126. Internal Meaning of Ezekiel, Chapter 3

1-3 He should be instructed in the Word, which in itself is delightful. (2, 3)

4-7 He should teach those that have the Word, and consequently are able to live according to the Divine commandments, but they do not so live; while with others it would be otherwise. (2, 11)

8-9 He should not fear their obduracy, (2)

10-11 but should teach them. (2)

12-13 It is perceived that the state of the church has been changed entirely in respect to the Word and doctrine from the Word. (2)

14-15 He was indignant that it should be so. (2)

16-17 But that He might represent the Word, (2)

18-21 he would be guilty if He did not reveal their falsities and evils, and not guilty if He did reveal them. (2)

22-23 It is according to the sense of the letter, which He must explain (2, 16)

24-27 He must not speak from Himself, but from the Lord. (16)

Flesh has several meanings just in its most obvious form. It can mean all living creatures as when the Lord talks about the flood "destroying all flesh"(Genesis 7:21), or it can mean all of mankind (Genesis 6:3), or it can mean something soft and yielding such as the heart of flesh to replace the stony heart (Ezekiel 11:19) But spiritually it means the loves that dwell in the will of a person, and seem to belong to that person, to be that person. This person may be one who has not started to regenerate (or never will), or one who is in the middle of the process, or one who is near the end. In the highest sense flesh means the loves that are in the Lord's will, which are divine. This meaning is clear in the Lord's words in the gospel of John (John 6:53-56).