Bizarre Prophetic Commands/1/en

Bizarre Prophetic Commands

Introduction

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Most people would probably not envy the prophet's life. Spending one's days chastising a nation who does not want to change and foretelling doom and destruction to those who don't want to hear is not an easy task. When their message was not to the liking of the masses or rulership, prophets were often ridiculed and, at times, even imprisoned or physically threatened. Sometimes, though, the prophetic mission itself provoked humiliation or distress, as Hashem tasked the prophet with performing bizarre actions and deeds as signs for the nation.  Some of the more troubling of these include:

• Yeshayahu's nakedness – In Yeshayahu 20, the prophet is commanded to remove his sackcloth and shoes, and walk around naked "three years as a sign and wonder for Egypt and Kush".
• Yechezkel's lying on his side – In Yechezkel 4, he is directed to lie on his left side for 390 days and then his right side for 40 more days to "carry the sins" of Yehuda and Yisrael. Hashem further tells him that that he will tie him with rope so that he not turn from side to side during his symbolic besiegement.
• Eating barley bread in dung - During this period of time, Yechezkel is commanded to eat meager rations of multi-grain bread, baked in human dung
• Yechezkel's shaving of his head -
• Hoshea's marrying a prostitute