Ezekiel 4:1-3 - This will be a sign to the people of Israel

4:1

Ezekiel is now called upon to enact the siege of Jerusalem. Careful Bible study, and analysis of the text is important, as is presentation of the gospel in a clear and logical manner. We should seek to present the truth in a clear fashion. However, we should also note that God does not restrict Himself to this method of explanation, especially in the prophets. Many of the prophetic passages have dramatic and graphic descriptions of what God is going to do, and from time to time the prophets were called upon to enact the word of God in various, and sometimes rather unusual ways. Ezekiel had rather a lot of this to do! Here he is told to take a block of clay (commonly used in house building at the time) and draw a picture of Jerusalem on it.

4:2,3

He was then to erect siege works against it. These would be simple models, the aim was to give a clear picture that Jerusalem would be besieged. He was then to use an iron pan and place it as an iron wall between himself and the city. There is some dispute over what this represented. It might have represented the strength of the attacking force. However, I think the most likely answer is that it represents God being against the city. Isaiah and Jeremiah make clear that in the Assyrian ad Babylonian incidents it was God who was attacking Jerusalem, Assyria and Babylon were mere instruments in God’s hands. God was implacably against Jerusalem.