Bread for the world that has gone astray
Ezekiel bread from Ezekiel 4:9
Ezekiel Bread
Let's get right into business today. Ezekiel bread is NOT meant to be a superfood recipe given by God. Yes, this is a whole grain bread with lots of health benefits and yes, it is better for us to eat these kinds of bread instead of white bread but God DIDNOT intend to give us, believers, a healthier version of a normal bread in Ezekiel 4. This is not a 'bread for Christians' type of deal. You see where I am going with this?
This bread is mentioned as a punishment. IT IS A JUDGMENT BREAD.
Not so fun facts:
Before getting into the story, let's look at some not-so-fun facts about this story. Though each act has a meaning and a reason, it surely falls under the ‘that is odd’ category.
Ezekiel has to lie down on his left side for 390 days with ropes tied around him (to prevent him from moving), while eating this bread.
Next he has to turn towards his right and do the same for another 40 days.
There are no exceptions, he has to eat this bread tied down in this way for 430 days (390+40).
He was allowed only 8 oz of this bread a day and he had to eat it at set times. That is roughly around 3 bread rolls a day.
He cannot drink more than around 3 cups of water a day during these 430 days.
The last point is what makes all this not-so-fun: he had to cook this bread using human excrement.
Who gave these instructions: God
To whom: To Ezekiel
If you are like me, all you can think right now is ‘but why?’ Let's see why.
The story:
Ezekiel (means strengthened by God,) son of Buzi, from the tribe of Levi, was a priest and a prophet in the 6th century BC. When he was 25 years old, he was taken as a captive, from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with many others by King Nebuchadnezzar. During this attack, King Nebuchadnezzar captured all the highly skilled people and took them to Babylon and Ezekiel was one among them. Some other notable people who were also taken into exile prior to this time would be Daniel, Shadrak, Meshach and Abednego.
Five years have passed by after Ezekiel was taken as a prisoner. On his 30th birthday, he was sitting by the bank of Kebar river near his refugee camp, and the Lord spoke to him through a vision. By the way, it's the year he would have been installed as a fully functioning priest if he was in Jerusalem.
This was the first of many visions God showed him. Through this, God has appointed Ezekiel to warn Israel that the first Babylonian attack on Jerusalem would be matched by a second one. But this time the city and the temple would be completely destroyed. Ezekiel was also warned not to be afraid of the people, he was to say and do exactly what God commanded him to do. He did not hesitate in his mission and followed God’s instructions to the “t”.
Ezekiel 2:7 says,
You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.
Show and tell:
God worked through Ezekiel in more of a ‘show and tell’ way. His prophecies involved a theatrical way of explaining to people. Like how Jesus used parables, Ezekiel used show and tell.
[For example, In chapter 5, Ezekiel was asked to shave his hair and beard and spread some hair around the city and then burn some inside the city. While some hair should be tucked under the folds of his garment. This is to show the Israelites the impending judgment to come upon them. Most would fall under this judgment while God would keep some as God’s remnant
Imagine Ezekiel, a priest, spreading his hair around the city and burning them in front of his people who are already in exile. This would have been a hard to miss sight, wouldn't it? But that was the whole point. His acts were supposed to be loud and descriptive. Easy to notice and provoked curiosity.]
One such act is our part of the story.
1.The Model Siege: First, God asked Ezekiel to first draw the city of Jerusalem on a block of clay. Then like building a lego, he had to build a model of a siege around it.
[Siege: a military operation in which enemy forces surround a town or building, cutting off essential supplies, with the aim of compelling the surrender of those inside.]
He had to pretend that he had an army surrounding the city. Around that model city he was to depict a siege, including building siege walls, a ramp, setting up army camps, and placing battering rams around it. And then he had to take an iron pan and put it between him and the city. It would be like an iron wall separating him and the city. He has to surround the city and attack it.This model was to be a sign to the people of Israel, illustrating the coming siege and the destruction of Jerusalem.
