred up. He feels the weight of the hard message and the sad condition of his people. Obeying God brings him into real tension, yet God’s strong hand keeps him going in the path he has been given.

Question 7

What happened when Ezekiel arrived at Tel-abib by the river Chebar?

Accepted Answer

When Ezekiel comes to the exiles at Tel-abib, who live by the river Chebar, he sits where they sit and remains there astonished for seven days. He does not rush to speak. Instead, he shares their place and their silence. His being “astonished” shows how deeply he feels the weight of what he has seen and heard from God and the state of the people. This quiet week hints that God’s messengers should not speak lightly, but with a heart that has truly taken in both God’s word and people’s sorrow.

Question 8

What does this passage teach about how God prepares His servants?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows that God prepares His servants in at least three ways. First, He makes them take in His word deeply, like Ezekiel eating the scroll and receiving the words in his heart. Second, He tells them the truth about their task, including that some people will refuse to listen. There is no false promise of easy success. Third, He gives them inner strength, pictured as a hard forehead, so they can stand firm without fear. God’s call always comes with both a message to carry and grace to endure.

Question 9

How can Ezekiel’s calling help believers today respond to God’s word?

Accepted Answer

Ezekiel’s calling shows that God’s word should not only be heard but also “eaten,” taken into the heart. Believers today can follow this by reading and thinking on Scripture until it shapes their desires and choices, not just their opinions. It also shows that obedience is needed even when others are not eager to listen. Like Ezekiel, people who share God’s word should expect both sweetness and sorrow: joy in knowing God’s truth, and pain when it is rejected, while trusting God to give strength to stay faithful.

Ezekiel 3:1

Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

Ezekiel Eats the Scroll

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Ezekiel 3:1

Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

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Ezekiel Eats the Scroll

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