3. And you shall take up for yourself an iron frying pan, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city. And harden your face against it, and it shall be under a siege, and you shall surround it. This is a sign to the house of Israel.
Ezekiel 4 narrates an episode in which God commands the prophet to make a symbolic representation of the siege and the fall of Jerusalem. Ezekiel is instructed to lie aside for a certain number of days to symbolize the years of punishment that the city would face. The chapter also describes the restricted diet that God commands Ezekiel to follow during this time of punishment. Below are five verses related to the topics covered in Ezekiel 4:
Leviticus 26:18-19: "And if you still do not hear me, I will increase seven times more the pests about you according to your sins. Your land like bronze. " This verse highlights the relationship between disobedience and punishment of God, which is a central theme in Ezekiel 4.
Isaiah 20:2-3: "At the same time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amos, saying, Go, let the ciliciary of thy loins loose and barefoot the shoes of your feet. And he did so, going naked and Barefoot. And the Lord said, Just as my servant Isaiah was naked and barefoot for three years, as a sign and prodigy against Egypt and against Ethiopia ... "This verse makes a connection with the symbolism of nudity and lack of Shoes that Ezekiel is ordered to follow as a way to signal the punishment that Jerusalem would face.
2 Kings 25:1-3: "And it happened that, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, at ten of the month, he came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and camped against it and they raised against her trenches around. And the city was surrounded to the Undécimo year of King Zedekiah. At nine of the month, when hunger was strong in the city, there was no bread for the people of the earth. " This verse describes the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, a historical event that is symbolized in the representation that Ezekiel is ordered to do.
Deuteronomy 28:53: "Then thou shalt eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of thy children, and thy daughters that the Lord thy God has given you, in the siege, and the squeeze with which your enemies shall tighten you." This verse highlights the theme of the hunger and scarcity of foods that Ezekiel is ordered to experiment as part of his symbolic representation of the siege of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 14:15: “Therefore, thus saith the Lord about the prophets who prophesy in my name, without sending them, and who say, 'There will be no sword or hunger on this earth': Sword and Hunger will be consumed these Prophets. ” Ezekiel's chapter 4 deals with God's vision by instructing the prophet to represent Jerusalem's siege with symbolic acts, such as laying aside by a specific number of days. The selected verses are related to prophecy, which is one of Ezekiel's main messages. In Jeremiah 14:15, there is a condemnation of the prophets who speak in the name of God without being sent by Him, announcing false words of hope, which can be interpreted as a warning for the prophets to be faithful in their message.
“Comunguemos com santo temor e com grande amor.” São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina
