Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ez 4:1 and following. Indeed, Jehovah brings Ezekiel by means of various signs into the painful circumstances that his people will go through. A servant of God who has himself gone through the school of humiliation and suffering is then able to understand much better those who also pass through them and exhort them with more authority. He knows their situation from his own experience and can therefore usefully warn them. Lying on his side, baking his bread with garbage, Ezekiel bore the consequences of the iniquity of his people. Now God commands him to shave his hair and beard, an act that is dishonorable to a priest and defended by the Law (Lev 21:1-9). Here is the symbolic significance: Israel, the ornament of the Lord, is set aside, and various judgments will fall on him, chosen by the One who weighs the guilt of each one. Some will fall prey to plague and famine during the siege of the city, others will fall by the sword, others will finally be scattered and persecuted. Moses had already announced these punishments (Dt 28:15-19) and the history of Israel since then has confirmed that God can only fulfill His Word.
Thus, the prophet must now lay siege to Jerusalem, the figure of the Chaldeans: “And you, son of man, take a brick, place it before you, and make the portrait of the city, Jerusalem. And put the siege against her, and build against her entrenchments, and raise against her a terrace, and set camps against her, and place against her rams all around. And besides, take an iron plate, and put it like an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face against her, and she will be besieged, and you will besiege her: this will be a sign for the house of Israel.”
An even more remarkable commandment is given next: “And you lie on your left side, and put upon it the iniquity of the house of Israel: the number of days you will lay on that side, you will bear their iniquity. For I have put upon you the years of their iniquity according to the number of days, three hundred and ninety days, and you will bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast done those, thou shalt lie down a second time on one’s right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah, forty days; I have assigned you one day for each year. And thou shalt raise thy face to the siege of Jerusalem; and your arm will be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. And behold, I have put strings on you, and you will not turn from one side to the other, until you have fulfilled the days of your siege.”
But it is more accurate to calculate the 390 years of Israel from Jeroboam, to which the prophet Achija announced to him that God was giving him the ten tribes torn from the hand of Solomon, and that the forty years of Judah relate to the reign of Solomon himself, who actually determined the ruin of this most favored portion of the people, even if the results of idolatry could not be seen much in front of the immensity of the king’s wealth and wisdom. “They forsaken me” was God’s message to the prophet on that day (1 Kings 11:33) “and worshipped Astarte, the deity of the Sidonians, Kemosch, the god of Moab, and Milcom, the god of the sons of Ammon, and did not walk in my ways to practice what is right in my eyes, and my statutes and ordinances, like David, his father.”
That is why David’s seed had to be afflicted, and it was, but not forever. If brighter days await them, they must first go through a long night of darkness, the most painful hour of which will be that immediately preceding dawn, for they have added to their idolatry the even greater wickedness of rejecting their Messiah and opposing the gospel preached to the nations, so that anger has come upon them at its height (1 Thess 2:16). There seems to be no difficulty in the fact that the house of Israel, as designating the ten tribes, was taken into captivity well before the end of the [390-year] period, for it is in Ezekiel’s way of embracing the whole nation under this title, although elsewhere, as here, he distinguishes between the two sides: Judah did not employ for the glory of God the long, peaceful, and prosperous reign of the one [Solomon] who, in the midst of blessings without example, turned his heart to other gods, and the sentence of Lo-Ammi was not carried out upon them until the portion of the chosen people remained attached to the house of David, and the last king of that family, had justified by their betrayal of the Lord the tribes fallen away from God and long since swept from their land.
How solemn is God’s witness about man contemplated in his responsibility to walk in the light given to him! Not only does he move further and further away from God, but he falls from the beginning; all the appeals addressed to him serve only to prove his estrangement of heart and will. Thus no flesh can glorify itself in His presence. May we glorify ourselves in the Lord! It was not the first man, but the second who glorified God; this is precisely why God glorified the Son of man in Himself immediately after the cross (John 13:31).
