EAT THE WORD OF GOD

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

MAY 8, 2022

TOPIC: EAT THE WORD OF GOD

BY T. O. BANSO

“Moreover He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.’ So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness” (Ezekiel 3:1-3 New King James Version).

In ancient times, documents were written on a scroll – a roll of papyrus, leather, or parchment. The text of the Bible was first written on scrolls, not on paper. According to Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, a scroll was usually about 11 meters (35 feet) long and the longer books of the Bible required two or more scrolls. A scroll was rolled up on a stick.

Some verses of the Bible refer to the scroll. These include Ezra 6:2, Psalm 40:7, Isaiah 8:1, 30:8, Jeremiah 36:1-6, 14, 20, 21, 23-32, Ezekiel 2:9, 3:1-3, Zechariah 5:1-3, and Revelation 5:1-9.      

Ezekiel 3:1-3 says, “Moreover He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.’ So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness” (New King James Version).

In this passage, the Lord gave Ezekiel a scroll that contained a message for the house of Israel. He asked him to open his mouth and eat it until his stomach was full. Ezekiel ate it and it tasted sweet like honey in his mouth.

There is a similar instruction an angel gave to John to eat a little book. Revelation 10:8-10 says, “Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, ‘Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.’ So I went to the angel and said to him, ‘Give me the little book.’ And he said to me, ‘Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.’ Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter” (New King James Version).

As you could see, when John ate the book, it was sweet in his mouth but it was bitter when he swallowed it. The book contained words of judgment.

The point here is that you must eat the scroll (the Word of God) as Ezekiel did. You must eat the Word of God as John ate the little book. I don’t mean you must eat the Word of God or the Bible physically! But you must feed on the content. The writer of Psalm 119 says, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103 New King James Version). Sometimes, the Word of God could make you glad and another time, it could make you sober. The effect of the Word of God could, sometimes, be as sweet as honey and it could be as bitter as gall at another time. You must eat both and not feed only on your favourite scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (New King James Version).

You must treasure the Word of God more than your necessary food. Job said, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12 New King James Version). Never become too busy that you don’t have time to study and meditate on the Word of God daily.

You must eat the word of God daily and digest it for it to do your life good. Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16 New King James Version). The Bible says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4).

As the Lord told Joshua, He’s also telling you not to allow His word to depart from your mouth but to meditate upon it day and night to do according to what is written there, and then you shall make your way prosperous and have good success (Joshua 1:8).

So many things are competing for people’s time and attention today that they don’t have time to read, study, and meditate on the word of God, not to talk of going ahead to obey. But the Bible says the person who does the word shall be blessed. The word of God is work for you to do. “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25 New King James Version).

Preachers must not fall into the temptation of reading the Bible only to get messages to preach to the people. They must read and study the Bible and allow God to talk to them personally. Ministry is not a performance! It is the Holy Spirit working through a human being. You’re first a Christian before you’re a preacher. You need the Word just as the people need it, if not more than they do. Whoever thinks he stands should take heed lest he falls (1 Corinthians 10:12).

What right has anyone to speak for God when he has not made himself available for Him to speak to him first? If you’ve not eaten the Word of God and digested it, you have no message! Eat the Word for yourself first, digest it, and let it do your life good, then, you can be a blessing to the people.

Eat the Word. Feed on the Word of God, not only the milk but the solid food. “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14 New King James Version).

Eat the Word. Feed on the Word of God. Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16 New King James Version). Eat the Word of God.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: I shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Holy Spirit, help me to treasure the Word of God more than my necessary food. I shall not be a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work that the Word of God commands me to do. I pray that all Christians will reorder their priorities and devote time to the Word of God.

(For over 800 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org