It's that time of year again. The candy bags come home, get dumped on the living room floor, and the great sort begins. 🍬🍫
You know the sort. Chocolate goes in the keep pile. The good gummies go in the keep pile. And then... the weird pile. 😜
Every neighborhood has that one house. You know the one. The house that hands out black licorice and pennies, like it's 1952 and that's still a treat.
But I'm here to say, I bet I have found a weirder treat than the ones you have ever gotten. And to top it off, it's in the Bible. 🤯
Meet Ezekiel. He was a prophet, basically God's spokesperson, living in exile around 600 BC when God started giving him some seriously wild visions. And one day, God hands him... a scroll 📜. Not a Snickers. A scroll. And then God says, "Eat it." 😄
Now, before you picture Ezekiel nibbling the corner of some parchment like a breadstick, let me tell you what was written on this thing: "And there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe." (Ezekiel 2:10, KJV)
Lamentations. Mourning. Woe.
That is definitely the opposite of a full-size candy bar if there ever was one! 😂
But here's the twist I didn't see coming: "Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness." (Ezekiel 3:3, KJV)
Sweet as honey!? The “woe scroll” tasted like honey! 🤯
👻 Ezekiel's Vision Makes the Neighborhood Haunted House Look Like an Afternoon at Grandma's
And if the scroll wasn't enough, wait until you see what Ezekiel's Halloween lawn display would be like.
Over in Ezekiel chapter 1, the man has a vision, and I advise you to buckle up for this one:
👀 Four living creatures show up, each with four faces: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.
🪽 Four wings apiece.
🤲 Human hands tucked under the wings.
🐄 Legs straight as a calf's.
🛞 And rolling beside them? Wheels within wheels, the rims covered with eyes.
👑 Then to top it off, above it all, a gleaming platform with a throne, lightning flashing and a rainbow-like radiance surrounding the glory of the Lord.
I'm sorry, but if somebody put that in their front yard for Halloween, I'd be taking the kids to the next street. 😂
But here's what makes this vision more than an over-the-top Halloween decoration. Ezekiel isn't describing the latest version of Plants vs. Zombies. He's seeing a vision of God's glory and heavenly throne. The creatures, wheels, lightning, and throne are part of an extraordinary picture of God's presence.
The creatures aren't the main attraction, either. The vision builds toward the throne and the radiant glory of the Lord. Ezekiel sees something so overwhelming that he falls facedown when he recognizes the glory of the Lord (Ezekiel 1:28).
It's a vision revealing the extraordinary majesty of God.
🍯 The Scroll Was Sweet, but the Message Wasn't Easy
Here's what makes the scroll story even more interesting. God wasn't just playing the weirdest version of truth or dare when telling Ezekiel to eat a “woe scroll.” He was preparing him for his calling as a prophet.
God tells Ezekiel to eat the scroll and then go speak His words to the people of Israel (Ezekiel 2:8–3:4). Ezekiel had to take God's message in before he could deliver it to others.
The message contained lamentation, mourning, and woe, yet the scroll tasted like honey. That doesn't mean the message was cheerful or easy to hear. It means Ezekiel was being prepared to speak God's truth, even when people might not want to hear it.
There's a difference between finding God's words sweet and finding every message easy.
King David understood something about the sweetness of God's Word long before Ezekiel ever picked up that scroll:
"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103, KJV)
The Psalms are full of grief, questions, and cries for help, too. God's Word isn't just there to make us feel better. It can comfort us, challenge us, and help us understand what is true.
Sometimes the sweet part isn't getting the answer we wanted. It's having God's truth to hold on to when life is hard. ❤
🍬 What If Life Is More Sour Patch Kids Than Hershey’s Kisses?
Are you seeing the connection? The scroll and the creatures are two very different parts of Ezekiel's experience, but both challenge our expectations:
The scroll contains words of woe, yet tastes like honey.
The vision looks like something out of a Halloween fever dream, yet reveals the glory of God.
With God, we don't always get the packaging we expect.
Now, before we get carried away with the candy metaphor, I'm not going to promise that every hard thing in your life has a hidden sweet ending. Sometimes painful things are simply painful. A difficult diagnosis doesn't guarantee a miraculous recovery, and a hard conversation doesn't always end with everyone hugging it out.
But maybe you're carrying something difficult right now:
A conversation you don't want to have.
A truth you're struggling to accept.
A season you didn't choose.
Ezekiel reminds me that we can bring the hard stuff to God, ask for understanding, and seek His wisdom and presence as we walk through it. We don't have to pretend the bitter parts are sweet to trust in God's goodness.
And we don't have to understand everything before we talk to Him, either.
Which, as far as I'm concerned, is excellent news. I have enough trouble following directions even with GPS. 😂
🎃 Maybe Give the Weird Treat a Chance
This Halloween, sort your candy. Keep the chocolate. Laugh at the candy corn. 😄 And if somebody hands you a toothbrush, well, you can decide what to do with that one. 😉
But remember Ezekiel's house. God's Word can be sweet even when it contains difficult truths, and His glory can show up in ways we never would have imagined.
We can bring our questions, struggles, and downright confusing moments to God and keep learning to trust Him.
🍯 Sometimes the sweetest discovery isn't that the strange thing turned out to be easy. It's discovering more of who God is, even when we don't understand everything He's doing.
Taste and see for yourself: "O taste and see that the LORD is good." (Psalm 34:8, KJV)
🎨 FREE DOWNLOADS: Two Ezekiel Coloring Pages!!!
The Ezekiel "Petting Zoo" Coloring Page: Four faces, wheels full of eyes, lightning, flames, and one very confused zookeeper. Print it, color it, and try not to lose count of the eyeballs 👀.
"Chewing on Scripture... Literally" Coloring Page: Bees, honeycomb, and a prophet eating his homework. Color it all, then add a sweet word of your own (or your favorite Halloween candy 🍬) on Ezekiel's scroll.
Now it's your turn. What's the weirdest treat you've ever found in your candy bag? The pennies? The mystery candy? The toothbrush? 😂
Hit reply or leave a comment on the post so we can all commiserate together! 😄👇
