We are nearing the end of this study of Ezekiel. I pray it has been “inciteful” to you.
Ninth Symbol: The Luggage of Exile
In this symbol in chapter 12, we see that the people are completely blinded to their own present condition, so Ezekiel is compelled to arouse their curiosity with peculiar acts which, more than words, get their attention. His hearers' problem is not a visual or auditory one, it is a disease of the heart which prevents their being able to understand in any other way. As verse 8 shows, the strategy of God is successful in provoking questions. However, whether or not they understand even after the explanation is still a question, for God interjects, “Perhaps they will understand””
The action that Ezekiel is to take is one that is not only an attention getter but the acting out of a future situation as well. He was told to bring his belongings out in the daylight, packed as if for exile. While we do not know what comprised those belongings, we would assume that they would be his most prized and portable possessions as well as provisions for a trip. Inherent in the packing would be decision-making about that which is expendable and that which may never be seen again. In such a situation, that which would promote physical survival would probably be given highest priority above bulkier and more valuable objects. His belongings– his priorities — would lie outside for public perusal all throughout the day.
Then at dusk Ezekiel was to dig through a wall (presumably the adobe wall of his dwelling or a nearby inner wall, probably not a fortified stone wall surrounding his city) in sight of all his neighbors. It's not clear from the text whether Ezekiel was to move his belongings and then push them through the wall but at any rate he was to demonstrate a furtive escape in which even gates, windows and doors were not options, just desperate digging.
Once through, Ezekiel was to put his belongings on his shoulder (which tells us a little more about the limited amount of possessions he would be taking.) Then he was to cover his face, not to shield or disguise himself but rather to prevent himself from seeing the land. Two purposes are behind this action: first in shame for what is to come, and secondly so that he will prefigure something as a visual foretelling of an event. When the people asked Ezekiel what he was doing, he was to tell them that he was acting out an oracle and himself was a sign to them.
He was prefiguring their coming captivity and more specifically the coming capture by God of Zedekiah (“I will spread my net for him” — v. 13) though the apparent agent of the capture would be Nebuchadnezzar's men (see 2 Kings 25:7.) In addition, Zedekiah's eyes would be put out and he would be as unable to see as had Ezekiel in the prefigurement.
God further specifies the ways that He Himself will scatter, pursue, disperse, and destroy the unrepentant so that a few may be saved and finally acknowledge Him as Lord.
“¢ A person called to be a symbol may be called to identify very closely with the coming destruction of unrepentant hearts. In the case of Ezekiel, acting out the desperation of furtive escape must have filled him with terror for the sake of his hearers who refused God's message for them repeatedly. However, the Lord's man or woman must actively remember the penalty for deliberate sin after having received knowledge of the truth, and the dreadfulness of falling into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:26-31.)
“¢ When Ezekiel took his belongings out into the daylight and left them there all day for the perusal of his audience, he was making a statement, it would seem, about his priorities. One only takes into exile that which is necessary for survival or is of irreplaceable importance. What he would choose to take with him with no thought of return must have caused his audience to speculate upon–and contrast with– what they would have thought was of importance. A person who is called upon to be a symbol must make his priorities plain to those who watch him or her.
“¢ A person who is called to be a symbol remembers that a day will come in which God's power will bring to light the way that we have built our lives. Those who have built on the foundation of Christ with precious, enduring work will go through fire in the same way that those who've built on the foundation carelessly: a Day will come where wood, hay and straw will be seared away but gold, silver, and costly stones will stand the test of that Day (1 Corinthians 3:10-15.)
“¢ A person who is called to be a symbol must not become comfortable or to make assumptions about the persistence of any state of being. No one is assured of being able to live another day, much less in the same condition as today's. What Ezekiel warned others about, he had to be willing to undergo as well. (And the way God treated him, there was no reason to suspect he would be spared exile himself!)
