Ezekiel 4:14

Ezekiel 4:14 says, Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.  Ezekiel protested against eating food prepared this way, since he said it would make it impure, and he had never eten anything impure.  We could say that Ezekiel was bragging about his righteousness and that God was asking Him to do something unrighteous.  We can never stand before God by our own righteousness, and if God calls on us to do something, as He did with Peter and eating from the sheet of food that Peter considered unholy, like Peter, we must obey God. Matthew Henry does say that if we are called on to do something that we see as sinful that we should bring our concerns to God.  Ultimately though, we must do what God calls us to do, even if He doesn't change anything about it after our concerns are raised, just as Peter did.  

Verse fifteen adds, Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith. God told Ezekiel that because of his concern about the way the food was to be prepared that He would replace cow’s dung for man’s dung. Sometimes, God may change His directions to us because of our concerns, as He did with Ezekiel, and other times He may not, as was the case with Peter.  We just need to accept God’s answer either way.   

Verse sixteen continues, Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:  God told Ezekiel that the people of Jerusalem were soon going to be eating bread by measure, or with just enough to survive on, and they were also going to drink water with the same care.  This was because the siege was going to limit their supply of food and water.  They would be astonished at the state of affairs in Jerusalem, which had been prosperous at one time.  This was all going to happen because of their refusal to obey God, and if we find ourselves going through a bad time in life as Christians, we should first ask if we are being obedient to God.  At times, this may be the case, but not always.  Just as the early disciples at times called out to God and nothing changed in their situation, but they still remained faithful to God, so must we no matter what is happening in our life.   

Verse seventeen concludes, That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity. God told Ezekiel that the want of bread and water would consume away their iniquity.  I believe this means that they would realize that their sin had gotten them into this situation and that faith in God would get them out of it.  When they had served God, they had an abundance to meet their needs, and their iniquity had taken His blessings away.  As followers of Christ, we will always have our spiritual needs met if we are faithful to God.  I would say that we will normally have our physical needs met, but this is not always the case.  At times, Christians do suffer from hunger and at times they are beaten and killed for their faith, but they are always secure forever spiritually.  I would also say that serving God does not mean that we are going to have everything that we want or desire.  He will give us our daily bread and not our yearly bread.  Faith is a day-to-day reliance on God, and not an amassing of great material wealth.

Ezekiel 4:9

Ezekiel 4:9 says, Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, after make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.  Ezekiel was then told to take several  ingredients and put them in one vessel and then make bread of them that would be what he ate for the three hundred and ninety days that he lay on his side.  This would be the coarsest of bread and was to help the people know of the coming famine in Jerusalem during the siege.  So far, what Ezekeil had been told to do was not what we would think a prophet would be doing, and then I have to wonder if we would have done it.  It may be that at times today God will call us to do things that are not glorious and that we may not understand why He would call us to do them, but we just need to be obedient if we know He has called us to do something.   

Veres ten adds. And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.  Not only was his food to be of the lowest quality, but he was also to eat just enough to keep him alive, which was about ten ounces.  We might say that a person couldn't live three hundred and ninety days with this little food, but it was really Ezekiel’s obedience to God that would keep him alive, and his diet was just to be a sign to the people of Israel I believe.  If we are doing what God calls us to do, we need to put our faith in Him and not what the world might think is possible.   

Verse eleven adds, Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. He was also to drink just about enough water to keep him alive, which was about a half a pint.  As with the bread, this was more symbolic of what was to happen to the people of Israel and to show Ezekiel’s faith than it was to keep Ezekiel alive, since God could have done that without Ezekiel eating or drinking anything.  The question for us is if God calls us to do something that is demeaning and seems to not be good for us physically, would we do it?  Some Christians and preachers today say that God wants us to be happy, so He will give us what we desire, but I don’t find that to be the case in the Bible.   

Verse twelve says, And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. Ezekiel was to bake the bread with men’s dung, that according to Matthew Henry, that had been dried.  This would have been considered defiled fuel, since man’s dung was supposed to be buried, so it would not even be seen, much less used as fuel to cook food with.  He was to do this in the sight of the people so they would be able to see what was going to happen with them, if they were listening to God.  Of course, one reason this was going to happen was because they weren’t listening to God.  We must listen to God first and then do whatever He calls us to do, no matter how demeaning it might seem to people around us.   

Verse thirteen adds, And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.  God said this was to represent what the people of Israel would eat when they were held captive by the Gentiles.  Not obeying God, even if we are a follower of Christ brings consequences in life.  

Ezekiel 4:4

Ezekiel 4:4 says, Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.  Ezekiel was then told to lie on his left side and let the iniquity of the people of Israel be on his left side.  He then was told that the number of days that he would lie on his left side would determine how long the people of Israel would bear their iniquity.  This was a strange way to determine the length of the siege, but it required Ezekiel to be faithful in doing what God instructed him to do, and I don’t believe that Ezekiel determined how long he would lie this way, but that God did.  If Ezekiel were the one deciding on his own, he could have simply gotten up after one day.  God may call on us to do something that we consider strange, but if He does, we need to be obedient and ot continue to do whatever it is that He has called us to do until we are sure He has told us to stop.   

Verse five adds, For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.  Ezekiel was told that he was to lie on his left side for three hundred and ninety days to represent the length of time that Israel would be under siege. Matthew Henry points out that this was about thirteen months, and Jerusalem was under siege for eighteen months, but that there was a five-month period when the besiegers withdrew when Pharoah’s army approached and then they returned again. The three-hundred and ninety days also represented the number of years from the apostasy under Jeroboam until the destruction of the temple, when a small remnant would return to God.  God’s word will always be true, even if we don’t see it to the time that it is happening.  To simply lie on his side doesn’t seem like something a prophet would be called to do, and at times what God calls us to do may not be what we think we should be doing, but we must be obedient to Him.    

Verse six continues, And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. Ezekiel was then told after the time lying on his left side was finished to lie on his right side for forty days for the iniquity of Judah.  God said that each day would represent a year.  This would represent the last forty years when the people of Judah had turned away from God.  In both cases, Ezekiel was told that during this time, he would bear the iniquities first of Israel and then of Judah.  If he was obedient to God, this would then represent their being faithful I believe.  We cannot bear the sins of other people, but we have a Savior Who did, and if we accept His gift of salvation, we then must be obedient to Him as Ezekiel was then.   

Verse seven states, Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.  Ezekiel was told to set his face toward Jerusalem which was to be besieged by Pharoah because of Zedekiah’s treachery in breaking his alliance with Pharoah.  He was to stretch out his arm to represent the resolve of Pharoah to show them no mercy.  Of course, their biggest iniquity was failing to put their faith in God instead of turning to worldly powers to protect them.  If we are having problems in life today, we need to turn to God for help and not to anyone who might be in power in the world.   

Verse eight adds, And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.  God told Ezekiel that He was going to lay bands on him to keep him from turning aside until the day of his siege were finished.  During this time, Ezekiel would evidently have to rely on other people to feed him.  However he was feed and had his needs met, God was the One Who was making sure that Ezekiel had what he needed to accomplish his task as long as Ezkiel was faithful, just as He will provide for our needs if we are faithfully doing what God calls us to do.