Now here’s another question. The prophet must manifest in his person the degradation as well as the imminence of judgment because of the iniquity of the people. That is why another sign follows. “And you, take wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt; and you will put them in the same vase, and you will make bread from them according to the number of days you will lie on your side: you will eat three hundred and ninety days. And your food that you will eat will be by weight, twenty sicles a day; you will eat it from time to time. And the water thou shalt drink it to the measure, one-sixth of hin; you will drink it from time to time. And you will eat this prepared like a barley cake, and you will cook it before their eyes with excrement from man. And Jehovah said: The sons of Israel will thus eat their unclean bread among the nations from which I will cast them out. And I say: Ah, Eternal Lord! Behold, my soul has not made itself impure, and from my youth until now, I have not eaten anything that has died of oneself, or that has been torn apart, and no impure flesh has entered my mouth.
And he said to me: Look, I have given you the droppings of the cattle instead of the excrement of man, and you will bake your bread on it. And he said to me: Son of man, behold, I break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; and they shall eat the bread by weight and with worry, and they shall drink the water to the extent and with astonishment, for bread and water shall be lacking; and they will be in stupor, one and the other, and they will be consumed in their iniquity.”
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Ezekiel and the Siege of Jerusalem:
· Specific instructions given to individuals
Leaving the old friendships Gen 12:1 Jehovah said to Abram, “Go away from your land, from your homeland, and from your father’s house, into the land that I will show you.
-Return home Gen 31:3 Then Jehovah said to Jacob: Return to the land of your fathers and to your birthplace, and I will be with you.
Assume the command Ex 3:10 Now go, I will send you to Pharaoh, and you will bring out of Egypt my people, the children of Israel.
-Moving forward Jos 1:2 Moses, my servant, is dead; now, get up, pass this Jordan, you and all this people, to enter the land that I give to the children of Israel.
-Fight war Jg 6:14 Jehovah turned to him, and said, Go with this strength which you have, and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; isn’t it me who sends you? 2 Sam 5:19 David consulted the Lord, saying, “Will I rise against the Philistines?” Will you deliver them into my hands? And the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hands.
-Find food 1 Kings 17:3,4,9 Leave from here, head to the east, and hide near the torrent of Kerith, which is in front of the Jordan River. 4 Thou shalt drink water from the torrent, and I have commanded the crows to feed you there. 9 Get up, go to Sarepta, who belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I ordered a widowed woman to feed you.
-Leaving his retreat 1 Kings 18:1 Many days passed, and the word of jehovah was thus addressed to Elijah in the third year: Go, present yourself before Ahab, and I will make rain fall on the face of the ground.
-Anoint the leaders 1 Kings 19:15 The Lord said to him, Go, take your way through the wilderness to Damascus; and when you have arrived, you will oinnate Hazael as king of Syria.
-Pronounce the judgments 1 Kings 21:18,19 Rise, descend before Ahab, king of Israel in Samaria; here he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he went down to take possession of it. 19 Thou shalt say to him, Thus saith the Lord: Are not you a murderer and a thief? And you will say to him: Thus saith the Lord: In the very place where the dogs licked Naboth’s blood, the dogs will also lick your own blood. 2 Kings 1:3 But the angel of Jehovah said to Elijah, the Thischbite: Rise up, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to consult Baal Zebub, god of Ekron?
· Manifestations of the signs given to strengthen the faith
Jg 6:38 And so he came. The next day he got up early in the morning, squeezed the fleece, and brought out the dew, which gave full water a cup. 1 Kings 13:3 And on the same day he gave a sign, saying, This is the sign that Jehovah spoke: Behold, the altar will split, and the ash on it will be shed. 2 Kings 20:9 And Isaiah said, Behold, from Jehovah, the sign to which thou shalt know that Jehovah will fulfill the word he spoke: Will the shadow advance ten degrees, or will it recede ten degrees? 2 Ch 32:24 At that time, Hezekiah was sick to death. He prayed to the Lord; and the Lord spoke to him, and granted him a prodigy. Isaiah 7:14 That is why the Lord Himself will give you a sign, Behold, the girl will become pregnant, she will give birth to a son, and she will give him the name of Emmanuel. Esa 55:13 Instead of the thorn will rise the cypress, Instead of the bramble will grow the myrtle; And it will be for the Eternal a glory, a perpetual, imperishable monument. Lk 2:12 And here is what sign you will recognize it: you will find a child swaddled and lying in a manger.
