12 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. 3 As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.4 You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. 5 In their sight dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. 6 In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.”
7 And I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.
8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’ 11 Say, ‘I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ 12 And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. 13 And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. 14 And I will scatter towards every wind all who are round him, his helpers and all his troops, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. 15 And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. 16 But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the Lord.”
17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. 19 And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink water in dismay. In this way her land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
The first of the enacted messages (1-16) is a fairly simple and clear-cut one, and has to do with the forthcoming captivity. Ezekiel is commanded by God to act the part of someone who is making a hasty flight with his belongings from Jerusalem, and he has to dig a hole in the wall of his house and creep through it surreptitiously by night, as a kind of symbol of how the beleaguered people in Jerusalem would scramble through holes in the wall of the city in their attempt to escape from the enemy. By day, he prepared for his journey, ostentatiously and in their sight, and one can readily imagine how his hearers among the captives by the river Chebar would be asking themselves, 'What does this mean?' Then at eventide, he dug a hole in the wall of his house, removed one or two of the mud bricks and crept through it, keeping his eyes on the ground and not looking up, a picture of abject misery. And God says to them, as it were, 'Do you get the message?' Doubtless they got the message fairly clearly, but they nevertheless asked Ezekiel what it all meant. We should notice what is said in 3 - 'From thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider.' There is still grace, then, God is still not closing the door upon repentance. He is warning them, even though they may be a rebellious house, and it may be that they will pay heed, take stock of themselves, and repent of their sins. Such was the hope in God's heart, reaching out for His people in spite of everything.