Ver. 1. Son of man, eat that thou findest.] Eat this roll or volume, without equivocation, or so much as questioning; yield simple obedience to the heavenly vision. It was in vision doubtless that the prophet did eat the roll, and not in very deed, as the foolish patient did the physician’s recipe, or as Mr Lewis of Manchester made the bishop’s summoner eat the citation which he brought for his wife, a martyr in Queen Mary’s days, by setring a dagger to his heart, and to drink to it when he had done. It was non reipsa, sed spiritu, saith an interpreter. See Ezekiel 3:10. Eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.] First learn, and then teach others, that thou mayest utter my mind readily, dexterously, and affectionately, speaking a corde ad cor—ex intimo cordis affectu -and digging thy discourses out of thine own bosom, as it is said of Origen, and after him of Petrus Comestor, who merited that title, because, by his often allegations of the holy Scripture, he seemed to have eaten it up and digested it. Acts and Mon.
Ver. 2. So I opened my mouth.] Without delays or consults, I obeyed Christ’s command, et hausi quodammodo donum prophetiae, and yielded to become a prophet. This was well; but not long after, Ezekiel, through infirmity of the flesh, would have declined the office, and therefore sought to lurk among his countrymen at Telabib, (Ezekiel 3:15) till Christ called him out again and newly employed him. (Ezekiel 3:16) And he caused me to eat that roll.] See on Ezekiel 3:1. Alsted. Chronol., 347.
Ver. 3. Cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels,] i.e., Deeply and duly ponder and practise those holy truths thou hast to press upon others; preach thine own experiences, &c. See 1 Timothy 4:15. And it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.] So was God’s law to good David; (Psalms 119:29,103) to Augustine, Scripturae tuae sunt deliciae meae, saith he, Thy Scriptures are my delight; to Alphonsus, King of Arragon, who professed he would rather lose his kingdoms than be without the knowledge of God’s blessed book, which he had read over above a dozen times, together with such commentaries thereupon as those times afforded. See Revelation 10:10.
Ver. 4. Go, get thee unto the house of Israel.] This was a hard task, all things considered; but hard or not hard, there was a necessity of going on God’s errand. Ubi mel ibi fel. Necesse est ut eat, non ut vivat, Where there is honey, there is bitterness. It is necessary to go but not to live, as he once said. And speak with my words unto them.] But see they be mine, and then I will bear thee out; then also they will the sooner take impression. Speak as the oracles of God. (1 Peter 4:11)
Ver. 5. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language.] Heb., Deep of lip and heavy of tongue. Qui strident sermone, et quasi e profundo gutture barbarum loquuntur. As Jonah was so sent, and those that now preach to the natives in New England in their own language, not without some good success. But to the house of Israel.] Among whom thou must use vulgari et vernaculo sermone, who also are well seen in the Scriptures; they are indeed God’s library keepers, which is no small privilege, (Romans 3:2) and therefore the better to be dealt with.
Ver. 6. Surely had I sent unto them, they would have hearkened.] Or, If I had sent thee to them, would they not have hearkened unto thee? It may seem by the Ninevites that they would, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, (Matthew 12:41) at one single sermon made by a mere stranger, who sang so doleful a ditty to them that their city should be shortly destroyed, &c. Vatablus rendereth this text, Dispeream nisi te audissent, ei ad cos te misissem. And couldst thou but skill of foreign languages, thou couldst not easily be without disciples. The punishment of strange language, saith a grave divine, was a heavy punishment, next to our casting out of paradise and the flood. Mr Whatel. Prototyp.
Ver. 7. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee.] They will not. See the like, John 5:40 8:44. A man’s will is his hell, saith Bernard. And it is easier, saith another, to deal with twenty men’s reasons, than with one man’s will. What hope is there of those that will not hear; or, if they do, yet have made their conclusion beforehand, and will stir no more than a stake in the midst of a stream? For they will not hearken unto me.] Speaking unto them in the Scriptures. See Hosea 8:12 Mt 10:24,25 Joh 15:18, &c. Let this speech of God to the prophet comfort faithful ministers, contra cervicosos et cerebrosos istos hypocritas, that reject or resist their preaching. What are we that we may not be slighted, whenas Christ himself the arch-prophet is? Impudent.] Heb., Stiff of forehead. This was a point next the worst. Illum ego periisse dice cui periit pudor, said that heathen: he is an undone man who is past shame. Curtius.