· 40 days
-The flood lasted 40 days Gen 7:17 The flood was forty days on earth. The waters grew and lifted the ark, and it rose above the earth.
-Noah let go of the raven after 40 days Gen 8:6 After forty days, Noah opened the window he had made to the ark.
-Jacob’s embalming lasted 40 days Gen 50.3 Forty days thus passed, and were used to embalm him. And the Egyptians mourned him seventy days.
-On the mountain, Moses fasted 40 days Ex 24:18 Moses entered the middle of the cloud, and he ascended to the mountain. Moses remained on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. Ex 34:28 Moses was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights. He did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. And the Lord wrote on the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words.
-In the land of Canaan, the spies stayed 40 days Nb 13.25 They were back from exploring the country after forty days.
Moses prayed for Israel for 40 days Dt 9:25 I prostrated myself before the Lord, I prostrated myself forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had said that he wanted to destroy you.
-The challenge of Goliath lasted 40 days 1 S 17.16 The Philistine advanced morning and evening, and he presented himself for forty days.
-Elijah’s meal allowed him to hold 40 days 1 Kings 19:8 He stood up, ate, and purposeed; and with the strength that this food gave him, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God at Horeb.
-The symbolic period of Ezekiel lasted 40 days Ez 4:6 When you have finished these days, lie on your right side, and you will bear the iniquity of the house of Judah for forty days; I impose on you one day for every year.
-Jonah warned Nineveh about its destruction, for 40 days Jon 3:4 Jonah first made a day of walking in the city; he shouted and said: Another forty days, and Nineveh is destroyed!
Jesus’ temptation lasted 40 days Lk 4:2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. He ate nothing during those days, and after they had passed, he was hungry.
-The apparitions of Jesus after his resurrection took place during 40 Days 1:3 After he had suffered, he appeared to them alive, and gave them several proofs, showing himself to them for forty days, and speaking of things that concern the kingdom of God.
· Israel’s captivity predicted
Dt 28:36 The Lord will make you and your king who have established upon you walk upon you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you will serve other gods, wood and stone. 1 Kings 14:15 The Lord shall strike Israel, and it shall be of him like the reed which is restless in the waters; he will tear Israel from this good land that he had given to their fathers, and he will scatter them on the other side of the river, because they have made idols of themselves, irritating the Lord. Isaiah 39:7 And it will be taken from your sons, who will have come out of you, whom you will have begotten, to make them eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Jer 13:19 The cities of the south are closed, There is no one to open; All of Judah is taken captive, He is taken captive entirely. Am 7:11 For this is what Amos says: Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will be taken captive away from his land. Lk 21:24 They will fall under the edge of the sword, they will be taken captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the nations, until the times of the nations are fulfilled.
From all the above, we note that the prophet Ezekiel must experience in his measure, the condition of Israel under the just judgment of God, not that he is then personally out of divine favor, but on the contrary because he was close enough to God to be able to enter into the reality of their misery, even if the Son of man was the only one who could descend into grace into his depths, take it upon himself in a perfect way and suffer completely, far beyond what may have been or will ever be their part. For Jesus, in His zeal for God and His love for His people, could bear the burden alone, whether in government or atonement. But the glory of His person made Him fit to bear this burden in both cases, leaving nothing aside from what was due to God, and with the immense blessing results, both for us now and for the pious Jews of the last days. He never sought, like Ezekiel here, to take refuge from tasting the consequences of Israel’s state of ruin; He never asked that anything be spared to Him, except if it were possible, that cup of unspeakable curse, which Only He was to drink, and that He would aim to the dregs, so that grace might reign by righteousness for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 5:21). May He make us live by righteousness. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the potter’s spoiled vase.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.