Ezekiel 4

“Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment.” (Ezekiel 4:4, ESV)

It was not easy to be a prophet of the LORD. Ezekiel was a sign to the people of what was going to happen. Because both houses of Israel had been disobedient to the LORD, they would each bear their punishment for a number of years, and Ezekiel was to demonstrate this in an “action sermon”. For 390 days he would lie on his left side to bear the sins of Israel, and then for 40 days he would lie on his right side to bear the sins of Judah.

Three times following eye surgery I had to keep my head down for two weeks. I could not turn on my side when I slept at night. This was very uncomfortable, and it made it extremely difficult to sleep. I can’t imagine being confined to a single position for a total of 430 days! Now Ezekiel still had to make bread, eat, and take care of his bodily functions. How many hours per day he was actually lying on his side we do not know. But this entire demonstration must have been monotonous and painful to the prophet.

However, this did not compare with the burden that the LORD bore as He watched His beloved Bride turn away from Him to chase after other lovers. God bore the monotony of His people repeatedly seeking Him when conditions were bad only to return to their sins as soon as circumstances improved.

And Ezekiel’s burden did not compare to Christ’s burden of bearing the penalty for our sins. Speaking of the cross, Jesus told His disciples:

“I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50, ESV)

To be sure, Ezekiel had a burden to bear, but it was only a taste of God’s burden. The Lord may in fact place a burden on you. Perhaps it will be to pray for others or to come alongside and help them in their walk with Christ. Perhaps it will be to confront a person with his or her sin by speaking the truth in love. Whenever God moves our hearts with compassion for others or calls us to reach out to them, it is because He wants to share His burden with us.

What burden is He sharing with you?