Ezekiel 4:5 Ezekiel to Lie on His Side for 390 Days

“What is Ezekiel 4:5 meaning? … why would Ezekiel have to suffer like that because of Israel and Judah? Why would the prophet have to suffer such indignation over that which he had no control? Did he have to literally lie on his side for the times specified or what?”

The questions above were passed on to me. The assumption behind them seems to be that the prophet would have to lie on his side continually for the full period of 390 days and, when he was finished that, switch to lying on his right side for a further 40 days. As one who has passed his three score and ten, I know that to stay in any one position for an extended length of time (even if just hours) can seem torturous. But is that what the passage is saying? Is God really requiring that and subjecting Ezekiel to great discomfort and indignation? Here are the important verses:

“Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.” (Eze 4:4-6)

Many people seem to want to put the worst interpretation on the words and actions of God; to take the extreme position. This likely comes from an understanding of God in which He is looking out more for Himself, that He is always strict and extreme in His requirements and that He will never concede anything to us.

But let’s take a careful look at what is written. Does the passage itself provide any clues that God is not being as hard on Ezekiel as the questioner seems to be implying? I believe there are a number of such clues.

A Sign to the House of Israel

What Ezekiel is being told to do is meant to be a sign to Israel. For it to be an effective sign it must:

• Be done in a public place
• Be done at a time of day when many people would be present.
• Be done in different locations and even different times to reach a larger audience
• Be somewhat dramatic to get attention

Cannot be Continuous Without a Break

Obviously, Ezekiel cannot be laying on his side continuously with no break for the whole 390-day period. He would need to:

• Attend to personal needs
• Gather fuel for his cooking fires
• Make his bread
• And perhaps much more

Eating on One’s Side was not Unusual

We know that in Jesus’ day, people would often recline on their side on couches to eat. So that is not so unusual and it is quite possible that Ezekiel was simply eating his meals in the usual manner with other factors making up the sign. The meal included a rather scant portion and included some less-desirable items (verses 9-10) indicating scarcity which would represent a time of siege which was the message God was trying to convey.

Other Prophets Were Asked to Act Out Signs

Think of Zedekiah’s horns of iron (1 Kings 22:11), Jeremiah’s yokes of wood (Jer 27:2) and Hosea’s marriage to the harlot (Hosea 1:3).

Similarly to Ezekiel, Isaiah did some awkward things as a sign to God’s people:

“And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;” (Isaiah 20:3)

Isaiah had expressed a willingness to go and give messages for God:

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

God is not trying to make things hard for us, his people or for His prophets but He does ask His prophets to speak or act for Him often with enacted rather than spoken messages.

The objective in both Isaiah’s and Ezekiel’s cases was not to make them do something difficult as a form of penance or punishment. Rather, it was, out of necessity, to get a message to people who needed to understand something important.

Read about the role of punishment: https://characterofgod.org/punishment-definition/

Also, that God does not punish one for the sins of another: https://characterofgod.org/ezekiel-18-20-meaning/

While a prophet carrying out God’s will as in Ezekiel’s case might suffer somewhat, they would be blessed in giving messages of truth. We must also be willing to speak truth for God even if it does hurt a little. There will be a blessing in it somewhere.