Year 9, Day 130: Ezekiel 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Ezekiel 4 gives us another metaphor in faith.  Ezekiel is to put the exile on display in his actions.  He is supposed to take a brick, put siege works around it, put iron between him and the brick, and eat pretty basic food.  Clearly, Ezekiel is displaying the siege of Jerusalem, the rebellion of the people, and their hardship within Jerusalem on display.

Most of the symbolism in the physical metaphor is easy to see and recognize.  The brick is something that appears strong but can be broken.  The siege works are Babylon and their siege.  The poor food represents the dwindling supplies of the Hebrew people in Jerusalem.  This all makes sense.

What I love about this chapter, though, is the iron.  Iron is a hard object.  While we can break a brick pretty easily, we all struggle to break iron.  Its nature is strong, considerably stronger than the brick.

What is God saying?  God is saying that the Hebrew people have set something insurmountable between Him and them.  While Jerusalem can be broken through the siege, their lack of repentance is astoundingly resilient!  They have become their own worst obstacle.

Don’t misunderstand the image.  The iron is insurmountable, meaning that the people cannot save themselves.  The iron is not insurmountable for God, though.  The iron isn’t going to prevent God to bring the Babylonians and their siege weapons.  The iron is merely showing the inability of the people to feel what God is trying to do within them.  The people aren’t hindering God, just their own ability to know Him.

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