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Commentary on Ezekiel 4 verses 9–17
The best exposition of this part of Ezekiel's prediction of Jerusalem's desolation is Jeremiah's lamentation of it, Lam 4:3, Lam 4:4, etc., and Lam 4:10, where he pathetically describes the terrible famine that was in Jerusalem during the siege and the sad effects of it.
I. The prophet here, to affect the people with the foresight of it, must confine himself for 390 days to coarse fare and short commons, and that ill-dressed, for they should want both food and fuel.
1.His meat, for the quality of it, was to be of the worst bread, made of but little wheat and barley, and the rest of beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, such as we feed horses or fatted hogs with, and this mixed, as mill corn, or as that in the beggar's bag, that has a dish full of one sort of corn at one house and of another at another house; of such corn as this must the prophet's bread be made while he underwent the fatigue of lying on his side, and needed something better to support him, Eze 4:9. Note, It is our wisdom not to be too fond of dainties and pleasant bread, because we know not what hard meat we may be tied to, nay, and may be glad of, before we die. The meanest sort of food is better than we deserve, and therefore must not be despised nor wasted, nor must those that use it be looked upon with disdain, because we know not what may be our own lot.
2.For the quantity of it, it was to be of the least that a man could be kept alive with, to signify that the besieged should be reduced to short allowance and should hold out till all the bread in the city was spent, Jer 37:21. The prophet must eat but twenty shekels' weight of bread a day (Eze 4:10), that was about ten ounces; and he must drink but the sixth part of a hin of water, that was half a pint, about eight ounces, Eze 4:11. The stint of the Lessian diet is fourteen ounces of meat and sixteen of drink. The prophet in Babylon had bread enough and to spare, and was by the river side, where there was plenty of water; and yet, that he might confirm his own prediction and be a sign to the children of Israel, God obliges him to live thus sparingly, and he submits to it. Note, God's servants must learn to endure hardness, and to deny themselves the use of lawful delights, when they may thereby serve the glory of God, evidence the sincerity of their faith, and express their sympathy with their brethren in affliction. The body must be kept under and brought into subjection. Nature is content with a little, grace with less, but lust with nothing. It is good to stint ourselves of choice, that we may the better bear it if ever we should come to be stinted by necessity. And in times of public distress and calamity it ill becomes us to make much of ourselves, as those that drank wine in bowls and were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph, Amo 6:4-6.
3.For the dressing of it, he must bake it with a man's dung (Eze 4:12); that must be dried, and serve for fuel to heat his oven with. The thought of it would almost turn one's stomach; yet the coarse bread, thus baked, he must eat as barley-cakes, as freely as if it were the same bread he had been used to. This nauseous piece of cookery he must exercise publicly in their sight, that they might be the more affected with the calamity approaching, which was signified by it, that in the extremity of the famine they should not only have nothing that was dainty, but nothing that was cleanly, about them; they must take up with what they could get. To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. This circumstance of the sign, the baking of his bread with man's dung, the prophet with submission humbly desired might be dispensed with (Eze 4:14); it seemed to have in it something of a ceremonial pollution, for there was a law that man's dung should be covered with earth, that God might see no unclean thing in their camp, Deu 23:13, Deu 23:14. And must he go and gather a thing so offensive, and use it in the dressing of his meat in the sight of the people? "Ah! Lord God," says he, "behold, my soul has not been polluted, and I am afraid lest by this it be polluted." Note, The pollution of the soul by sin is what good people dread more than any thing; and yet sometimes tender consciences fear it without cause, and perplex themselves with scruples about lawful things, as the prophet here, who had not yet learned that it is not that which goes into the mouth that defiles the man, Mat 15:11. But observe he does not plead, "Lord, from my youth I have been brought up delicately and have never been used to any thing but what was clean and nice" (and there were those who were so brought up, who in the siege of Jerusalem did embrace dunghills, Lam 4:5), but that he had been brought up conscientiously, and had never eaten any thing that was forbidden by the law, that died of itself or was torn in pieces; and therefore, "Lord, do not put this upon me now." Thus Peter pleaded (Act 10:14), Lord, I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. Note, it will be comfortable to us, when we are reduced to hardships, if our hearts can witness for us that we have always been careful to abstain from sin, even from little sins, and the appearances of evil. Whatever God commands us, we may be sure, is good; but, if we be put upon any thing that we apprehend to be evil, we should argue against it, from this consideration, that hitherto we have preserved our purity - and shall we lose it now? Now, because Ezekiel with a manifest tenderness of conscience made this scruple, God dispensed with him in this matter. Note, Those who have power in their hands should not be rigorous in pressing their commands upon those that are dissatisfied concerning them, yea, though their dissatisfactions be groundless or arising from education and long usage, but should recede from them rather than grieve or offend the weak, or put a stumbling-block before them, in conformity to the example of God's condescension to Ezekiel, though we are sure his authority is incontestable and all his commands are wise and good. God allowed Ezekiel to use cow's dung instead of man's dung, Eze 4:15. This is a tacit reflection upon man, as intimating that he being polluted with sin his filthiness is more nauseous and odious than that of any other creature. How much more abominable and filthy is man! Job 15:16.
