Prophecy Drama Part 2

 

    God had Ezekiel shave his head like a Jewish man in mourning.  However, mourning for a nation that God is against is prohibited, so it was a symbol of the Jewish nation's impending judgment.  Then Ezekiel had to divide the hair to burn a third when Jerusalem's siege ended, a third to strike with a sword around the city, and a third to throw into the wind.  He kept a few strands for his cloths, kind of like the string that sewed it together.  It represented two third of the nation being killed or going into exile.  The last third went toward dispersion of the people that would never return.

    Rebellion is wicked because it keeps a person from obeying God.  The person refuses to conform God's national standards.  That is why it leads to punishment.  This punishment on God's people was unlike any punishment that had ever been inflicted before or ever again.  He over saw the execution of judgment personally.  It really was more than anyone could handle.  They had desecrated His sanctuary and behaved abhorrently, so He would not let up until His anger was spent.

    The people broke to the point that they turned to cannibalism to survive, which was strictly forbidden since the beginning.  They did anything they could to survive, even abandon their own children.  The survivors couldn't stand to be around each other and scattered.  

    The nation was killed by plague, fighting in war, and running.  It was a curse that they had brought upon themselves.  Once the sin had been killed off, then God was avenged.  The survivors were taunt from the horror of the judgment.  God was aiming to destroy and He did.  They had been chosen for honor, but became a spectacle, a warning.  

Ezekiel 5