What is the context?
The warning now turns toward Ezekiel himself. He must listen to the Lord rather than join the rebellion of the people to whom he is sent. The messenger is also accountable to the message.
A hand reaches toward him with a scroll. Unrolled, it shows writing on both sides, filled with lamentation, mourning and woe. What he is being given is a severe announcement, not a message designed merely to please its hearers.
The command to open his mouth and eat leads directly into the action at the beginning of chapter 3. Before speaking the words, Ezekiel must receive what the Lord gives him.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Henry reads the warning as a call for the prophet to obey the voice he must make known to others. Receiving the word includes facing its account of sin and judgment honestly.
Wesley understands the eating as part of the vision and explains the written surfaces as the inside and outside of the unrolled scroll. Both explanations place the scroll within Ezekiel’s preparation to deliver the Lord’s message.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.