Ezekiel 5:1-4

IV. PARABLE OF THE NATION'S FATE 5:1-4

TRANSLATION

(1) And as for you, son of man, take to yourself a sharp sword, for a barber's razor, take it, and cause it to pass over your head and your beard, and take to yourself balances, and divide them. (2) A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are fulfilled. And take a third part, smite with the sword around about her. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind. And I will unsheath a sword after them. (3) And take a few in number, and bind them in the hem of your garment. (4) And from them take again, and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them; from it a fire shall go out into all the house of Israel.

COMMENTS

During the days of his symbolic siege of Jerusalem, Ezekiel performed another act. He shaved his head and beard with a sharp sword which he used like a barber's razor.[161] The sword symbolizes the invading Chaldean army. Ezekiel symbolizes the land of Judah. Though shaving of the head was forbidden in the Law (Leviticus 19:27 f; Leviticus 21:5), the act was universally practiced as a sign of mourning (Isaiah 3:24; Isaiah 22:12). The coming invader would scrape the land bare (cf. Isaiah 7:20), and bring upon it disgrace and mourning. Here again Ezekiel was commanded to violate the ceremonial law so as to make a prophetic application. Such shaving was forbidden to a priest like Ezekiel and ordinarily meant the loss of priestly status and position. The hair of the priest was a mark of his consecration to God's service (Leviticus 21:5; Leviticus 19:27).

[161] Grammatically it is difficult to determine whether Ezekiel took a sword or a razor-sharp knife symbolizing a sword. In either case the message here is the same.

The hairs removed from face and head were to be divided by weight into three parts. The balances which Ezekiel was to use may symbolize justice just as is still the case today. God's judgment is measured, accurate and fair (cf. Jeremiah 15:2).

Ezekiel's shorn hair symbolizes the population of Jerusalem; the manner of the disposal of the hair indicated the various fates which awaited those rebellious Jews. A third of the hair was to be burned in the midst of the city, i.e., on the tile which depicted the city of Jerusalem.[162] These hairs symbolized those who would die in the horrors of warfare fire, sword, famine and pestilence when the city was besieged.[163]

[162] Another view is that the actual city of Jerusalem is meant. If all these action Parables are visionary this could be a possible interpretation.

[163] For a similar prophecy of a much later time, see Zechariah 13:8-9.

Another third of the hairs were to be smitten with the sword round about her, viz., the city. This symbolized the fate of those who tried to escape the city either during or after the fall. A prime example is King Zedekiah and his associates (cf. 2 Kings 25:4 ff.).

The last third of the hairs was to be scattered to the wind. The hairs symbolize those who would be dispersed to foreign lands. Though they had escaped the holocaust at Jerusalem they would not find peace for I will unsheath a sword after them (Ezekiel 5:2). Jeremiah predicted the same fate for the exiles (Jeremiah 9:15), as did Moses before him (Leviticus 26:33).[164]

[164] Cf. Jeremiah 40-44 and the trials which befell the Jewish remnant in Egypt.

In this bleak passage there is another hint of hope. A few of the hairs presumably those that had been scattered to the wind were to be retrieved and bound in the hem of Ezekiel's garment (Ezekiel 5:3). A remnant of those carried off to exile would survive. Yet their situation would be desperate. From the hairs retrieved, Ezekiel was to take some and cast them into the fire. The fire here may represent persecution through which some of the Jewish remnant would die. On the other hand, the fire may represent the fire which would destroy Babylon, and would represent the fate of some who refused to heed the prophetic admonition to flee Babylon.[165]

[165] The remnant theme can be traced through the following references: 2 Kings 25:22; Isaiah 6:13; Isaiah 10:22; Jeremiah 23:3; Ezekiel 6:8-10; Ezekiel 9:8; Ezekiel 11:13; Zechariah 13:8-9.

Thus the general drift of this parable is clear. Ezekiel foresees the total destruction and dispersion of Jerusalem's populace. But true faith would survive in a faithful remnant.
The expression from them fire shall go out into all the house of Israel (Ezekiel 5:4) is difficult. Perhaps the thought is that even the faithful remnant in Babylon would suffer new hardships because of the suicidal rebellion launched by the leadership in Jerusalem.