After completing his task of lying on his side for over a year, Ezekiel's next command was to shave his head and beard and use the hair as an illustration of what would happen to Jerusalem. Shaving the head and beard was forbidden by the Law and rendered a man unclean and no longer holy to the Lord. Much like eating the bread that was baked over the fire fueled by dung, this intentional defilement was meant to illustrate the state of Israel's relationship with God...no longer holy.
Something that distinguishes Ezekiel's ministry from that of his contemporary Jeremiah, is that Ezekiel had been taken captive in the first deportation of exiles, along with Jehoiachin and Daniel. His audience therefore, were the Jewish exiles while Jeremiah's audience was the remnant left behind.
Tomorrow's reading: Ez. 10-13:23
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment