The Siege of Jerusalem Predicted

4:1 Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem:

Ezekiel was to take a tablet of soft clay and draw the city of Jerusalem upon the tablet.

4:2 and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about.

Next, Ezekiel was to build a miniature siege around the tablet of Jerusalem. He would place miniature forts, mounds, camps, and battering rams around the miniature city.

4:3 And take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

The iron pan was flat and used for baking bread for the sacrificial meal offering. The iron pan was to be placed between the miniature city and Jerusalem, meaning that Ezekiel would be protected from the siege. This iron pan was to be a sign to Israel that they would be besieged by the Babylonians. This siege would be the third and final siege of Jerusalem. 

4:4 Moreover lie thou 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 to lie on his left side to symbolize the bearing of the iniquity of the northern kingdom of Israel, which had been defeated by Assyria 100 years later. The number of days that Ezekiel would lay on his side would be the number of years that Israel would bear her iniquity.

4:5 For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

The northern kingdom of Israel would bear her iniquity for 390 years. The United States is only slightly over 200 years of age. This would be like modern Americans going back to the 1600's.

4:6 And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.

Ezekiel would the turn over and lie on his right side to symbolize the amount of years that the southern kingdom of Judah would bear her iniquity. Judah would bear her inquiry for 40 years.

4:7 And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered; and thou shalt prophesy against it.

Ezekiel was to face towards the city of Jerusalem, but his arm was to remain free, so that he could act out the siege.

4:8 And, behold, I lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to the other, till thou hast accomplished the days of thy siege.

Ezekiel would lie on his side for 430 days, meaning that Israel and Judah would bear their iniquity for 430 years. The exact dating was unclear, but there were many different theories. If dated from 586 B.C. (which was the date of the fall of Jerusalem), then this time period would cover the amount of Gentile control over Israel. The 430-year period would end at the Maccabean conquest of the Greeks.

The Defiled Bread

4:9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof.

This does act not violate Leviticus 19:19, because it only regards mixing the grain during sowing, not baking.  Ezekiel was s to eat bread of this mixture for 390 days.

4:10 And thy food which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.

The weight of his daily bread would be 180 ounces per day. This was to teach the scarcity of food which would come during the third and final Babylonian siege.

4:11 And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.

The water ratio was 2 pints per day, which would later become the rationing during the siege.

4:12 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man.

Ezekiel was to bake the cakes in front of the people, heating it by dung. Dung was considered unclean. 

4:13 And Jehovah said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them.

What Ezekiel would do symbolically was what the nation of Judah would be doing during the siege.

4:14 Then said I, Ah Lord Jehovah! Behold, my soul hath not been polluted; for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn of beasts; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

Ezekiel, a priest, complained about eating unclean food. Using the dung for fuel was not against the Mosaic Law. Ezekiel never ate a lamb that died of itself. Neither did he eat of a clean animal that was killed by a wild animal. Ezekiel never ate sacrificial meat that was three or more days old. All of these dietary issues were part of the Mosaic Law.

4:15 Then he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon.

God gave Ezekiel cow dung instead of his own dung. However, the future Israelites would use human dung during the siege.

4:16 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay:

This act was to symbolize the coming famine of food and water during the Jerusalem siege.

4:17 that they may want bread and water, and be dismayed one with another, and pine away in their iniquity.

The future citizens of Jerusalem would desire bread and water during the siege. However; they would instead starve to death.