53 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
53 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Ezekiel 5:1–17"
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date = "2023-03-12"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel5.1-17)
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Ezekiel has one last thing to do to prepare for his acting out the siege of
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Jerusalem. He must shave off his hair and beard, which would be a mark of great
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shame or mourning for Ezekiel. There is a law in Leviticus that Israelite men,
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and especially priests, are not to "mar the edges of the beard", but the Lord
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commands Ezekiel to do this anyway. I take that law to mean that they weren't
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to cut shapes into their beard, presumably like the neighboring nations did for
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their religions. Being fully clean-shaven might not have been prohibited, much
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like having hair go completely white was not a cause of ritual uncleanness, but
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culturally it would still be a mark of shame for him.
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With his shorn hair, Ezekiel was to divide it into three equal parts and
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perform more symbolic actinos with it, once he was done portraying the siege.
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With one third he is to burn it in the middle of the city, with another third
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go around the city and strike it with a sword, and with the last thrid to
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scatter it on the wind. But a few pieces of hair he is to tie up in his robe,
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though a few of those are to be burned up too.
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Naturally you might be asking, "What is this all about?" Wonderfully, the Bible
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often answers this question if we just keep reading. The Lord gives Ezekiel the
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interpretation by saying that the hair is the people of Jerusalem. A third will
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die from plague during the siege (burned), a third will killed by the invading
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soldiers, and a third will be scattered and flee in all directions. It is very
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interesting that there is no more mention of the remnant represented by the
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hair kept in Ezekiel's robe. However, we know from Jeremiah 40 that there were
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some survivors in Jerusalem, a remnant kept alive by the Lord.
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In addition to describing what will happen to the people of Jerusalem, the Lord
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explains _why_ He is bringing such severe judgment upon them. Despite having
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the Law of Moses and the prophets to explain what God requires of them, they
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have been even more wicked than the nations that surround them who did not have
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those words. They were so rebellious, they didn't even behave according to the
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laws of the neighboring nations. Because of their abominable and detestable
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practices, they are driven to do worse things as a punsihment, like
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cannibalism.
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God in His mercy uses this judgement as a warning to the whole world that He
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takes holiness seriously. Everyone who hears how Jerusalem has fallen will know
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that it is because the Lord has executed judgement on them for their wicked
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deeds, and the wise will take that warning to heart. The wicked may seem to
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prosper for a time, but the Lord's patience is long-suffering, not
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ever-suffering.
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* * *
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Teach us Your ways so that we may do them and live.
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