Daily Devotions
Ezekiel
"Lie again on your right side"
Text: Ezekiel 4:6
BEARING THE INIQUITY OF JUDAH
After lying on the left side for 390 days, Ezekiel would have to lie on the right side for 40 days.
“And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side;
then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days.
I have laid on you a day for each year.”
Ezekiel 4:6
1. A comparison
a) Israel’s iniquity and punishment would be borne by Ezekiel for 390 days.
b) Judah’s iniquity and punishment would be borne by the prophet for 40 days.
c) The reasons for the difference in terms of length of time:
i) Both Israel and Judah were guilty of iniquity.
ii) But Israel’s iniquity was far greater, for every king in the Northern Kingdom was idolatrous.
iii) In Judah, there were some kings that sought to bring the Southern kingdom back to the LORD.
iv) In God’s righteous judgment, the punishment meted out was both fair and just.
2. An object lesson for all to observe.
a) Ezekiel’s lying down would have to be done outside his house.
b) It was meant for the passersby to see.
c) It cannot be in his own house for then no one would see what he was doing.
d) Ezekiel was known as a prophet sent by the LORD. This was an established fact.
e) The people would have known that he was seeking to bring a message from the LORD to them.
f) While Jeremiah was in Jerusalem preaching to the people, Ezekiel was already in captivity in Babylon, also preaching.
g) Both prophets had very difficult tasks assigned to them.
h) Their courage and faithfulness to obey the Lord are to be admired.