Ezekiel 4:1-
"Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized"
The Lord tells ezekiel to do some crazy stuff. First, he must make a drawing of Jerusalem, then lay siege to it by mking miniature siege works and then set an iron pan between himself and the city. He is then to lie facing the city for as many days as Israel's years of sin (390) and, following that, lie on the other side of the sity for they number of days of judah's years of sin (40). did I mention he was doing this continuously, while tied up?
Ezekiel was told to prepare, ahead of time, the food and water for the 390 days and ration it. in the making of his food, however, he was to defile himself in the sight of others by using human excrement for fuel. when E protested, proclaiming how he has kept himself undefiled, God relented and allowed him to use cow dung. Te meaning of this is that Israel will be put under a famine of sorts - food and water will be short and rations will come into place.
The Lord then gives instruction for Ezekiel regarding another symbolic re-enactment which basically boiled down to: 1/3 of you will perish within the walls of Jerusalem, 1/3 will perish outside Jerusalem by the sword and 1/3 will be scattered to the winds. God said that this punishment is due to Jerusalem's wickedness which surpasses that of the surrounding nations. therefore God shall punish Jerusalem like never before elsewhere in time and never again - complete annihilation. THe israel and jerusalem of that time would eventually become nothing more than a warning, an object of horror, an albatross, as it were.
God is serious about sin and its punishment. so shouldn't we?
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