God instructed Ezekiel to take a large clay brick and set it down in front of him. Then, he was to draw a map of the city of Jerusalem on it. He was to show the city under siege: build a wall around it so no one could escape, set up the enemy camp, and surround the city with siege ramps and battering rams.
Next, Ezekiel was to take an iron plate, set it up as a wall, and place it between himself and the city. He was to turn toward the city and demonstrate how harsh the siege would be against Jerusalem. This would serve as a warning to the people of Israel.
God also instructed Ezekiel to lie on his left side to bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. The number of days he lay on his side would represent the number of years the house of Israel would be held captive for their iniquity. 390 days on his left side for Israel, and 40 days on his right side for the people of Judah.
Meanwhile, he was to keep staring at the siege of Jerusalem. Lying there with his arm bared, he was to prophesy Israel’s destruction. God said that He would restrain Ezekiel so that he would not be able to turn from side to side until the days of the siege had been completed.
Ezekiel was also instructed to take some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, mix them together in a storage jar, and use them to make bread for himself during the 390 days he lay on his side. God gave Ezekiel specific measurements to ration the bread:
- 8 ounces of food for each day, to be eaten at set times.
- 1/6 of a hin (~600ml) of water for each day, to be drunk at set times.
He was to prepare and eat this food as he would barley cakes. While all the people watched, he was to bake it over a fire using dried human dung as fuel, and then eat the bread.
Then the Lord said, “This is how Israel will eat defiled bread in the Gentile lands to which I will banish them!”
However, cooking the bread with human dung was too repulsive for Ezekiel. He pleaded not to use human waste, explaining that he had never defiled himself. God granted his request and allowed him to use cow dung instead.
God also instructed Ezekiel to declare that food in Jerusalem would become very scarce. It would be weighed out with great care and eaten fearfully. Water would be rationed drop by drop, and the people would drink it in dismay. Lacking food and water, they would look at one another in terror and waste away under their punishment.
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