II. Now this sign is particularly explained here; it signified,
1.That those who remained in Jerusalem should be brought to extreme misery for want of necessary food. All supplies being cut off by the besiegers, the city would soon find the want of the country, for the king himself is served of the field; and thus the staff of bread would be broken in Jerusalem, Eze 4:16. God would not only take away from the bread its power to nourish, so that they should eat and not be satisfied (Lev 26:26), but would take away the bread itself (Isa 3:1), so that what little remained should be eaten by weight, so much a day, so much a head, that they might have an equal share and might make it last as long as possible. But to what purpose, when they could not make it last always, and the besieged must be tired out before the besiegers? They should eat and drink with care, to make it go as far as might be, and with astonishment, when they saw it almost spent and knew not which way to look for a recruit. They should be astonished one with another; whereas it is ordinarily some alleviation of a calamity to have others share with us in it (Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris), and some ease to the spirit to complain of the burden, it should be an aggravation of the misery that it was universal, and their complaining to one another should but make them all the more uneasy and increase the astonishment. And the event shall be as bad as their fears; they cannot make it worse than it is, for they shall consume away for their iniquity; multitudes of them shall die of famine, a lingering death, worse than that by the sword (Lam 4:9); they shall dies so as to feel themselves die. And it is sin that brings all this misery upon them: They shall consume away in their iniquity (so it may be read); they shall continue hardened and impenitent, and shall die in their sins, which is more miserable than to die on a dunghill. Now, (1.) Let us see here what woeful work sin makes with a people, and acknowledge the righteousness of God herein. Time was when Jerusalem was filled with the finest of the wheat (Psa 147:14); but now it would be glad of the coarsest, and cannot have it. Fulness of bread, as it was one of Jerusalem's mercies, so it had become one of her sins, Eze 16:49. The plenty was abused to luxury and excess, which were therefore thus justly punished with famine. It is a righteous thing with God to deprive us of those enjoyments which we have made the food and fuel of our lusts. (2.) Let us see what reason we have to bless God for plenty, not only for the fruits of the earth, but for the freedom of commerce, that the husbandman can have money for his bread and the tradesman bread for his money, that there is abundance not only in the field, but in the market, that those who live in cities and great towns, though they sow not, neither do they reap, are yet fed from day to day with food convenient.
2.It signified that those who were carried into captivity should be forced to eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles (Eze 4:13), to eat meat made up by Gentile hands otherwise than according to the law of the Jewish church, which they were always taught to call defiled, and which they would have as great an aversion to as a man would have to bread prepared with dung, that is (as perhaps it may be understood) kneaded and moulded with dung. Daniel and his fellows confined themselves to pulse and water, rather than they would eat the portion of the king's meat assigned them, because they apprehended it would defile them, Dan 1:8. Or they should be forced to eat putrid meat, such as their oppressors would allow them in their slavery, and such as formerly they would have scorned to touch. Because they served not God with cheerfulness in the abundance of all things, God will make them serve their enemies in the want of all things.
