Ezekiel 3: What Is Hard to Digest Becomes Sweet as Honey

Introduction

"This work is the fruit of men of faith, of great faith. But also of cold nights spent in tents and in old caravans." With these words Silverio Toyos opens his study at the 2026 Convention of the Église biblique franco-espagnole Le Phare. He reminds us that we ourselves are the fruit of the affliction of the one who loved us and died for us, and that almost always, the works of God begin with affliction.

His theme echoes that of another speaker at the convention, without the two having planned it together: spiritual health, for our lives and for the Church. The preacher starts from a conviction: "Very often, the things that are hardest for us to digest are the ones that bear the most fruit."

He draws on two men. Daniel, who resolved in his heart not to defile himself. Ezekiel, who had to eat a scroll filled with lamentations and found it as sweet as honey. He ends with an invitation: to make a covenant with God in order to draw near to him.

Outline of the Message

1. A Work Born of Affliction, Called to Health

God blesses, opens our understanding, and we must answer his call and his purposes for our lives.
Ecclesiastes says that God has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). But the same verse has a second half: man cannot grasp the work of God. "That is where we are, that is our walk: every day we learn."
One morning the week before, the preacher woke up with John 17 on his heart, the priestly prayer of Jesus. "How good it is to know that the Lord intercedes for our lives."
"This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ" (John 17:3). This must be a certainty and a conviction, and it improves our spiritual health.

2. Every Season Is God's Season

"Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good" (Psalm 34:8). The preacher experiences the convention as a time of joy and fellowship, all together, in one accord.
We sometimes say that the past was better. The Bible tells us not to talk that way (Ecclesiastes 7:10). Our times are in God's hand (Psalm 31:15), and every season is special.
Isaiah 25:1 is a cry of praise: "Yahweh, you are my God. I will exalt you!" In the Spanish version the preacher quotes, the verse speaks of God's "counsels of old," which are truth and firmness.
This summer he was invited to give a "pregón," the opening speech of a local festival. At first he declined. Then, seeing the audience, he brought the matter before the Lord, who told him it was a good opportunity to speak to unbelievers. The message he received: to honor the counsels of old, the heritage that others have left us.
Paul prayed that the eyes of the Ephesians' hearts would be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18). God's plan is eternal life: "more than a mental concept," it is his will that every person be saved.
"Your testimony is a light for others. My testimony is a light for you." The one who wins souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30): this is our ministry, showing Christ to those who do not know him. These are the good works that God prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10).
James opens his letter with a greeting (James 1:1). In Spanish, the same word, salud, also means "health." The preacher wishes it for everyone: healing of the heart, understanding, forgiveness. "I do not know whether you are going through a good season, or a season when you are struggling to digest something. Do not forget that the Lord is in the midst."
Paul writes to the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord always!" (Philippians 4:4). What keeps us from it? "The joy of Yahweh is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). It is the Lord who places us in ministry and makes us able to carry it out.

3. Daniel Resolved in His Heart

"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's dainties" (Daniel 1:8). "What a resolution! It is something he did in his heart." There are things we really must set in our hearts in order to please God.
The psalmist cried out: "My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies" (Psalm 31:15). There is no contradiction here: we have always understood that the best is still to come. The book of Job says so: you will be secure, because there is hope (Job 11:18).
In Asturias, the preacher says, people have been talking a lot about Joshua lately. He imagines him rallying the people: "As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh" (Joshua 24:15). "How good it is that there are people among us who keep motivating us to faith."
Our greatest motivation is not what we say, but what the Word says: where two or three are gathered in his name, he is in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).
The fruit of Daniel's resolution: God caused him to find favor and compassion before the chief of the eunuchs (Daniel 1:9). Then God gave four young men knowledge and understanding (Daniel 1:17). "It was no longer only him: he had already influenced other people."
"The Lord will never leave us abandoned." He is with us always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). The preacher invites the congregation to say it to one another.
Daniel's resolution bore fruit for his own time, for a more distant time, and for a far more distant prophetic vision. Our joy does not come from favorable circumstances, but from hope in Christ, who gave us the right to become children of God (John 1:12).

4. Ezekiel, a Calling That Costs

Ezekiel is one of the great prophets, with an especially developed message: 48 chapters. At the beginning, he struggled to take in what God was putting into his life. At the end, he is one of the prophets who brought the most health to the people.
Chapter 1 describes a vision of the glory of God. "When we have nothing to say, we talk about the weather." Here, it is about God's seasons in our lives.
Proverbs 29:18 says that where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint. Without a vision from God, we stay in human reasoning. Understanding and provision come from above: "I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from Yahweh, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1-2).
God says to Ezekiel: "You shall speak my words to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse to listen" (Ezekiel 2:7). It is a warning about the difficulties ahead. The people were rebellious and far from the Lord, "and it is not very different from the times we live in."
Sometimes we get discouraged because our work seems fruitless. Paul answers: be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). "That encourages me."

