In the prophetic literature of the Old Testament, God often used vivid object lessons to communicate His messages to His people. One of the more striking examples of this is found in the book of Ezekiel, where the prophet is instructed to eat bread baked over human dung. This symbolic act served as a powerful illustration of the impending judgment and the defilement that would come upon Jerusalem due to the people's sins.

Biblical Context

The account is found in Ezekiel 4:9-17. God commands Ezekiel to perform a series of symbolic acts to represent the siege of Jerusalem and the subsequent suffering of its inhabitants. Among these acts, Ezekiel is told to bake bread using a specific recipe of grains and to cook it over human excrement. This was meant to symbolize the scarcity and defilement of food that the people would experience during the siege.

Ezekiel 4:12-13 states: "You are to eat it as you would a barley cake and bake it over dried human excrement in their sight." The LORD said, "This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them."

Symbolism and Meaning

The use of human dung as fuel for baking bread was intended to shock and convey the severity of the situation. In ancient Israel, the use of human excrement was considered unclean and defiling (Deuteronomy 23:12-14). By commanding Ezekiel to use it, God was illustrating the extent of the defilement that would come upon the people due to their idolatry and disobedience.

The bread itself, made from a mixture of grains, symbolized the meager and unclean food that would be available during the siege. The scarcity of food and the necessity to use whatever was available, even if it was ritually impure, highlighted the desperation and suffering that would result from the people's rebellion against God.

Ezekiel's Response and God's Concession

Ezekiel, a priest by background, was deeply troubled by the command to use human dung, as it violated the laws of cleanliness he was accustomed to observing. In Ezekiel 4:14 , he protests: "Not so, Lord GOD! I have never defiled myself; from my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals, nor has any unclean meat ever entered my mouth."

In response to Ezekiel's plea, God graciously allows him to use cow dung instead, as recorded in Ezekiel 4:15 : "Very well," He said, "I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you may bake your bread over that."

Theological Implications

This object lesson underscores the holiness of God and the seriousness of sin. The defilement of the bread symbolizes the spiritual defilement of the people, who had turned away from God's commandments. It serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of disobedience and the reality of divine judgment.

Furthermore, the concession granted to Ezekiel reflects God's compassion and understanding of human frailty. While the message of judgment is clear, God's willingness to accommodate Ezekiel's concerns demonstrates His mercy and readiness to listen to the cries of His faithful servants.

Conclusion

The instruction to eat bread mixed with dung in Ezekiel's prophetic ministry serves as a powerful object lesson about the consequences of sin and the reality of divine judgment. It highlights the severity of the situation facing Jerusalem and the spiritual defilement of the people, while also revealing God's willingness to engage with and respond to the concerns of His prophets.Ezekiel 4:9-17
Take you also to you wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make you bread thereof, according to the number of the days that you shall lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days shall you eat thereof.
Nave's Topical Index

Solomon's Temple Spiritualized
... should be idolized, or that some should object, that the ... as the mouth of Christ for
instruction to prepare ... so of our praying, hearing, and eating, before God. ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/solomons temple spiritualized.htm

The Pilgrim's Progress
... and sorrow, for there is no grief mixed therewith ... thought they had lived upon crumbs
of bread, or upon ... wearing a crown, playing upon a harp, eating and drinking ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the pilgrims progress.htm

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