The Judgement of God Dramatized

Ezekiel is a varied prophecy

This book is famous for visions.¹However, it would be wrong to characterize Ezekiel as a ‘one trick pony’. Ezekiel contains much more: poetry, parable, allegory, drama, symbols, sign acts, historical narrative, regulations, and apocalyptic revelations. This prophecy is colourful, diverse, and varied.² In chapters 4 and 5, we encounter an unusual prophetic communication method.

The book has an autobiographical quality.³ Events in his life and actions he performs instruct people. For example, having lost his beloved wife, Ezekiel was not permitted to mourn, in order to challenge the people, 24. 15-24. At times, the messenger’s life and actions became the message itself.

Ezekiel is a unique prophecy

A prophet’s modus operandi is verbal communication. However, the Lord shut Ezekiel’s mouth, 3. 26. How would he function effectively? Ezekiel’s silence:

1. was not perpetual. God opened his mouth when required, v. 27. In modern terms, he was not a ‘content creator’; he did not come up with his own ideas; he moved under the control of God.⁴
2. required him to employ dramatically different methods of communication, chh. 4, 5.

Ezekiel spoke when God commanded, and behaved as directed. Therefore, he became an enigmatic figure. His strange conduct engendered criticism. Broome diagnosed Ezekiel with catatonic or paranoid schizophrenia and labelled him a psychopath.⁵ Such criticism is unwarranted, similar behaviour permeates the prophets, Jer. 27. 2; 28. 10; Isa. 20. 2-4. What makes this prophecy distinct is the ‘frequency and drama’ of his strange activities.⁶

Ezekiel dramatizes Jerusalem’s siege

Unable to speak, the prophet dramatizes the coming judgement with four theatrical acts.⁷ Ezekiel mimes God’s message.⁸ Before considering Ezekiel’s drama, it is worth noting that this is six years before Jerusalem falls.⁹ The Jews considered the temple inviolable, thinking it would never fall. God informs them that the conquest of Judah will be completed.¹⁰ This would validate his prophetic ability.

Act 1: the siege of an unprotected Jerusalem, 4. 1-3

Ezekiel ‘plays toy soldiers’ to visualize the demise of Jerusalem. Consider:

1. A symbol for the city. God tells Ezekiel to take a tile, a Babylonian clay brick, and inscribe Jerusalem on it, v. 1. How did he do so? Writing the word Jerusalem or sketching the city’s skyline? We can only wonder.
2. A siege of the city. Ezekiel creates siege paraphernalia, v. 2. Likely using soil to create a ramp and pieces of clay to depict the rest, in verse 3 he lays siege to the city.
3. A sentence on the city. The final scene finds Ezekiel raising an iron pan against the city. Ezekiel now plays the role of God. The audience would have eagerly awaited God’s saving intervention. But God never intervenes, the iron pan never falls. Instead, it symbolizes the barrier between God and Judah.¹¹

Verse 3 describes this as a sign to the city. Ezekiel is not merely being entertaining; he is instructing the people. Let us remember when using visual aids that we should do so for educational purposes, not entertainment purposes.¹²

Act 2: the sentence of an unrepentant Judah and Israel, 4. 4-8

This section is easy to describe but difficult to decipher. God requires Ezekiel to lie on his left side for 390 days, followed by forty days on his right, vv. 4-6. He is bound to ensure immobility, v. 8. The days of Ezekiel’s play are equated to years:

• 390 days = 390 years of the iniquity of Israel
• Forty days = forty years of the iniquity of Judah

Understanding this is challenging. Are the years literal or symbolic?¹³Are they related to the past (the reason for judgement) or the future (the duration of judgement)? Scholars are divided and we cannot be dogmatic. It seems best to take this as looking backward to the sin that caused the judgement of God. The duration implies a patient, gracious God, providing opportunity for repentance. This view is not without difficulty, but the same can be said for any of the other interpretations.¹⁴

A second difficultly is practical. Is it physically possible to lie on one side for 390 days? Context suggests Ezekiel performed this action daily, probably at the same time and place. But then he would be unbound and ‘free’ to go about his business. Indeed, verses 9 to 17 requires that Ezekiel has enough mobility to make bread and cook it on coals. This would be impossible if immobile 24/7.

Act 3: the subsistence of an unclean Jerusalem, 4. 9-17

God now expects Ezekiel to consume unappetizing and unclean food.

Ezekiel’s food. A starvation diet during the siege.

This bread was no delicacy. It was a subpar wheat formed of numerous elements, 4. 9. The bread is sold today, packaged as ‘Ezekiel 4. 9 bread’. However, scripture is not recommending this bread. Scarcity of quality ingredients is the thought. You made Ezekiel’s bread when nothing else was available; it described protracted siege conditions. This theme is reinforced by the limited quantity he could eat. With a food intake of approximately eight ounces per day, he was subsisting on a starvation diet.

Ezekiel’s fuel. A contaminated diet after the siege.

Ezekiel’s method of cooking would have meant that the bread was in contact with the fuel, human dung - how degrading and defiling! Ezekiel, for once, objects and God graciously reprieves him, allowing the use of cow manure rather than human excrement. This was apparently more appropriate ritually. The message is clear; contamination awaited them in exile.

Act 4: the summary of a unique judgement

The preceding two sign-acts were repetitive, occurring daily for fourteen months. Act 4 is one-off by its very nature. Ezekiel’s final drama may be described as ‘a brilliant one-man double act’, his shaved hair representing the residents of Jerusalem and its treatment representing their judgement.¹⁵

This drama revolves around the number three. Hair is divided into three parts. It is disposed of in three ways. ‘Take thee’ occurs three times, 5. 1. Finally, ‘fire’ appears three times, v. 4.¹⁶

For the prophet, this was humiliating; the same would be the case for Jerusalem. But more significant is the horrific outcomes prophesied here. Chapter 5 verse 12 and Jeremiah chapter 15 verse 2 explain the significance of these actions. Ezekiel’s hair is divided into three portions indicative of the result of the siege of Jerusalem for its inhabitants:

1. one-third was burnt. Demonstrating what happened inside the city, destroyed by plague and famine, 5. 12.
2. one-third was chopped. Announcing what happened outside the city, death by the sword at the hands of enemy combatants.
3. one-third was scattered. Emphasizing what happened away from the city, some survivors were dispersed.¹⁷

Consider the impact on Ezekiel; faithful service for God can bring significant challenges:

• He would have been hated, act 1.
• He may have been harmed, act 2.
• He would have been hungry, act 3.
• He is humiliated, act 4.

Ezekiel’s example suggests: we should communicate God’s word effectively; not shy away from our ministry no matter how difficult or unpopular; and our lives can be a witness for God.