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.