(Verse 13 and following) And the Lord said: Thus will the sons of Israel eat their polluted bread among the nations to which I will drive them out. And I said, ah, ah, ah, O Lord God: Behold, my soul is not polluted, and I have not eaten carrion or torn flesh from beasts from my youth until now, and all unclean flesh has not entered into my mouth. And he said to me: Behold, I have given you cow dung instead of human dung, and you shall make your bread with it. According to the book of Zachariah (Zech. III), prophets are seen as portentous men who foretell the future through their works and are spoken of by God. We frequently read throughout the Bible that prophets are compared to God's hands (Hosea XII, 10). As we see in many instances, just as Ezekiel ate bread in dung, the children of Israel, or the entire population of Judah, or as some believe, the ten tribes, will eat polluted bread among the nations. This is not a threat to those who have already been expelled but to those who will be expelled from the promised land. When the Prophet learned this, he strongly condemned it according to Aquila, ah, ah, ah. But according to Symmachus and the Septuagint, he responded by saying 'μηδαμῶς', which means ' by no means' in Latin. For which Theodotion translated: 'O Lord God'. We should not think that he contradicts the command of the Lord, but rather that he gives reasons and even begs why he cannot do this. Finally, he obtained what he asked for, and the severity of the sentence was tempered by a milder command. It is asked why Ezekiel refused easier things: and why Hosea was immediately joined to a prostitute without objection or response, saying that he keeps his body chaste and should not be defiled by the touch of a harlot, as the Apostle says: 'Whoever is joined to a harlot becomes one body with her' (I Cor. VI, 16). From which it is shown that the figure of the Synagogue or Church was not truly accomplished according to the letter: which we have explained more fully in our exposition of the prophet. Morticinium is said to be the taking of life without the shedding of blood, and in which the soul dies, torn by beasts, which is called θηριάλωτον in Greek. But as for the filth granted to human excrement, which is called dung, lighter evils are signified: for indeed they are commanded to eat bread cooked in ox dung; but it is far from uncleanness of human excrement: and even today among the Jewish people this opinion is preserved, that they do not eat their bread in human excrement. For they do not serve idols, nor do they worship the various wonders of demons; but they work for the flesh and stomach, and the goods of this earth, as it is said: 'He who does these things shall live by them' (Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 4). But we disdain earthly things, and not only do we trample on the food of human waste, and consider earthly pleasures to be worthless, but we eat the bread that descends from heaven (John 6), and we enjoy that food of which the Psalmist sings: 'Man ate the bread of angels' (Psalm 78:25); living not on the flesh of the Egyptians, but on the thinness of manna.
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SUMMARY
Ezekiel 4:14 captures a pivotal moment of prophetic tension, recording Ezekiel's earnest and immediate protest against God's command to cook his meager bread ration over human dung, an act symbolizing Jerusalem's impending siege and profound defilement. As a consecrated priest, Ezekiel passionately asserts his lifelong, unwavering commitment to ritual purity, specifically highlighting his strict adherence to Mosaic dietary laws forbidding the consumption of carrion or torn meat, emphatically stating that his "soul hath not been polluted." This verse powerfully underscores the severity of God's judgment against Judah's sin, the challenging nature of prophetic obedience, and the profound personal cost involved in embodying a divine message.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Ezekiel 4:14 is embedded within a series of dramatic, divinely commanded symbolic actions designed to graphically portray the impending siege, famine, and destruction of Jerusalem, culminating in the exile of Judah. Prior to this verse, God instructs Ezekiel to lie on his side for extended periods, symbolically bearing the iniquity of Israel and Judah (Ezekiel 4:1-8). Immediately preceding Ezekiel's fervent outcry, the prophet is commanded to prepare a meager, precisely measured ration of bread from mixed grains and water, signifying the extreme scarcity of food during the siege. The most shocking and offensive element of this command, which directly provokes Ezekiel's protest in verse 14, is the instruction to cook this bread using human excrement as fuel (Ezekiel 4:9-13). This detail was intended to signify the utter degradation, extreme famine, and ritual impurity that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would face, being forced to consume food prepared in a manner that violated fundamental Mosaic purity laws. Ezekiel's anguished protest in this verse highlights the profound spiritual and physical implications of this specific command, leading directly to God's compassionate concession in the subsequent verse, allowing the use of cow's dung instead (Ezekiel 4:15).
