Audio Download

Ezekiel 4:1-17  The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

[Study Aired February 12, 2024]

Introduction

In today’s study, we are going to look at what the Lord told Ezekiel to do regarding an imminent siege of Jerusalem. In the ancient times, building a wall around a city served as the primary means of protection from an enemy. In times of war, if a city is fortified by its walls, then an enemy would surround the city wall and lay siege to it. The rationale to lay siege to a city is to starve the inhabitants of food and water which would result in the surrender of the inhabitants. Laying a siege often took months and even years, but ultimately, it was an effective way of conquering a people. 

In this study, the Lord was using Ezekiel to foretell an impending siege of Jerusalem. Sieges of ancient Israel serve as fitting allegories of how the Lord comes into our lives by causing us to surrender to Him when we are dominated by the flesh. Being dominated by the flesh serves as walls which keep the Lord from intervening in our circumstances. Although it causes a lot of suffering when we are under siege by the Lord, as we are starved of the word of the Lord which is our food and water, we end up surrendering to Christ. Let’s take a look at one of the sieges that Israel suffered and what came out of it. We should always remember that these things are written for our admonition of whom the end of our world is come. 

2Ki 6:24  Afterward Ben-hadad king of Syria mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria.
2Ki 6:25  And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.
2Ki 6:26  Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”
2Ki 6:27  And he said, “If the LORD will not help you, how shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the winepress?” 
2Ki 6:28  And the king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 
2Ki 6:29  So we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him.’ But she has hidden her son.” 
2Ki 6:30  When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body— 
2Ki 6:31  and he said, “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.”
2Ki 6:32  Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door fast against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” 
2Ki 6:33  And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, “This trouble is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?” (ESV)

From the siege, we can see how the people living in Samaria suffered. There was severe famine in Samaria such that a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels. One of the four sore judgments of the Lord is famine. As we are aware, famine signifies the lack of the word of the Lord.

Amo 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 
Amo 8:12  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

Samaria here represents Babylon where there is lack of truth of the word of the Lord. In the absence of the word of the Lord, we seek after the wisdom of men which is here represented by the donkey’s head. In the scriptures, a donkey, or an ass in the negative sense, symbolize the Lord’s children who have gone astray. Thus, a donkey’s head represents human wisdom and that is what is taught in Babylon, which we paid so much for during our days there in Babylon, just as the donkey’s head was very expensive in Samaria during the siege.  

Hos 8:8  Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
Hos 8:9  For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers. 

Jer 2:23  How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
Jer 2:24  A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

The second effect of the siege which is also related to famine is that dove’s dung was sold for five shekels. A dove represents the Holy Spirit. When the Holy spirit is gone (Ichabod), that is, when the presence of the spirit is gone, we cling to the tangible residue of the spirit which is the letter of the word, which kills.  This comes at a cost. For example, being trained in the letter of the word in Bible schools are expensive ventures.

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

1Sa 4:21  And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
1Sa 4:22  And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

When the glory of the Lord has departed, the church becomes a place where we become worse off as we end up spiritually putting our sons and daughters to death. This is signified by the two women who killed and ate one of their children and were disputing about having the other child also killed for food.

Mat 23:15  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

It is in this dire situation of our siege that Christ comes to call us. However, our testimony would not be accepted by our brothers and sisters in Babylon as they regard us as “leprous” because of our message. We are therefore forced to come out of the cities since we are considered leprous. In the fullness of time, the Lord will come and use us as the four lepers outside the gates of the city of Samaria to bring abundance of food to the city. The four lepers mean the whole of the elect of every generation who will be used to bring the truth of the word of the Lord to all humanity.   

2Ki 7:3  And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? 
2Ki 7:4  If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. 
2Ki 7:5  And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

2Ki 7:10  So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. 

2Ki 7:16  And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

This story shows us that the Lord’s siege in our lives is for our benefit. With this in mind, let us look at what the Lord is trying to tell us about the impending siege of Jerusalem.

