Ezekiel Chapter 4 Study (Ezekiel 4:1-11)
Rev. William L. Barron, January 8, 2020Part of the Wednesday Bible Study series, preached at a Wednesday Bible Study service
This lesson begins with a review of the history and the progression of kings in the time of Ezekiel, beginning back with Hezekiah, king of Judah. As we begin Chapter 4, we see a series of symbolic actions. The first is setting up a model of Jerusalem and staging a siege on the model. This proclaims the cutting off of the relationship between God and His people. The message is that Jerusalem is not indestructable. The people have broken God's commandments and His patience has run out. The next symbolic action is Ezekiel taking on the role of a siege victim.The number of days Ezekiel lies on his left side corresponds with the 390 years of Israel's covenant unfaithfulness, from 931 until 539BC. Then Ezekiel lies on his right side for 40 days, corresponding to the years of Judah's punishment from Jerusalem's coming destruction in 587 until its end in 539.The message is that there is a light at the end; the return to Judah. Yet, at the same time, Ezekiel is to continue to prophesy against Jerusalem.
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « Which Plan Do We Follow? | None | More Righteous Than I » |
Ezekiel 4:1–11 (Listen)
4:1 “And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. 2 And put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. 3 And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.
4 “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment. 5 For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah. Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. 7 And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. 8 And behold, I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege.
9 “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer, and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them. During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from day to day you shall eat it. 11 And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; from day to day you shall drink.
(ESV)