Ezekiel 5

The first part of Ezekiel (chapters 1–24) contains prophecies of judgment delivered before the fall of Jerusalem, and this chapter belongs to that section. The symbolic acts begun in Ezekiel 4, prophecies conveyed through actions rather than words, continue here, and God Himself explains their meaning.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 God commands Ezekiel to use a sharp sword as a barber's razor and shave his head and beard. He is to weigh the hair on scales and divide it into three parts. One third he is to burn within the city, one third he is to strike with the sword around the city, and one third he is to scatter to the wind. He binds a few hairs in the skirts of his garment, but some of these he again casts into the fire.
• Verses 5–10 God explains, "This is Jerusalem." Jerusalem had been set in the midst of the nations, yet it rejected His judgments and statutes and committed greater wickedness than the nations around it. It will therefore suffer a punishment unlike any before or after: fathers and sons will eat one another, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction.
• Verses 11–12 Because Jerusalem has defiled the sanctuary with its abominations, God will not spare it. A third of the people will die by pestilence and famine, a third will fall by the sword, and the remaining third will be scattered.
• Verses 13–17 When His fury has been spent, the people will know that the LORD has spoken in His zeal. Jerusalem will become desolate and an object of scorn among the nations, and famine, evil beasts, pestilence, and the sword will come upon it.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 5:5 "This is Jerusalem." This verse is the key to what the symbolic act signifies.
• Ezekiel 5:11 "Because thou hast defiled my sanctuary." The verse presents the desecration of the temple as the reason for judgment.
• Ezekiel 5:12 speaks of a threefold death and dispersion, explaining what the threefold division of the hair in verses 1–2 actually signifies.

People and Places

• Ezekiel: A prophet of priestly background who was taken captive to Babylon. God addresses him as "son of man."
• Jerusalem: The city that is the object of judgment.
• Sanctuary: The temple that God declares has been defiled.
• Gentiles: The nations surrounding Jerusalem, with whom Jerusalem's wickedness is compared.

Points for Reflection

• In the Book of Ezekiel, "son of man" is understood as a form of address for the prophet, meaning literally "son of a human being," that is, a frail mortal. Some interpreters read it in connection with Son of Man, the title Jesus used of Himself in the Gospels, though the prevailing view distinguishes the two.
• The famine, sword, pestilence, and beasts, along with the horror of parents eating their children, echo the language of the covenant curses in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. For this reason the chapter is read as describing the consequences of breaking the covenant. Lamentations 4 reports that similar horrors took place when Jerusalem fell.
• The hairs bound in the garment are commonly interpreted as a symbol of the remnant. Because the text says that some of these were also cast into the fire, however, some interpreters conclude that even the remnant would not escape trial.
• Expressions such as "I will be comforted" in verse 13 describe God's emotions in human terms. Interpreters generally explain them as signifying that God's justice is carried out.
• The four plagues of sword, famine, death, and beasts also appear in Revelation 6:8.