5. Swallowing Lamentations, Mourning, and Woe

Ezekiel sees a hand stretched out to him with a scroll, written on the front and on the back: lamentations, mourning, and woe (Ezekiel 2:9-10).
The preacher admits that when he read the Spanish word endechas, he first thought it meant some kind of community work. But the biblical meaning is different: sad songs, funeral songs.
We know what lamentations are: "If I had not gone there, what happened to me would not have happened." As for the "woes," Jesus pronounces them in Matthew and in Luke: "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation!" (Luke 6:24), "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" (Matthew 23:13).
"Ezekiel had to swallow all of that." There are things that are hard for us to digest, to get over, to understand. But if there is willingness, the Lord will always help you understand them.
What keeps us from being in God's presence is our heart: not defiling ourselves, being purified, forgiving, being forgiven. "We can be here physically, but our heart can be far away."
"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8). "You may think: I drew near to the Lord a long time ago. But how many times do we drift away from him?"
Even when his wife said to him, "Curse God, and die." (Job 2:9), Job kept his trust, because there was hope. The truth sets us free, and if the Son sets us free, we are free indeed (John 8:32-36). "These are not ready-made phrases or slogans. They are truths that help us stand firm."

6. Sweeter Than Honey

According to the text, Ezekiel literally ate the scroll. The preacher points out that it was surely not a sheet as thin as the pages of our Bibles.
"Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you." Then I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey (Ezekiel 3:3).
"What was hard for him to digest seemed sweeter than honey to him. That is what the Word of God is for our lives." When we understand that we are in God's seasons, that season was not better, and this one is not worse.
From this was born a prophetic ministry that brought a word of spiritual health to the people. Through Ezekiel, God promises to replace the heart of stone with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26). "It is a miracle that God has done in our lives."
In the valley of dry bones, there were only bones, and the Lord breathed his Spirit into them (Ezekiel 37). "That happened in me. It happens when you draw near to the Lord."
The waters flowing out of the temple rise to the ankles, then the knees, then you have to swim (Ezekiel 47:1-5): this has to do with our decision and our commitment. Like the tree planted by streams of water (Psalm 1:3).
"Today may be a good day. Today is the day." There remains a rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9). Jesus says: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). He will provide for the needs of your soul.
Asaph, in Psalm 73, had nearly fallen: "My feet were almost gone. My steps had nearly slipped." Then he entered God's sanctuary, and everything changed. He concludes: "It is good for me to come close to God" (Psalm 73:2, 17, 28).

7. A Covenant to Draw Near to God

The preacher ends with 2 Chronicles 7:14: "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
It is a covenant between God and man, with Solomon in this case, and this covenant strengthens the relationship. "Perhaps today is the day you need to make a covenant with God": settle a matter in your heart, a lack of forgiveness, anything that keeps you from being close to him.
The Lord listens with open ears. The one who keeps you does not slumber (Psalm 121:3-4). He intercedes for you, as he told Peter: "I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn't fail" (Luke 22:31-32).
"Now my eyes will be open, and my ears attentive, to the prayer that is made in this place." For how long? "that my name may be there forever" (2 Chronicles 7:15-16). So you can come near with confidence and receive his grace.
Paul said he had worked harder than the others, then corrected himself: "yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10). This is the conviction each of us should have.
There is a great diversity of situations here, but the Lord looks at each one and at every heart. He says: "Come close to me. I want to forgive you. I want to help you. I want you to be able to digest what you are going through."
The preacher shares a testimony: some time ago, facing a personal situation, he said: "I cannot, I do not understand, I do not know how to take the next step." The Lord told him, in an almost audible voice: "This battle is not yours. This battle is mine. Just trust." "I have verified it many times in my life: when I reached my limits, the Lord opened the door."
He concludes like James: may there be health. "And health is being able to draw near to the Lord."

Key Takeaways

The things that are hardest for us to digest are often the ones that bear the most fruit, for us and for others.
Every season is God's season: the past was not better, and the present is not worse.
Like Daniel, faithfulness begins with a resolution made in the heart, and its fruit reaches beyond our own life.
The Word that is hard to swallow becomes, like Ezekiel's scroll, sweet as honey and a source of spiritual health.
Drawing near to God is our good: he listens, he forgives, and he heals those who turn to him.

Personal Application

What is hard for you to digest right now, and what do you need to place in the Lord's hands?
What resolution do you need to make in your heart, like Daniel, to please God in your walk?
Do you catch yourself saying "it was better before"? How can you live the present as God's season?
Are you here physically, but with a heart that is far away? What keeps you from drawing near to him: a lack of forgiveness, a wound, a sin?
What covenant do you want to make with God today, in light of 2 Chronicles 7:14?

Verses Quoted

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the scroll eaten by Ezekiel mean?

In Ezekiel 2 and 3, God hands the prophet a scroll filled with lamentations, mourning, and woe, and asks him to eat it. For Silverio Toyos, Ezekiel had to swallow what was hard to digest. Yet that scroll was in his mouth as sweet as honey, and from it came a ministry that brought spiritual health to the people.

What does "Daniel resolved in his heart" mean for today?

Daniel made the decision in his heart not to defile himself with the king's food (Daniel 1:8). The preacher sees in it an inner decision that each person must make in order to please God. The fruit followed: favor before the chief of the eunuchs, then wisdom given to four young men, because Daniel had already influenced other people.

What does God promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14?

If his people humble themselves, pray, seek his face, and turn from their wicked ways, God will hear them from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. Silverio Toyos sees in it a covenant that strengthens the relationship with God, and he invites each person to make a covenant today to draw near to him.