Eating the Word of God

Eating the Word of God

Our discussion here is an interesting and intriguing one. So, what exactly does it mean to eat the Word of God? Before we unpack this intricate concept, let’s talk about the Word of God and what it means.

The Word of God may be understood as His divine decree, the religious thought and message He wants to impart to His people. But is it merely enough to read the Word of God and accept it? No, one must genuinely wish to devour the Word of God if one is to fulfil their spiritual void and also walk on the path of enlightenment.

How it Appears in the Bible

The Bible provides spiritual nourishment. Eating the Word of God replenishes our souls and gives us a greater understanding of His divine decree. Much like the food that we consume to sustain our physical selves, the Word of God fills our spiritual cravings. Matt 4:4 states that Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.” Therefore, we may understand that all the words that come from God’s Scripture are spiritual food that we must consume.

The Stories of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and John

We get a better understanding of this concept through both the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and the apostle John.

And they said to me, You must prophesy again over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.

In the Old testament, Jer. 15:16 states, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word became to me the gladness and joy of my heart.” The statement does not mean that Jeremiah ate the ink and pages of the Bible, but that he opened his heart to receive the Word of God as spiritual food. For him to imbibe God’s Word as food meant that he received spiritual nourishment and joy.

A more literal example could be seen in the case of Ezekiel, where a scroll was spread out in front of him. It had words on both sides. He was told to consume it and then speak to the house of Israel (Ezek. 2:9-3:1). He then opened his mouth and consumed the scroll. Once he had filled his insides with the scroll, Jehovah bade him speak at the house of Israel. Ezekiel then said not his own words, but His words which he had imbibed due to having eaten the Word of God.

While the notion of spiritual nourishment is key to eating the Word of God, there is also the concept of prophesying. We may look at the apostle John’s experience to unpack this. According to the Revelations:

• Revelation 10:8, “And the voice which I heard out of heaven, I heard again speaking with me and saying, Go, take the opened scroll in the hand of the Angel who is standing on the sea and the land.”
• Revelation 10:9, “And I went to the Angel and told Him to give me the little scroll. And He said to me, take it and devour it, and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth, it will be as sweet as honey.”
• Revelation 10:10, “And I took the little scroll out of the hand of the Angel and devoured it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth; and when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.”
• Revelation 10:11, “And they said to me, you must prophesy again over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

Here, John not only ate the Word of God; he devoured it. And therefore, he was able to speak His word in its truth and entirety. Once we learn to eat the Word of God, we will find that our prophesying will become more spiritually enlightened, for we will be speaking only His word.