Ezekiel 5

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Ezekiel’s Sword

Why did Ezekiel prophecy to the people of Israel who were already in Babylon about the coming siege and fall of Jerusalem?
In chapter 4, the fact of the siege was portrayed in the first sign of the intricate clay tablet made by Ezekiel. The length of the siege was portrayed by the second sign of Ezekiel lying on his side for many days. The conditions during the siege were portrayed by the third sign of the meager amount of food and drink Ezekiel ate. Here in chapter 5, the _________ of the siege are portrayed by Ezekiel shaving his head and dividing the cuttings of his hair.
In the days of Ezekiel, what did the shaving of the head symbolize?
Ezekiel was to shave off the hair of his head with a sharp sword and divide up the cuttings of his hair into 3 equal portions by weight. What did the cutting off and dividing up of his hair represent?
What was perhaps the most appalling condition that would result from the long siege in Jerusalem? Had this terrible situation been predicted?

Many of the captives in Babylon as well as many of the people still in Jerusalem were convinced that God would never let His Temple be destroyed or the city of Jerusalem conquered. However, the idolatry and immorality of the people had gone too far. Jerusalem was soon to fall and the magnificent temple built by Solomon was about to be destroyed.
Here in chapter 5, the results of the siege are dramatized by Ezekiel shaving his head and dividing up his hair.
In the days of Ezekiel, shaving one’s head was a sign of mourning and humiliation.
Ezekiel’s cutting off of his hair pictured the separation between the Lord and His people. Just as the hair of a man’s head is closely linked with his body, so was the former fellowship of God and His people. But that close fellowship had been broken as the people of Israel had turned away from God in their wickedness. Therefore God would separate Himself from His people while they would reap what they had sown. They would die by plague, famine and sword. Further, Ezekiel’s shaved head and beard represented the defiled condition of the nation because under the Law, the priests were not to shave their heads or beards. Ezekiel was a priest. (See Leviticus 21:5.)
The horrible reality of cannibalism would take place in Jerusalem as the Babylonian siege continued (vs 9-10). This had been predicted long before. Read Deuteronomy 28:49-53 in this connection. More of the details are given in chapter 4 of Lamentations.|

Consider why a just and holy God must judge sin. Discuss why God’s love is not contradictory to His wrath.

Are you still abiding under the wrath of God as an unbeliever? God offers the gift of salvation to you today. The work of Christ on the cross for your forgiveness is complete. Receive the free gift now by believing and trusting in God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.

“And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take balances to weigh and divide the hair.” Ezekiel 5:1
“Thus says the Lord God, ‘Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. And I will do among you what I have never done, and the likes of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations.’” Ezekiel 5: 8, 9