Historical & Cultural Context: As explicitly identified in Ezekiel 1:3, Ezekiel was a priest, belonging to a lineage deeply entrenched in the sacred laws of purity and holiness within the Mosaic covenant. Priests were uniquely tasked with upholding and teaching the distinctions between the clean and the unclean, the holy and the common (Leviticus 10:10). The dietary laws, which strictly prohibited the consumption of animals that died naturally (carrion, nevelah) or were torn by wild beasts (terephah), were not merely arbitrary rules but foundational pillars of Israelite identity, ritual purity, and covenant faithfulness (Leviticus 11:40 and Deuteronomy 14:21). For Ezekiel, a priest who had meticulously observed these sacred laws "from his youth up even till now," the divine command to cook food over human waste was not merely an arduous practical task but an egregious violation of his priestly vows, personal sanctity, and deeply ingrained commitment to holiness. This act would render the food ritually unclean, symbolizing the profound defilement and desperate circumstances the people of Jerusalem would endure during the Babylonian siege, when starvation would compel them to abandon such sacred purity laws.
Key Themes: Ezekiel 4:14 powerfully contributes to and illuminates several critical themes within the broader book of Ezekiel and wider biblical theology. Firstly, it starkly reveals the severity of God's judgment against Judah's persistent sin, demonstrating that the consequences would be so dire as to compel even the most pious to transgress fundamental purity laws. Secondly, the verse highlights the profound theme of prophetic obedience and identification, showcasing the prophet's personal struggle and internal conflict in obeying a difficult divine command that directly challenged his lifelong commitment to holiness. Ezekiel's protest, while stemming from deep personal conviction, ultimately serves to underscore the extreme nature of the message God intended to convey to His rebellious people. Thirdly, the passage brings into sharp focus the crucial biblical concept of ritual purity and defilement. For a priest like Ezekiel, maintaining purity was paramount, and his lifelong adherence to these intricate laws, extensively detailed in books like Leviticus 11, underscores the depth of his devotion. Finally, the subsequent divine concession in Ezekiel 4:15 subtly introduces the theme of God's compassion and accommodation within the framework of His righteous judgment, demonstrating His willingness to temper His commands when His servant's sincere and heartfelt appeal is heard, without compromising the integrity or impact of the overarching prophetic message.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 4:14 is rich in literary devices that amplify its meaning, emotional intensity, and theological impact. The opening exclamation, "Ah Lord GOD!," functions as a powerful interjection and lament, immediately conveying Ezekiel's profound distress, anguish, and fervent appeal to the divine. This direct address to God underscores the intimate yet challenging nature of their prophetic relationship. The prophet's assertion, "my soul hath not been polluted," employs a degree of hyperbole to emphasize his meticulous and lifelong adherence to ritual purity, making his protest more dramatic and the divine command's severity more palpable. The repeated enumeration of forbidden meats ("that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh") utilizes enumeration and repetition to underscore the comprehensive nature of his dietary observance and the specific, abhorrent nature of the defilement he is being asked to embrace. Furthermore, the entire scenario is steeped in profound symbolism, where Ezekiel's personal defilement through the preparation of food is a direct, visceral, and prophetic representation of Jerusalem's impending spiritual and physical defilement during the Babylonian siege. Finally, a striking irony pervades the scene: a priest, consecrated and dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of holiness, is commanded by God Himself to engage in an act of profound ritual impurity, powerfully highlighting the extreme measures God employs to convey the gravity of Judah's sin and the depth of their impending judgment.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel's protest in 4:14 offers profound theological insights into the nature of divine command, the complexities of human obedience, and the dynamic interaction between God and His chosen servants. It reveals that even the most devout individuals, like Ezekiel who meticulously upheld the Law, can experience deep internal tension when God's will challenges their most deeply held convictions and established patterns of holiness. This tension is not necessarily a sign of disobedience but rather an honest, human expression of struggle in the face of a seemingly contradictory divine directive. The verse powerfully underscores God's absolute sovereignty, as He is the one who commands even such defiling acts for His overarching prophetic purposes, yet it also subtly hints at His profound compassion, as evidenced by His subsequent concession. The core theological message is that God's judgment, though severe and uncompromising in its justice, is always purposeful, aiming to bring about repentance and demonstrate the inevitable consequences of sin, even if it means His prophets must personally embody the very defilement and suffering that awaits the people.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel 4:14 serves as a profound and challenging reminder that the path of faith is rarely comfortable or intuitively clear. It compels us to deeply consider how we, as believers, respond when God's commands, or the difficult circumstances of life, push us beyond our personal comfort zones, deeply held convictions, or established routines of purity and righteousness. Ezekiel, a man of exemplary devotion and priestly integrity, did not silently accept a command that seemed to violate his very identity and lifelong commitment to holiness. Instead, he honestly, fervently, and respectfully expressed his distress and protest to God. This powerful encounter teaches us the immense value of transparent and heartfelt communication with our Creator; God is not intimidated or offended by our questions, struggles, or even our objections, but rather invites us to bring our whole selves, including our anxieties, doubts, and protests, before Him. Ultimately, Ezekiel's willingness to engage in this dialogue, even with protest, demonstrated his underlying commitment to obey, leading to God's compassionate adjustment in the following verse. This passage encourages us to cultivate a faith that is both deeply principled in its unwavering commitment to God's revealed will and humbly open to God's surprising, sometimes challenging, and always purposeful leading, even when it requires us to identify with the brokenness, suffering, or perceived "defilement" of a fallen world for His redemptive and transformative purposes.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why was Ezekiel so resistant to this specific command?
