Jer 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
Feasting on the word of God!
Prophets and prophecy, these men of God, guided by God to know the truth and reveal it to others talk about eating the words given to them by God.
Eating figuratively is our way of relaying our desire for something, isn't it?
I've heard people say as they gently pinch a baby's chubby, cheeks, "I could just eat you up!" Now, of course, the people who say this do not mean it literally. The point they are conveying is how wonderful that baby is to them.
I've also heard people say something along these lines- "If that were food I would eat it up!"
When a person has a good appetite they find food appealing to them. Food will delight the senses- the sense of smell, sight, sometimes sound (think of sizzling favorite fried foods, or the roiling boil of a broth, or the popping noise of popcorn, to name a few.) The sense of touching food can be appealing as well. Taking a nice warm loaf of freshly baked bread and breaking it into pieces, picking up a palmful of your favorite nuts, plucking a juicy apple from a tree, or grapes from a vine, all these are very tactile and add to the enjoyment of the food to be consumed. The last sense - the sense of taste is a given when we are talking about food so I purposefully left it for last. Eating is more than just putting the blandest nutrients into our bodies without any consideration for our senses.
When Jeremiah writes of eating the words of the LORD that he found and that eating of the words created joy and rejoicing in him- this is something we can all use our imagination to comprehend fully. He perhaps devoured those words ravenously and joy filled him. Have you ever read a book that you found so overwhelmingly good that you could honestly say you devoured it? Some might say they devoured it in one sitting, staying up all night just to finish reading the book, it was so good. We can comprehend the delight in words and how they can fill our hearts with joy. Who among us hasn't received, or longed to receive, a love letter? The love you feel for someone can be revealed in words they speak to us. We can feel our heart overjoyed, the emotions so intense simply from the words a person writes to us. The greeting card industry knows this and makes a lot of money from people who want to say things to those they love, but don't quite have the time, inclination, imagination, skill, etc to do this themselves. I receive a birthday card with a special message from my spouse, or from my children and it gives me joy. It doesn’t matter that a thousand other mothers and wives may have received this exact same card, what matters is my child, my husband took the time to get me the card to share their feelings with me, to bring me happiness, to give me joy.
We know how powerful words can be, and it is no wonder that metaphorically eating them is something that men, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote down in the Word of God. Jeremiah wasn't the only prophet to speak metaphorically of eating words.
Eze 2:8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
Eze 2:9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein
Eze 3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
Eze 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
Eze 3:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Eze 3:4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Psa 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
More on this tomorrow… all by the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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