The book of the Prophet Ezekiel
Chapter
4
¹ And you, O mortal, take a brick and set it before you. On it portray a city, Jerusalem; ² and put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a ramp against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. ³ Then take an iron plate and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verses 1 to 3)
Oh God, my beloved Father, if we had to place the Vatican and other Churches in a similar situation surrounded by a transparent glass ball You would be able to see those who appear to be open to Your ways from those who are still not. The Church is being hurt by such people who are doing much internal damage to the extent that this is affecting people whose faith is already unstable. I pray for healing and conversion my God and Father Amen.
⁴ Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it; you shall bear their punishment for the number of the days that you lie there.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 4)
Oh God my beloved Father, You are in control of every detail of our life, You are aware of our times or moments of peace and glory, and You are also and in control of the moments or periods of our putting to the test by means of trials and tribulations. May Your will be done, my God and Father Amen.
⁵ For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred ninety-days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; and so you shall bear the punishment of the house of Israel.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 5)
Oh God my beloved Father, You deal so fairly and in a just way with us, in the sense that You do not allow us to endure more hardship more than we can bear, for in truth as sinners we are not entitled to Your love and mercy, however You are a loving and compassionate God Amen.
⁶ When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, one day for each year.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 6)
Oh God my Father during my life on earth I am passing through many stages of development and even challenges. You are giving me experiences in many different stages such as the religious life, the life of marriage, the life of a social worker and even now the status of a single separated person. From all sides, there are tasks to be fulfilled and challenges to be faced, however with You by my side I have nothing to worry about Amen.
⁷ You shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and with your arm bared you shall prophesy against it.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 7)
I would have no greater pleasure than that of proclaiming Your Name my God and Father, if You want to use me in doing so, go ahead, I am willing in both heart and spirit. Give me the words and I will go wherever You will send me and do whatever You command me to do Amen. Thank You, Jesus.
⁸ See I am putting cords on you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 8)
Oh God my loving Father, I also wish that You control me in such a way, that permits me only to do that which is according to Your will so that I will always walk in Your ways and not in mine Amen.
⁹ And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread for yourself During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred ninety days, you shall eat it.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 9)
Oh God my Father, the basic ingredients that sustain my life are the blessed sacraments, prayer time and my relationships during my daily life. This the perfect combination amen.
¹⁰ The food that you eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; at fixed times you shall eat it. ¹¹ And you shall drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; at fixed times you shall drink. ¹² You shall eat it as a barley-cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verses 10 to 12)
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verses 1 to 3)
Oh God, my beloved Father, if we had to place the Vatican and other Churches in a similar situation surrounded by a transparent glass ball You would be able to see those who appear to be open to Your ways from those who are still not. The Church is being hurt by such people who are doing much internal damage to the extent that this is affecting people whose faith is already unstable. I pray for healing and conversion my God and Father Amen.
⁴ Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it; you shall bear their punishment for the number of the days that you lie there.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 4)
Oh God my beloved Father, You are in control of every detail of our life, You are aware of our times or moments of peace and glory, and You are also and in control of the moments or periods of our putting to the test by means of trials and tribulations. May Your will be done, my God and Father Amen.
⁵ For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred ninety-days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; and so you shall bear the punishment of the house of Israel.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 5)
Oh God my beloved Father, You deal so fairly and in a just way with us, in the sense that You do not allow us to endure more hardship more than we can bear, for in truth as sinners we are not entitled to Your love and mercy, however You are a loving and compassionate God Amen.
⁶ When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, one day for each year.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 6)
Oh God my Father during my life on earth I am passing through many stages of development and even challenges. You are giving me experiences in many different stages such as the religious life, the life of marriage, the life of a social worker and even now the status of a single separated person. From all sides, there are tasks to be fulfilled and challenges to be faced, however with You by my side I have nothing to worry about Amen.
⁷ You shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and with your arm bared you shall prophesy against it.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 7)
I would have no greater pleasure than that of proclaiming Your Name my God and Father, if You want to use me in doing so, go ahead, I am willing in both heart and spirit. Give me the words and I will go wherever You will send me and do whatever You command me to do Amen. Thank You, Jesus.
⁸ See I am putting cords on you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 8)
Oh God my loving Father, I also wish that You control me in such a way, that permits me only to do that which is according to Your will so that I will always walk in Your ways and not in mine Amen.
