What does this passage mean to you, and why did God do this to Ezekiel?

Question

God was making Ezekiel cook his food over human crap. When he complained about why he was being treated thusly, God responded:

"I will let you bake your bread over cow manure instead of human excrement." ... Ezekiel 4:4

Answer 1

Did you mean Ezekiel 4:15?

This is the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, for the wickedness Israel has done against God. He said they defiled Him so they can defile themselves by cooking their food over crap. It speaks of the coming famine that will make them ration their food.
They will also result to cannibalism during this siege.
God is mad at the Israelites for the idol worship that they practice.

Answer 2

It sounds a bit unfair doesn't it.

In actuality it was even worse for Ezekiel as crap had religious conotations. Not only was he physically unclean after doing this, he was spiritually unclean so could not come into the presence of God in the Temple and would be shunned from his society- a huge deal for a devout Jew at his time.

The key to a lot of what the Old Testament prophets did was in their calling (chapter 2). Ezekiel had signed up to carry God's scroll of saying how wrong the Jewish people were behaving to him.

Other prophets at the time compared how they were treating God to a wife who is loved and respected by her husband breaking his heart by sleeping around. I don't know if you've ever had someone cheet on you but it's not a nice experience. He has a prophet marry a well known prostetute and tells him to love her even when she continues to sleep with the whole town. TV and films trivialise unfaithfulness to partners but in reality I'm sure you know there's nothing that hurts like it.

Ezekiel was cooking over crap outside of the Temple. It's a bit like me as a trainee priest (which I am) turning up to Westminster Abbey (the top cathedral in my church) and saying that the way the religeous people were worshipping the god of Islam or Buddah inside Westminster Abbey (which they don't by the way) was like eating something that's been cooked over crap.

That's what God is saying it feels like when his people, the people he has made a covenant with to always love and look after, turn around and worship other gods. They're thinking it's not that big a deal and God through Ezekiel is trying to say "it IS a big deal" - the language in Ezekiel is so shocking it would be an adult only if it was made into a movie.

And Ezekiel was willing to be with God at this time. I'm sure you've had times when you've apprieciated people who were just willing to be with you at a time of great pain - to try to understand something of what you're feeling.

Ezekiel was doing this out of love... faithfulness at extrodinary lengths to God at a time when his people were treating God like crap.

So in a strainge sort of way it's actually a really moving story.

Answer 3

First let me tell you that this is one thing that we do not want to happen in America. A slaughter weapon suggests the massive destruction of human life that was impending and that did happen to Israel by Nebuchadnezzar. Also if you'll notice the glory of God left the temple right after and it did not dwell in the midst of Israel until this day. God's dwelling place now is in the temple of man which is in us. "The higher gate which lieth toward the north" is always telling us it is the way to God. Those crying and sighing for the abominations that were being done in Israel is the same as we are doing today in America. We continually warn Americans about the wickedness increasing and the need for repentance and turning from their evil ways. Does America really know how evil we are . . . (1) Abortion (2) homosexuality (3) animal-human chimeras w/stem cell research (4) violence toward our neighbor (5) false religions (6) pornography & fornication I sigh and cry for this nation every day.

Answer 4

It is Ezekiel 4:15 and it needs to be read in context of the entire Chapter. Notice God is asking Ezekiel to do certain things in the sight of the people in order that the actions be prophetic signs. In this case, the meaning is given in verse 13. "Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread, unclean among the nations." Ezekiel is asked to eat bread baked over dung to say to the people you guys are going to be defiled among the nations.

God often told the prophets to do strange things in order to get the people's attention and speak to them through it.

Answer 5

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets IN MANY PORTIONS AND IN MANY WAYS, in the last of days has spoken unto us in His Son." (Hebrews 1:1)
God was providing an object lesson to His Jewish people through the prophet Ezekiel as explained in the context of the passage. (Ezekiel 4:9-17)
He was indicating the extreme humiliation they would undergo in captivity as a result of their rebellion against God.

Answer 6

In a semi-arid environment, like ancient Israel, there aren't a lot of trees that one can use for firewood. Sometimes the best and only available fuel is dried excrement - animal or human. Why is this a problem?

Answer 7

well first of all, that's not what Ezekiel 4:4 says. I read your answerand them i read the verse in the bible and that's not what it says. and if that verse is even found in the bible(which I doubt it is because I've read most of the bible) God would have a divine reason for doing so.

Answer 8

I've always thought that Ezekiel exhibited all the signs of suffering from a delusional mental illness. That is only one of the absurdities in the book of Ezekiel.

Answer 9

Dried dung was fuel for fire back in those days.

No sewer problems, no waste, every thing was of some value, how smart are some people. I think it was unusual to use human dung, but it could be done.

Answer 10

God gave us dominion over all the animals, however we have free will, we should not or can't force people to do what we want them to do, we should not use people