Ezekiel 3:1-9

Ezekiel 3:1-9
New International Version (NIV)

  So many of us want to skip to the second part of God's command.  We want to go out, but we don't want to eat first.
  God commands Ezekiel to eat the scroll.  He's not just looking at it -- he's taking it in, to the point that it's becoming part of him.  The Word is food that nourishes us, sustenance we need for our journey.  This is more than just reading -- it's reading with the intent that our consumption of the text changes us.  Do you read the Bible this way?  Do you take it in, or do you just scan it?
  Once the text is within us, then we can be sent, but it isn't always going to be easy or glamorous.  Sometimes, it's a hard message, one that people will oppose.  God tells Ezekiel that he is in for a rough road.  God's blessing to Ezekiel is to make him as tough as the people who will be opposing him.  What a gift!  God reminds him that the fear and anger of the people will be directed towards God, and that Ezekiel is not to be responsible for that.  Ezekiel's job is to be transformed by the Word and then to be faithful, no matter the challenges.