Eze 4:1  “And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. 
Eze 4:2  And put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. 
Eze 4:3  And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. (ESV)

In these verses, the Lord told Ezekiel to demonstrate a siege against the city of Jerusalem as a sign for the house of Israel. Ezekiel was to engrave the name of Jerusalem on a brick and to prepare a siege against the brick, which represents Jerusalem. As we indicated in the introductory portion of the study, it is when we are dominated by the flesh that the Lord forces us to surrender to Him by laying siege against us. The fact that Jerusalem was going to be under siege demonstrates that they had gone astray. 

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. 
Isa 1:22  Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: 
Isa 1:23  Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

As we know, Jerusalem, which is and is in bondage with her children, symbolizes Babylon or the physical churches of this world. The false doctrines in Babylon which had become the idol of the hearts of its children have become a wall that bars the Lord from coming to His elect in Babylon. The Lord therefore raises a siege against us in Babylon to cause us to surrender to Him. 

Eze 14:1  Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came to me:
Eze 14:3  “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, 
Eze 14:5  that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

In verse 3, Ezekiel was required to use an iron griddle as an iron wall between him and the city. The use of iron demonstrates to us the inflexible decision by both parties – Ezekiel and Jerusalem. In this case, Ezekiel represents Christ, and Jerusalem signifies Babylon. This means that there is no way the Lord will abandon the siege in this life, and in the same manner, our brothers and sisters in Babylon have resolved not to surrender to Him in this life. In other words, the Lord is never going to relent in His siege of Babylon and likewise, our brothers and sisters are not going to surrender to the Lord in this age!! The Lord told Ezekiel in verse 3 that this siege will be a sign for the house of Israel. In the Bible, signs on a positive note can mean the Lord’s deliverance as shown in the following verses:

Dan 6:27  He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

Jer 32:21  And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;

What this implies is that this siege by the Lord will work for the good of the people of Israel or Babylon. It is through this siege of Jerusalem that we became starved for the word of the Lord which precipitated our exit from Babylon to become saviors for our brothers and sisters in Babylon and the rest of the world.  

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S. 

Eze 4:4  Lie thou also 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. 
Eze 4:5  For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 
Eze 4:6  And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. 

As we have seen in the Bible, it is only our Lord Jesus Christ who bore our iniquity. Ezekiel represents the Lord Jesus who bore our iniquity while He was living here on earth. As He is, so are we. We are the live goat that was set free into the wilderness to bear the iniquity of the people of Israel. Our suffering here on earth therefore complements the suffering of Christ. 

Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Lev 16:9  And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. 

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

The number of days that Ezekiel was required to lie on his left side was 390 days. The number 3 means the process of spiritual maturity through judgment. The number 9 means God’s judgment. Ezekiel also symbolizes the elect. What this means is that throughout our lives here on earth, we are being judged, or going through suffering, as we fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. That is how we bear the iniquity of our brothers and sisters in Babylon and the world, just as Christ did for all humanity. From a physical perspective, the 390 days, which is equivalent to 13 months, represent the duration of the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army if we take out the five months interval that the Chaldean army withdrew when they heard of the Egyptian army’s approach.  

Jer 52:4  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about. 
Jer 52:5  So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
Jer 52:6  And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
Jer 37:5  Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem. 
Jer 37:6  Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 
Jer 37:7  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. 
Jer 37:8  And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

Ezekiel is also required to lie on the right side for forty days, with a day equivalent to a year. The number forty can signify the duration of the Lord’s judgment. It can also symbolize the period of time that we are found lacking the ability to know the Lord’s ways as we persist in our evil ways. What we are being told is that the siege of the Lord in our lives is to bring us to acknowledge that of our own selves, we cannot worship the Lord, and therefore we have to surrender to Him to take control of our lives.

Gen 7:17  And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

Gen 8:6  And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

Eze 4:7  Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. 