2. The second part involved the bizarre way he had to eat this bread. Ezekiel 4:4-6 says,
‘Then you must lie down on your left side. You must do this thing that shows that you are taking the sins of the people of Israel on yourself. You will carry the guilt for as many days as you lie on your left side. You must bear the guilt of Israel for 390 days. In this way I am telling you how long Israel will be punished; one day equals one year. After that time, you will lie on your right side for 40 days. This time you will bear the guilt of Judah for 40 days. One day equals one year. I am telling you how long Judah must be punished.’
Ezekiel had to eat this bread lying down for 430 days straight, in public, next to the clay model! With ropes tied around him!
3. The third step involved the details on how to make this bread. This is where our recipe comes from. Ezekiel 4:9-12 (ERV) says,
‘Get some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. Mix all these things together in one bowl and grind them to make flour….you will be allowed to use only 1 cup[ of that flour each day to make bread….You can drink only 3 cups of water each day…You must make your bread each day. You must get dry human dung and burn it…..You must eat this bread in front of the people.’
Wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt
OK then, God gave very clear instructions to Ezekiel from how to make that bread to how to eat and to where to eat it.
He had to cook this bread on human waste. This is where Ezekiel draws the line. He wouldn't want to eat this bread in this way as it was unclean under the law of Moses. We should really focus on this part of the story here - He was fine eating this awful tasting, rationed bread in the most uncomfortable way. But he was not willing to do it in an unlawful way.
Where would you draw your line? For comfort/safety or for what it right?
God honored his request and he would allow Ezekiel to cook this on cow dung instead.
Side fact: Cooking food on dried cow dung is an age old practice still followed by many cultures. It is a very eco-friendly source of fuel and is completely safe for cooking food.
Reason for eating the bread this way:
So why the theatrics? Why couldn't Ezekiel tell the people what was to come instead of putting his body through this ordeal? God gave us the reason in vs 16 & 17.
‘Then God said to me, “Son of man, I am destroying Jerusalem’s supply of bread. People will have only a little bread to eat. They will be very worried about their food supply, and they will have only a little water to drink. Every time they take a drink, they will feel more afraid. That is because there will not be enough food and water for everyone. They will be terrified as they watch each other wasting away because of their sins.’
It's bread for the punishment to come. Times to come are going to be terrible. People are going to feel lucky if they get some bread like this. They are going to eat and drink in constant fear and in scarcity. And it is all because of their rebellion.
So did this prophecy come true? It absolutely did. The prophecies in Ezekiel 4, including the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, were indeed fulfilled as the Babylonian armies besieged and eventually destroyed the city in 586 BC.
Our take away:
What is our take away from this story? Why even study this story as it's meant to be a punishment for a group of people who lived in the 6th century BC? We are in the 21st century, after all. Every story, every concept in the Bible is very much for us and now.
Hebrews 4:12 says, For the word of God is alive and active.
Here is our takeaway- God does not overlook sin. Many of the exiles believed that their captivity in Babylon was temporary. They thought it would be a matter of time until they would be back in Jerusalem worshiping at the temple, like nothing ever happened. After all they are God’s people right? But read Ezekiel Chapter 8, it describes the abominations that were practiced among God’s people. How can God coexist with sin? God is Holy. He cannot tolerate or overlook sin.
Jesus took away our sins, meaning, our sins are forgiven when we abide in Him and believe in Him. Abiding means, we as believers should flee from sin and should repent when we sin. Jesus said, if you love me, you will follow my commandments. The Holy Spirit will convict us when we sin. If our heart does not grieve when we sin, which leads to repentance, which leads to walking towards holiness everyday of our lives, we are not children of God. If we are comfortable in our sins, how can we expect The Holy Spirit to work in us? How can we expect God’s mercy? We will be disciplined. Getting disciplined is actually the best case scenario that can happen to us. Because when we are disciplined, though it is hard, we can have peace that God loves us. If there is no discipline then there is no love.
