Ezekiel 4
Summary for Ezek 4:1-3: 4:1–24:27 a In words and in mimed actions, the prophet Ezekiel declared the certainty of impending judgment on Jerusalem. God’s people, having broken the terms of the Lord’s covenant with them at Mount Sinai, now faced the curses of death and destruction that were attached to that covenant. Only after these curses had taken effect could there be any hope for the future.Summary for Ezek 4:1-7:27: 4:1–7:27 b These chapters focus on words and actions that proclaimed doom to the city of Jerusalem (chs 4–5 c) and to the surrounding land of Judah (chs 6–7 d).
Summary for Ezek 4:1-2: 4:1-2 e The first of Ezekiel’s sign acts (see thematic note for Prophetic Sign Acts at end of chapter) was to create a detailed tableau depicting Jerusalem ... under siege.
4:3 f The prophet was to take on the role of God in this dramatic scene. The iron griddle set up between him and the city showed that Jerusalem had cut itself off from God. Meanwhile, the prophet was to turn his face aggressively toward the city, showing that God’s attention had not flagged but that he was implacably determined to destroy Jerusalem in the coming siege.
Summary for Ezek 4:4-8: 4:4-8 g The prophet’s second sign act was related to the first, but this time he was to act the roles of both God and victims of the siege. As a siege victim, he was tied up with ropes (4:8 h) and confined to a single position. Possibly Ezekiel was not confined continually during this 14-month period, but performed this sign on a daily basis. As Ezekiel represented Israel, he was to bear Israel’s sins symbolically by lying on one side, without bringing atonement and forgiveness to Israel.
Summary for Ezek 4:4-5: 4:4-5 i Israel indicates the whole covenant community, not just the northern kingdom. The number 390 has been interpreted in various ways. A likely explanation is that 390 represents years, perhaps from early in Solomon’s reign (971–931 BC) to the destruction of Jerusalem (586 BC; see 2 Kgs 25:3-7 j).
4:6 k Judah was the community of those in exile, whose sojourn outside the land was represented by the symbolic figure of 40 years. They were a lost generation, just like the generation that spent 40 years in the wilderness for their sin (Num 14:34 l).
• The 430 days of Ezekiel’s confinement (cp. Ezek 4:5 m) parallel the 430 years that Israel spent in Egypt (Exod 12:40 n), hinting that there would be a new exodus at the end of the Exile.
4:7 o Throughout the depiction, Ezekiel continued to represent God. With his arm bared, he stared at the siege of Jerusalem and prophesied her destruction.
Summary for Ezek 4:9-17: 4:9-17 p The near-starvation diet of eight ounces of food and a jar of water for each day represent siege rations and reflect a desperate situation in which there was not enough of any one kind of grain to make a whole loaf.
Summary for Ezek 4:12-13: 4:12-13 q Cooking over human dung would render the bread ceremonially unclean, thus defiling Ezekiel when he ate it. The Israelites had to eat defiled bread in exile, when it was extremely difficult to observe kosher dietary laws. They would be unclean and cut off from the cleansing presence of the Lord.
Summary for Ezek 4:14-15: 4:14-15 r The prophet protested that he had never eaten anything unclean. The Lord relented, allowing Ezekiel to cook his food over cow dung and to follow the law regarding disposal of human excrement (see Deut 23:12-14 s).
Thematic note: Prophetic Sign Acts
The prophets of Israel occasionally communicated through sign acts, which were dramatic visual aids performed in public to increase the impact of the message and help people feel the truth as much as hear it. Their purpose was to present an unforgettable message. These acts were unusual, even outlandish—and not just from a modern perspective. Unlike modern readers, however (who might think that the prophet was psychologically disturbed), ancient observers understood these sign acts as a regular part of a prophet’s communication style.
Ezekiel was required to act out his message more frequently than any other prophet, perhaps because he was communicating to a particularly hardened audience (Ezek 2:6-7 t). The sign acts reinforced the content of his message and underlined the depth of his personal commitment to it. For example, after he swallowed the word of God (2:8–3:3 u), Ezekiel embodied it for the exiles (3:4-9 v) in a series of judgment scenes (chs 4–6 w). This dramatic form of communication is difficult for even a hostile audience to ignore or forget.
The ultimate sign act was performed by Jesus Christ on the cross (see Matt 27:32-54 x). There God visibly depicted his wrath against sin in the darkness, the earthquake, and the agony of the sinless one who was apparently abandoned by his Father. God also depicted his profound love for the world in that he would rather die than let his people go. The cross is a confrontational message of God’s love and wrath that is hard to ignore or forget.
