Ezekiel 4 Footnotes

4:1-8 Chapters 4–7 contain five messages of judgment against Jerusalem in which Ezekiel used dramatizations. This was not a new prophetic method. Earlier prophets also used dramatic methods (1Sm 15:27-31; 1Kg 11:29-33; 2Kg 13:14-19), as did Isaiah (Is 20:2-3) and Jeremiah (Jr 13:1-11; 13:12-27; 19:1-13; 27:1-22). Ezekiel drew a recognizable map of Jerusalem on a clay brick or tile and then “played war,” as a young child might do. He laid siege to the city using a siege wall, an earthen ramp to scale the walls, military camps around the city, battering rams and an iron plate that probably represented the unstoppable advancing army. With these implements he prophetically acted out the fall of Jerusalem, which was to occur in 586 BC.

4:9 Ezekiel was told to mix six grains to make bread. This was unusual but did not violate any dietary laws. The resulting flour would be inferior to pure wheat or barley flour; it signaled a desperate circumstance that called for austere measures. Under conditions of siege, the people would be forced to mix anything edible due to the scarcity of food.

4:12-17 Ezekiel, a priest, was scrupulous about conforming to the dietary laws such as those in Lv 11:1-47. Preparation of food using animal manure was not uncommon or prohibited, and is still practiced in the Middle East among nomadic tribesmen since wood for fire is a scarce commodity in the region. However, to use human waste for fuel was considered defilement, especially for a priest (Dt 23:9-14). The horror of violating biblical dietary law prompted the prophet’s appeal in Ezk 4:14 not to be forced to defile himself in this manner. The Lord granted this request, but the incident was recorded to underscore the depth of defilement that characterized those to whom the prophet was called to deliver his messages. The use of human excrement in food preparation would further emphasize the crisis conditions to come at the time of the fall of Jerusalem.