The farther we go away from God, the more numb we will get for sin.
Though Ezekiel 4 ends with gloom, the book of Ezekiel ends with hope. In chapter 37, God promises He would someday revitalize Israel and give her new life, symbolized in the vision of the valley of dry bones. Where there is discipline, there is hope.
The book of Ezekiel actually ends like this, ‘THE LORD IS THERE’.
And that is how I wanted to end this story today. The Lord is there where there is a heart of repentance…The Lord is there where there is a conviction to shun away from evil….The Lord is there when we abide in Jesus…..The Lord is there when we trust God no matter the circumstances…..The Lord is there when we desire holiness…..The Lord is there!
Ezekiel Bread Recipe:
I am making two versions of this recipe. Ezekiel bread version 1.0, Ezekiel bread version 2.0.
Ezekiel Bread Version 1.0:
This version is very simple. God gave the ingredient list for this particular recipe so it is a no-brainer. But if you know anything about cooking/baking, take one look at the ingredient list, you will know this bread is not going to be a particularly good tasting one. Thus the need for version 2.0. Lets see the ingredient list and the method from Ezekiel 4.
Vs 9: Wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, spelt.
Vs 12: Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread;
My first impression upon this ingredient list was, what on Earth is a spelt? And how did they eat a loaf of barley bread?
Spelt: Spelt is an ancient type of Wheat also known as Dinkel Wheat and was very popular until the 19th century. Particularly with the peasant classes as it was a more affordable grain. Now, it is slowly regaining its popularity due to its rich nutritional profile. And it's great for baking. I thought I had to either order this flour online or have to go on a flour hunt, but to my surprise, it was available in my nearest grocery store. Huh, who knew! I bought organic whole grain spelt flour, so the flour was a bit grainy. I made some chocolate muffins with spelt, it tasted great. Simply substitute all purpose flour with spelt in your recipe.
With one confusion sorted out, the next one was how did they eat barley flour in those days? We will never know but we can get the clue from the nature of this story. This is a punishment/famine bread. So it would have been plain and simple. Without fat,sweets or leaveners.
Notice, it's also not a sprouted mix. The Ezekiel bread we find in the stores are sprouted unlike how it's mentioned in the Bible.
Ingredient List for version 1.0:
2 cups of whole wheat flour
¼ cup of barley flour
⅓ cup of chickpea flour (chickpea/garbanzo/besan is a type of bean. You can also use other kinds of beans flour)
⅓ cup of yellow lentils flour (you can use any variety of lentil, just blend the dried lentil in a high powered blender and sieve it to get a fine powder)
½ cup of finger millet flour (use any variety of millet- I happened to have this kind in hand)
1 cup of whole grain spelt flour
¼ tsp. Salt
2 cups of warm water
Let the dough rest for about an hour
Method: Mix the flours, salt and warm water to form a soft dough. And let it sit in a warm place for about an hour. Bake it in a loaf pan for 40 minutes at 350F.
Ezekiel bread Version 2.0:
Ingredient List:
2 cups of whole wheat flour
¼ cup of barley flour
⅓ cup of chickpea flour (chickpea/garbanzo/besan is a type of bean. You can also use other kinds of beans flour)
⅓ cup of yellow lentils flour (you can use any variety of lentil, just blend the dried lentil in a high powered blender and sieve it to get a fine powder)
½ cup of finger millet flour (use any variety of millet- I happened to have this kind in hand)
1 cup of whole grain spelt flour
¼ tsp. Salt
2 cups of warm water
1.5 packs of active dry yeast
¼ cup of honey
¼ cups of olive oil
Some mixed dried berries
Method:
In a bowl, take 2 cups of warm water. Add honey and yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes for the yeast to activate.
Add oil, flour mix and salt and knead it for 5 minutes.
Let it sit for about 1 hr and knead it again for 2 minutes.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes. Sprinkle some dried mixed berries on top before baking.