Here in Verse 7, Ezekiel is told to set his face toward the siege of Jerusalem and his arm shall be uncovered. As we have indicated, Ezekiel represents Christ. Thus, setting his face toward the siege in Jerusalem describes the Lord’s unwavering determination to persevere with the siege of Babylon. It is through this siege that the Lord’s arm shall be uncovered; that is to say that as a result of the siege, the works of the Lord shall be made known. Just as the Lord prophesied against Jerusalem during His days, we are also called to do the same. That is, part of our calling entails making known to those who will hear us, the siege of Babylon (Jerusalem) which has resulted in the lack of the truth of the word of the Lord. This is one of the Lord’s words against Jerusalem while He walked here on earth. As He is, so are we. We are to make known to our brothers and sisters in Babylon of this siege when an opportunity avails itself. 

Mat 23:13  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Mat 23:14  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Mat 23:15  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

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

As the Lord’s elect, we are restrained by the hand of the Lord through the Holy Spirit regarding our actions until we have achieved our purpose here on earth.

Pro 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; But he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (ASV)

2Th 2:6  And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he (the beast within) may be revealed in his own season. 
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way.

The Lord sometimes even uses the devil to restrain us. For example, the Lord used the devil to restrain Paul from going to Thessalonica. 

1Th 2:17  But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.
1Th 2:18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

Eze 4:9  Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, 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, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
Eze 4:10  And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it. 
Eze 4:11  Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. 
Eze 4:12  And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. 
Eze 4:13  And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them. 

During our time in Babylon when we were under siege, there was famine of the word of the Lord. This is symbolized by the measured amount of food, meat and water that we received. In verse 12 the barley cake was to be baked with the dung that comes out of a man, thus defiling the bread to be consumed. This implies that in Babylon, the word of the Lord is defiled with human wisdom which comes out of our bodies if we are to please the Lord. The defiled word of the Lord is the false doctrines of human wisdom and traditions. Verse 13 emphasizes the point that in Babylon, we eat defiled words of the Lord among the people of the world. 

Rev 6:5  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 
Rev 6:6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 

Mar 7:5  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 
Mar 7:6  He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 
Mar 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mar 7:8  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 
Mar 7:9  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Mar 7:10  For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 
Mar 7:11  But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
Mar 7:12  And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 
Mar 7:13  Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. 

Eze 4:14  Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! 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 in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
Eze 4:15  Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith. 

Until the Lord comes to us with His brightness, we always think that we have not taken in any false doctrine of man’s tradition and wisdom. Ezekiel’s comment that his soul has not been polluted as he has not eaten any abominable flesh is the same as Peter saying that he has not eaten anything that is common or unclean when the Lord came to Him in a dream. It is as the Lord begins to unveil the mysteries of the kingdom to us that we come to see that we have taken in false doctrines all along. 

Act 10:9  On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 
Act 10:10  And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
Act 10:11  And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 
Act 10:12  Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 
Act 10:13  And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 
Act 10:14  But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

As a result of Ezekiel’s petition, the Lord allowed him to use cow’s dung for man’s dung. This is to tell us that the defiled word of the Lord which is eaten by our brothers and sisters in Babylon is better than the wisdom and traditions of this world without Christ.

Eze 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 care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: 
Eze 4:17  That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity. 

To break the staff of bread in Jerusalem means to bring about famine of the word of the Lord in Babylon. This famine comes as a result of the siege brought about by the Lord. Whenever bread and water are weighed and measured out for consumption, then it implies that famine is biting hard. As we are aware, famine represents the lack of the truth of the word of the Lord in Babylon. In Ezekiel 14:13, we are given a reason why the Lord brings famine to His people through a siege.

Eze 14:13  Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

It is because the people had sinned against the Lord that there was famine. The laying of siege in our lives by the Lord is an inescapable experience. This is what the Lord did to His own people of Judah, which we must live it out in our lives as His elect:

2Ki 25:1  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2Ki 25:2  And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
2Ki 25:3  And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. 
2Ki 25:4  And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain. 
2Ki 25:5  And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. 
2Ki 25:6  So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
2Ki 25:7  And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

These things are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 

May the Lord continue to sustain us in Him to do that which is pleasing in His sight. Amen!!