{"id":73181,"date":"2020-04-10T16:21:13","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T13:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=73181"},"modified":"2020-04-10T16:21:13","modified_gmt":"2020-04-10T13:21:13","slug":"ezekiels-performance-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/ezekiels-performance-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Ezekiel\u2019s Performance Art"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If the elusiveness of Ezekiel Chapter 1 caught me by surprise it was nothing compared to how far my jaw dropped while reading Chapter 4. Funnily enough I had just seen a documentary about a very strange Canadian performance artist when I encountered this strange piece of biblical performance art.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s evident that simply speaking to the people about the impending doom and their need to repent hasn\u2019t been successful. Not for Isaiah nor for Jeremiah. Writing it down in scrolls was also unsuccessful. So, as any good leader or teacher knows, you need to find a new approach. And God chooses an unlikely medium. This time, Ezekiel is to deliver the prophecy by enacting the coming destruction of the Temple and siege of Jerusalem, and its impact on those left behind, through a wild performance with several acts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Act 1 involves sculpture. Ezekiel is to take a brick and engrave an image of Jerusalem on it.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Act 2, Ezekiel is directed to enact the siege of Jerusalem through a depiction that includes ramparts, battling rams and iron griddles standing in as walls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Act 3 begins the intense performance of the prophecy. Ezekiel is to lay on his left side for 390 days, representing the number of years that the tribes of Israel had sinned against God. Following that he\u2019s to turn over to his right side and continue laying another 40 days, representing the years of iniquity by the tribe of Judah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, in Act 4, Ezekiel asks for a change in direction. God instructed him to take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt and bake bread\u2026over a dung fire made from human excrement. Ezekiel could sculpt, create dioramas, even lie on his side for 430 days, but he argued against the human excrement and God allowed him the creative license to use cattle dung instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

We know that even the medium of this very visceral performance art didn\u2019t change the outcome of destruction and exile for the Jewish people. God had a different ending in mind and used every method available to get His message across.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aside from the biblical lessons in this chapter about the Ultimate Director, there is a rather quirky modern-day carryover.<\/span> Ezekiel 4:9 bread<\/span><\/a> is popular among health-conscious and whole food consumers – and kosher to boot – and now we know<\/span> the story behind Ezekiel Bread<\/span><\/a> (from Huffington Post). Thankfully dung of any kind is not part of that narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":73182,"id":73182,"title":"ez4-ezekiel bread","filename":"ez4-ezekiel-bread.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez4-ezekiel-bread.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/ezekiels-performance-art\/ez4-ezekiel-bread\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ez4-ezekiel-bread","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":73181,"date":"2020-04-10 13:21:02","modified":"2020-04-10 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