Ezekiel 4

The first of Ezekiel’s sign acts was a visual message. A sign act is a symbolic action that teaches a lesson (see “Prophetic Sign Acts” Theme Note).

God told Ezekiel to build a small model of Jerusalem. He then showed the city surrounded by enemy forces. This model picture showed that Jerusalem would soon be under siege (surrounded and attacked by an army).

These chapters discuss words and actions that warned of disaster for Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4–5) and the land of Judah (Ezekiel 6–7).

The prophet Ezekiel used words and actions to show that judgment on Jerusalem was certain. God's people broke the covenant made at Mount Sinai. Now, they faced the promised curses of death and destruction. Only after these curses happened could there be hope for the future.

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 separated itself from God.

Meanwhile, the prophet was to face the city with determination, showing that God was still focused and firmly resolved to destroy Jerusalem in the upcoming siege.

Israel refers to the entire covenant community, not just the northern kingdom. The number 390 has been interpreted in different ways. A likely explanation is that 390 represents years. It may refer to the time from early in Solomon’s reign, which lasted from 971 to 931 BC, to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC (see 2 Kings 25:3–7).

The prophet’s second sign act was connected to the first. This time, he acted out the roles of both God and the people suffering during the siege.

As someone suffering in the siege, he was tied with ropes (Ezekiel 4:8). He had to lie in one position. He may not have stayed like this all the time during the 14 months. Instead, he may have performed this sign each day.

When Ezekiel represented Israel, he symbolically bore Israel’s sins. This means he acted out the weight of their guilt by lying on one side. However, he did not bring atonement (the removal of sin) or forgiveness to Israel.

• Judah refers to the community of people living in exile. Their time away from the land is pictured as 40 years. This number suggests that they were like a lost generation. It recalls the generation that wandered 40 years in the wilderness because of their sin (Numbers 14:34).

• The 430 days of Ezekiel’s confinement (Ezekiel 4:5) match the 430 years that Israel lived in Egypt (Exodus 12:40). This parallel suggests hope. Just as God once led his people out of Egypt, he would bring them out of exile. It points to the promise of a new exodus at the end of the exile.

Ezekiel continued to represent God in this acted message. He showed what God was doing and saying.

With his arm bared (uncovered as a sign of strength and readiness to act), he looked steadily at the city under attack. He fixed his eyes on the siege of Jerusalem. As he did this, he announced that the city would be destroyed.

The near-starvation diet of eight ounces of food and a jar of water each day represents siege rations. This reflects a desperate situation where there was not enough of any one type of grain to make a whole loaf.

Cooking with human excrement (human waste) would make the bread ceremonially unclean. This means it would be unfit for worship according to the law of Moses. If Ezekiel ate it, he would become unclean.

This act was a sign of what would happen to the Israelites in exile. In a foreign land, it would be very hard to follow the kosher dietary laws (the food laws God gave to Israel). As a result, they would eat food that was unclean.

Because of this, they would be unclean and separated from the Lord’s cleansing presence (his holy presence that makes people pure).

The prophet said he had never eaten anything unclean. The Lord agreed, letting Ezekiel cook his food over cow dung. He also followed the law for disposing of human waste (see Deuteronomy 23:12–14).