Listen to Devotion

Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

Books designed for children under the age of one have bold black, white, and red illustrations. Those are seen best by developing eyes. Those books often have thick, sturdy pages that can stand going into a baby’s mouth. At that age, everything a baby touches goes into the mouth. It must taste terrible.

In the days of the prophet Ezekiel, words were written on scrolls, not books. Babies might put scrolls in their mouths, but adults would carefully unroll and read them. It must have surprised the prophet Ezekiel when he heard that he was supposed to eat the scroll he was given. The words on the scroll were unpleasant, but when Ezekiel obeyed the command and ate the scroll, it did not taste terrible. It tasted as sweet as honey.

People suspect that the Word of God will be terrible for them. They know that God is strict, and they worry that they will get a sour taste in their stomachs if they take God’s Word seriously. But they soon realize that God’s promises of forgiveness, love, and salvation through Jesus are sweet.

Babies need to learn to eat food with unfamiliar tastes. People need to learn to hear unfamiliar words from God. Eventually, they will taste and see that the Lord is good.

Heavenly Father, help me to appreciate the rich feast you have prepared for me to eat when I read the Bible. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.