◄ What Does Ezekiel 12:11 Mean? ►

"Say, 'I am a sign to you As I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile, into captivity.'

Ezekiel 12:11(NASB)

Picture courtesy of John Heseltine/Pam Masco/FreeBibleimages.org

Verse of the Day

The Sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing His plan to His servants, the prophets, and Ezekiel was one such servant through whom the Lord spoke to His people, Israel, and disclosed many wonderful and many terrible things.

Although this man of God warned of the judgement to come, there is much in this book that emphases the sovereign authority of the Lord, which gives encouragement and comfort to his people, Israel.

Although the book of Ezekiel trumpets the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Sanctuary, it also proclaims the great and awesome glory of the Lord and describes, in detail, the future Millennial Temple under the administration of God's anointed King.

One aspect of Ezekiel's ministry was that some of his prophetic announcements were to be articulated through drama or mime. He would sometimes be instructed by the Lord, to act out a sequence of events to explain to his fellow countrymen what was to happen in the future.

On one occasion, he was asked to move all His household goods from one place to another to signify that Israel would one day go into captivity. At another time, he had to dig through a wall with his eyes blind-folded, and on yet another occasion, he had to erect a clay tablet which was to portray the city of Jerusalem under siege, and then lie on his side for a total of 430 days!

All these activities undertaken by Ezekiel were to act as 'signs' to the people of Israel – signs of things to come. Instead of speaking a prophetic utterance into the ears of the Israelites, he was to proclaim, through theatrics, various things that were to happen to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

He was instructed by the Lord, to say to the people of Israel: "I am a sign to you." Ezekiel was to be a signpost to the nation of Israel. He was to live out future history through his play-acting. All the bizarre theatrics in which he engaged, were simply a statement of what was to happen to God's people, in the future: "As I have done, so it will be done to you," he explained.

Israel was to go into exile. They were to go into captivity. The future of Israel was dramatically played-out through the strange dramatics of Ezekiel, the prophet. And so the Lord told him, "Say, 'I am a sign to you, Israel. I am your sign. The things that I have done, shall be done to you – and you shall be removed from the land and go into captivity.'"

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that You do nothing without revealing it to us first, through Your biblical prophets, and that we know the end from the beginning, through the holy Scriptures. Thank You that You use every avenue to reach the lost for Christ and to bring many to faith in Him. Use me as a watchman to sound the alarm that time is short and that today is the day of salvation for the lost, if they will but trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. May my life be an honest and worthy witness and a true testimony of Your grace. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.