⁹ And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread for yourself During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred ninety days, you shall eat it.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 9)
Oh God my Father, the basic ingredients that sustain my life are the blessed sacraments, prayer time and my relationships during my daily life. This the perfect combination amen.
¹⁰ The food that you eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; at fixed times you shall eat it. ¹¹ And you shall drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; at fixed times you shall drink. ¹² You shall eat it as a barley-cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verses 10 to 12)
Our perfect diet is in our consuming Your Word as in praying on the Bible, my God and Father. Every verse is a vitamin, carbohydrate and protein enough to nourish both our body and our souls Amen.
¹³ The LORD said, "Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations to which I will drive them."
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 13)
Oh God my Father even in Malta we are being given foul bread to eat that we consider as being healthy, for that which is offered by the world often has only, appearance but few substances or good in it. Therefore we are to be careful in what we consider as being clean and healthy from what is not Amen.
¹⁴ Then I said, "Ah Lord GOD! I have never defiled myself, from my youth up until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has carrion flesh come into my mouth."
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 14)
Oh God like Ezekiel we may try to defend ourselves before You by saying that we have never killed or stolen anything from others, however, if we had to ask ourselves if we lacked in love towards others we might start stuttering. I pray that we adhere to the rule of love Amen,
¹⁵ Then he said to me, "See, I will let you have cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread."
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 15)
Oh God at first this verse may seem rather odd and revolting even to read especially if one has a fertile imagination. However on reflecting we are basing our life on what the earth feeds us, the healthy and unhealthy messages proposed by the media, politics and at times even science. At times is not better than dung. However, the dung given by nature has nutrients that make the earth richer. The nutrients of praying on Your Word the Bible are healthier than the 20.00 pm news as broadcasted, on television Amen.
¹⁶ Then he said to me, Mortal, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. ¹⁷ Lacking bread and water, they will look at one another in dismay, and waste away under their punishment.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verses 16 to 17)
Oh God my Father, so it was written and so it has been done to this very day. The people of Jerusalem and the promised land are living their life under the stress of being attacked and denied of their land. I pray that You do justice to Your people so that they will be given back the lands that You promised them Amen.
Oh God my Father, I would like to end this meditation on the fourth chapter of the book of the prophet Ezekiel with the following prayer:-
Oh God my Father, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I pray that learn to listen obey and do what You ask of us and may we accept all that we do as coming from You. I pray for Your people and for the Roman Catholic Church and other churches so that together we keep on walking on our pathway to heaven Amen
¹³ The LORD said, "Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations to which I will drive them."
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 13)
Oh God my Father even in Malta we are being given foul bread to eat that we consider as being healthy, for that which is offered by the world often has only, appearance but few substances or good in it. Therefore we are to be careful in what we consider as being clean and healthy from what is not Amen.
¹⁴ Then I said, "Ah Lord GOD! I have never defiled myself, from my youth up until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has carrion flesh come into my mouth."
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 14)
Oh God like Ezekiel we may try to defend ourselves before You by saying that we have never killed or stolen anything from others, however, if we had to ask ourselves if we lacked in love towards others we might start stuttering. I pray that we adhere to the rule of love Amen,
¹⁵ Then he said to me, "See, I will let you have cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread."
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verse 15)
Oh God at first this verse may seem rather odd and revolting even to read especially if one has a fertile imagination. However on reflecting we are basing our life on what the earth feeds us, the healthy and unhealthy messages proposed by the media, politics and at times even science. At times is not better than dung. However, the dung given by nature has nutrients that make the earth richer. The nutrients of praying on Your Word the Bible are healthier than the 20.00 pm news as broadcasted, on television Amen.
¹⁶ Then he said to me, Mortal, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. ¹⁷ Lacking bread and water, they will look at one another in dismay, and waste away under their punishment.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4 verses 16 to 17)
Oh God my Father, so it was written and so it has been done to this very day. The people of Jerusalem and the promised land are living their life under the stress of being attacked and denied of their land. I pray that You do justice to Your people so that they will be given back the lands that You promised them Amen.
Oh God my Father, I would like to end this meditation on the fourth chapter of the book of the prophet Ezekiel with the following prayer:-
Oh God my Father, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I pray that learn to listen obey and do what You ask of us and may we accept all that we do as coming from You. I pray for Your people and for the Roman Catholic Church and other churches so that together we keep on walking on our pathway to heaven Amen