Answer: Ezekiel's profound resistance stemmed directly from his identity as a priest and his lifelong, meticulous adherence to the Mosaic dietary laws. These laws strictly forbade the consumption of animals that died naturally (carrion) or were torn by other animals, and cooking food over human excrement was an extreme violation of ritual purity, rendering the food utterly abominable. For a priest whose entire life was dedicated to distinguishing between the clean and the unclean, and to maintaining personal and communal holiness, this command was a profound affront to his personal sanctity, priestly vocation, and deeply ingrained spiritual habits, symbolizing the ultimate degradation.
What was the significance of eating defiled food in this context?
Answer: The act of eating defiled food, particularly bread cooked over human dung, was a powerful and visceral symbolic act. It was not primarily about Ezekiel's personal defilement for sin, but rather a prophetic sign to the rebellious people of Judah. It graphically illustrated the extreme famine, degradation, and ritual impurity that Jerusalem's inhabitants would experience during the impending Babylonian siege. Starvation would become so severe that people would be forced to eat anything available, even if it meant violating the most sacred dietary laws, thus highlighting the depth of God's righteous judgment and the devastating consequences of their persistent disobedience.
Did God punish Ezekiel for his protest?
Answer: No, God did not punish Ezekiel for his protest; rather, He demonstrated His compassion and granted a significant concession. Immediately following Ezekiel's fervent appeal in Ezekiel 4:14, God allowed him to use cow's dung instead of human dung for fuel (Ezekiel 4:15). This divine response powerfully demonstrates God's willingness to listen to the sincere and anguished appeals of His faithful servants and to temper His commands when possible, without compromising the integrity or impact of the overall prophetic message. It highlights God's understanding, grace, and relational nature in His interactions with His prophets.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezekiel's deeply personal and challenging experience in Ezekiel 4:14 profoundly foreshadows the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ, particularly in His radical identification with humanity's sin and defilement. Ezekiel, a consecrated priest dedicated to maintaining ritual purity, was commanded to symbolically embody the impurity and degradation awaiting Israel, protesting yet ultimately submitting to a degree. This prophetic act powerfully points to Christ, the ultimate and perfectly pure High Priest (Hebrews 4:15), who was entirely without sin, yet willingly "became sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21) to take away the defilement of the world. While Ezekiel's act was a symbolic and temporary embodiment of impurity, Christ's identification was actual, complete, and eternally efficacious, as He bore the full weight of humanity's spiritual "uncleanliness" and the curse of sin upon the cross. The meticulous Mosaic dietary laws, which Ezekiel so faithfully observed, were ultimately fulfilled and transcended in Christ, who declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19) and whose perfect sacrifice cleanses us from all sin, making us truly pure and holy before God (Hebrews 9:14). Thus, Ezekiel's discomfort with ritual defilement, though a genuine expression of his piety, pales in comparison to the pure Son of God willingly descending into the ultimate defilement of the cross to offer true, lasting, and comprehensive purification for all who believe (1 John 1:7).