Fasting Friday – Ezekiel Fast

Welcome to the 2nd Fasting Friday! I hope that the Lord is using these posts on fasting to encourage you to try a fast if you have never done so. Today we will talk about the Ezekiel fast found in Ezekiel 4:9. This is a very interesting fast that the Lord asked Ezekiel to do. Whenever we see a scripture from the Bible, we need to look at the context of the scripture so we can truly understand what God is telling us. Read the entire chapter of Ezekiel 4 to understand why God was calling Ezekiel to fast and how he was to do it. I have not studied this in depth so I will not teach this as a word study lesson, but we can at least ask ourselves some questions from this chapter. As a Precept Ministries leader (no, I don’t work for Precept), we are instructed to ask ourselves the 5 W’s and an H whenever we are reading the Bible. What are the 5 W’s and an H you might ask? Think back to your high school English days. It is simply Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How.

 “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. “And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it.  “You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink.  “And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.” Then the LORD said, “So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.” So I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.” Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.” Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall drink water by measure and with dread, “that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and waste away because of their iniquity.  Ezek 4:9-17 (NKJV)

Read Ezekiel 4:9-17 and ask yourself:
1. How long was Ezekiel told to eat the bread?
2. How much was he to eat?
3. How much was he to drink?
4. Why did he fast?

You can find many recipes for Ezekiel bread online or you can buy it in the freezer section of many grocery stores. After studying this chapter, I no longer feel guilty about my diet fast which I explained last Friday. God told Ezekiel the exact amount of food to eat and water to drink, which is what the diet fast is all about. Check it out if you haven’t read about it. You will probably find the diet fast more doable than the Ezekiel Fast.

If you wish to do a long-term fast, you might consider an Ezekiel Fast or my diet fast. You will receive the benefits of doing a long-term fast, but will have the energy you need to fulfill your daily activities. Most are not called to do a full 40 day fast as Moses or Jesus did in the Bible. There are many alternatives if you wish to do a 40 day fast. I hope you will decide to fast and pray for America. If you don’t wish to do a long-term fast, then try a one meal fast every week. Pick a day like Tuesday or Friday and either fast one meal or the entire day drinking only liquids. If you have never fasted before, then I recommend doing an easy fast first, then move onto something bigger.