Passages for Further Study
Jer 13:1-11 y; 19:1-15 z; 25:15 aa; Ezek 2:6–3:3 ab; 3:4-9 ac; 4:1-17 ad; 5:1–6:14 ae; 12:1-28 af; 21:19-23 ag; 24:1-14 ah, 16-27 ai; 37:15-28 aj; Hos 1:2-9 ak; 3:1-3 al; Matt 26:26-28 am; 27:45-54 an; Mark 6:11 ao; 11:12-21 ap; Luke 22:17-20 aq; Rom 6:3-5 ar; 1 Cor 10:16-17 as; 11:23-32 at
Ezekiel 5
Summary for Ezek 5:1-4: 5:1-4 au The prophet was required to perform two further sign acts. First, he used a sharp sword ... as a razor to shave his head and beard, tangibly demonstrating the destruction described in ch 4 av (cp. Isa 7:20 aw). Shaving off a man’s hair implied the loss of his manhood and was a gesture of dishonor (see 2 Sam 10:4-5 ax). Second, Ezekiel weighed the hair he had shaved off into three equal parts to show that God’s measured judgment would take three different forms.5:2 ay Ezekiel was to burn one third of the hair to represent those who would die of famine during the siege. He was to chop another third of the hair with a sword to represent those who would die violent deaths. He was to scatter the final third to the wind to represent those who would be sent into exile.
Summary for Ezek 5:3-4: 5:3-4 az Ezekiel was to tie just a bit of the hair in his robe to show that a remnant would be safe, but even some of them would die in the fire of exile. Few would survive the multiple catastrophes about to befall God’s people.
Summary for Ezek 5:5-6: 5:5-6 ba The reason for God’s judgment on his people is made abundantly clear: Israel had broken its covenant relationship with God.
Summary for Ezek 5:7-13: 5:7-13 bb The covenant between God and his people underlies Ezekiel’s messages. In stating the charges against his fellow Israelites, Ezekiel explicitly draws from the language of the covenant that was made on Mount Sinai and renewed in Deuteronomy. Israel’s refusal to obey God’s decrees and regulations, especially in their worship of detestable idols that defiled the Lord’s Temple, contravened God’s requirements (cp. Lev 26:1-2 bc, 14-15 bd). Consequently, the curses for disobeying the Lord (Lev 26:16-43 be; Deut 28:15-68 bf) would now come into effect.
5:10 bg Parents will eat their own children: This horrific prospect was an anticipated consequence of famine (see 2 Kgs 6:26-30 bh), and one of the curses of disobedience (see Lev 26:29 bi).
Ezekiel 6
Summary for Ezek 6:1-14: 6:1-14 bj The two oracles of judgment in this chapter (6:2-10 bk and 6:11-14 bl) present two alternatives—a positive future through repentance, or continued rebellion and a dark future of total annihilation. Either way, the Lord’s power and holiness would be manifested.Summary for Ezek 6:1-3: 6:1-3 bm The circle of judgment broadened out from Jerusalem to include the mountains of Israel, which were Israel’s political heartland. This territory had belonged to Israel continuously since the time of Joshua, and it had been infected by idolatry. The hill country had become home to many pagan shrines (literally high places)—raised stone platforms that often housed idols or became the location for sacrifices and pagan festivities. Most predated Israel’s entry into the land, and God had commanded Israel to destroy them (Deut 12:2-3 bn). However, in many cases, the Israelites had permitted them to remain in place, and the political and religious leaders had ignored or even encouraged those who worshiped there.
Summary for Ezek 6:4-7: 6:4-7 bo The corpses and bones of the dead worshipers scattered around an altar would defile the altar and make it unfit for use.
• idols: The Hebrew term for idols (literally round things) probably alludes to dung; when used in this way, it is a term of strong derision.
Summary for Ezek 6:8-10: 6:8-10 bp A remnant would be scattered among the nations of the world to bear witness to God’s faithfulness to his covenant. They would recognize the reality of their own unfaithful hearts and hate themselves for all their detestable sins, and they will know that God’s threat of calamity on covenant breakers was absolutely serious. Some of those who know that I alone am the Lord might even experience the other side of God’s faithfulness: his swiftness to forgive those who repent. In the book of Exodus, Israel came to know that God is the Lord through his mighty acts of rescue (see Exod 6:7 bq). Unfortunately, Israel’s behavior throughout their history showed that they had forgotten. They would come again to that knowledge through God’s acts of judgment.
6:11 br Ezekiel’s message did not end on the encouraging thought of possible repentance. He returned to the theme of judgment with its three-fold calamity of war and famine and disease.
6:12 bs anyone who survives: See 5:3-4 bt.
Summary for Ezek 6:13-14: 6:13-14 bu Riblah was located on the northern border of Israel and is well known from other biblical books. At Riblah, Nebuchadnezzar set up his tribunal and executed the sons of Zedekiah and many other leading citizens of Judah (2 Kgs 25:6 bv, 21 bw).
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