Ezekiel 4:9

Commentary on Ezekiel 4:9 (KJV)

Ezekiel 4:9 presents a vivid and unusual command from God to the prophet Ezekiel, detailing the specific ingredients for his bread during a prolonged symbolic act. This verse is part of a larger passage where Ezekiel is instructed to perform various dramatic actions to foretell the impending siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of its people.

Context and Background

The prophet Ezekiel was among the Jewish exiles in Babylon, having been taken captive during the first deportation (597 BC). His ministry was primarily to these exiles, conveying God's messages about the reasons for their captivity, the certainty of Jerusalem's fall, and future hope. Chapter 4 begins a series of symbolic actions God commanded Ezekiel to perform, designed to be living parables for the exiles who struggled to believe that Jerusalem, the holy city, could truly fall. This particular instruction concerns his diet during a period of lying on his side, which lasted for 390 days, representing the years of Israel's (Northern Kingdom) iniquity, followed by 40 days for Judah's iniquity (Ezekiel 4:5, Ezekiel 4:6). The bizarre diet underscores the severity of the coming judgment.

Key Themes and Messages

• Symbolic Prophecy: God uses Ezekiel's body and daily life as a prophetic sign. The act of mixing these specific grains and legumes, and eating them for such a long period, was a direct message to the exiles concerning the conditions their brethren in Jerusalem would face.
• Famine and Scarcity: The diverse, humble mixture of grains and legumes—wheat, barley, beans, lentiles, millet, and fitches—was not a standard or desirable bread. This symbolizes the desperate scarcity and hardship of the coming siege of Jerusalem, where people would be forced to eat whatever meager provisions they could find.
• Impurity and Defilement: The mixing of grains often considered for animal feed or poor sustenance, along with the later instruction about cooking it with dung (Ezekiel 4:12), points to the ritual impurity and defilement that would come upon the people of Israel as a result of their sin and exile.
• God's Sovereignty in Judgment: This divine command highlights that the siege and famine were not random occurrences but a direct, ordained judgment from God upon His disobedient people.

Linguistic Insights

The word "fitches" in the KJV (Hebrew: kussemet) is often translated as "spelt" or "rye" in modern versions. Spelt is a hardier, coarser grain than wheat, often used in times of scarcity or for animal fodder. Its inclusion emphasizes the low-quality, survival-level diet that Jerusalem's inhabitants would endure during the siege. The combination of these six ingredients further signifies a diet of necessity rather than choice, reflecting the dire circumstances.

Practical Application

Ezekiel 4:9 serves as a powerful reminder of God's justice and the consequences of persistent disobedience. It illustrates:

• The Seriousness of Sin: God does not take lightly the rebellion of His people. His judgments, though severe, are always righteous and often forewarned.
• The Call to Obedience: Ezekiel's willingness to undertake such a demanding and humiliating symbolic act demonstrates profound obedience to God's command, even when it meant personal discomfort and public spectacle.
• God's Communication Methods: God communicates His truth in diverse ways, sometimes through the ordinary, sometimes through the extraordinary. This verse shows God using a prophet's very existence as a living message.

For believers today, this passage encourages a deeper understanding of God's character—both His holiness that demands justice and His faithfulness to warn His people. It also challenges us to consider our own level of obedience and willingness to be used by God, even in unconventional ways, to convey His truth to a watching world.