Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible recap.

When we left Ezekiel yesterday, he was lying on his side for over a year and surviving

on a small portion of food and water that mimicked a famine.

Today we'll pick up in chapter 5 with God telling Ezekiel to shave off all the hair of

his head with a battle sword which makes for an awkward razor, then weigh it and divide

it into thirds.

He's supposed to burn a third, strike a third with his sword, and scatter a third to the

wind.

But he's also supposed to hide part of it in his clothes and his pockets basically, then

throw a part of that into the fire.

God tells Ezekiel that all this hair cutting business pertains to his people back in Jerusalem.

Just a reminder, in this particular book of prophecy, we aren't yet to the place in

the timeline where the destruction of Jerusalem has happened.

It's still a few years off.

We've had one round of deportation and exile, which is how Ezekiel got deported to Babylon,

but there are still two more rounds to go.

While he's in Babylon, God calls him to do this sine act with cutting off and scattering

the hair.

And God says these three actions symbolize the three ways he'll respond to their rebellion,

sword, pestilence, and famine.

These sound familiar because we've seen these punishments prophesied by other prophets.

But what's important to note is that these exact punishments were promised as the consequences

...