Hundreds of miles away from where Ezekiel was living with the exiles, the situation of the remnant of Israel in Jerusalem was getting worse and worse. God did not want the exiles in Babylon to be indifferent. He had Ezekiel build a clay model of Jerusalem. Then Ezekiel acted out a very difficult and unusual demonstration of the siege of Jerusalem by lying on his side for 390 days. God also had Ezekiel eat rationed food cooked in an unclean way, symbolizing the famine conditions in Jerusalem (9-15).

The exiles could see Ezekiel’s demonstration and pray for Jerusalem and also repent of their own sins, which had played a part in this catastrophe (16-17). For Ezekiel himself, it was an extended period of prayer. We are called to pray for those who are suffering as if we ourselves were going through the same trials (Heb 13:3). God told Ezekiel that by doing this, he would be bearing the sin of the people of Judah (5,6). It reminds us of Jesus who bore all our sin, though he was innocent. We are like Jesus when we intercede in prayer for sinful people.
Application: Father, help me not be indifferent to the suffering of others. Help me pray earnestly for others to be saved from their sins, like Jesus, our great intercessor.
One Word: Pray for others as for myself