How did Jeremiah eat the Lord’s words that were found?

Jeremiah says to the Lord, Your words were found, and I ate them. He could be referring to the discovery of the scroll, or book of the covenant, found in 621 BC during the reign of Josiah, but he is more likely referring to the visions and messages that he has received from the Lord as his prophet.¹ Much like Ezekiel, who physically ate the scroll containing the Lord’s word (Ezekiel 2:9; Ezekiel 3:3), symbolizing the way in which the word became so much part of the prophet that he had no doubts about what he was saying, so Jeremiah has devoured the Lord’s word in the sense that he has internalized it, considered its meaning and importance and it has become to him a source of deep joy and delight. On its own the Hebrew word sason, translated here as joy, refers to the joy of salvation (see Jeremiah 31:13; Jeremiah 33:9). It indicates someone who is in a healthy covenant relationship with the Lord, and it is this that brought such pleasure to Jeremiah.² Jeremiah recognizes that all of this is because he is called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. He happily serves the Lord as his prophet and delights in his word.