Ezekiel 12:19Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Lord spoke to me again, saying, Son of man, partake of your bread with sorrow, and drink your water with anguish and distress. You shall inform the people of the land, Thus says Adonai the Lord to those who dwell in Jerusalem, in the land of Israel: they will consume their bread in scarcity and drink their water in ruin; for the land shall be ruined along with its inhabitants, and in wickedness, all who reside there shall dwell, while the cities where they live will be desolate, and the land will be laid waste, and they will know that I am the Lord.

Following the prophecy concerning the prince and his companions, which was revealed through a corporeal vision, he transitions to address the people, communicating all that was said to the prophet to the residents of Jerusalem. In times of distress during the siege, they shall eat their bread with sorrow and scarcity, and drink their water not abundantly but with anguish and grief. This is conveyed to you, O prophet, He says, so that you can inform the inhabitants of your land, telling them, Thus says the Lord God to those dwelling in Jerusalem, in the land of Israel: You who are besieged by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans will endure the suffering of famine and thirst; for the entire land will be devastated, along with all who fill it, marking the inhabitants by the land they inhabit. Let them not consider this occurrence to be without cause; inform them, He says, that due to their iniquity, all the cities of the Jews will be left desolate, and the entire populace will perish, so that they may come to know the God of retribution, whom they ignored when He had shown them mercy.

In a spiritual sense, we can see the inhabitants of Jerusalem as those who believe in Christ and reside within the Church. If, through their transgressions, they provoke His wrath, they shall consume their bread in scarcity and drink their water with sorrow and distress, hunger not for physical sustenance, but for the Word and teachings of God (Am. 8). For when, whether due to the failings of the leaders, who should be taken captive and delivered to the Babylonians, or through our own negligence, we lose the Word of God and find ourselves unfulfilled in our spiritual needs, then our nourishment will be coupled with sorrow and scarcity, and the earth shall lack a multitude of believers, while the cities, referring to the Churches across the globe, shall be destroyed, leading to a desolation of the land, so that all may recognize the Lord's wrath. This understanding also applies to times of persecution.

Furthermore, since the residents of Jerusalem criticized the declarations of the divine Jeremiah, and those in Chaldea dismissed the wisdom of Ezekiel, they confirmed one another’s prophecies, showing that their words were indeed inspired. Had they lived in close proximity, their agreement might have been questioned. However, the considerable distance between them underscores the divine nature of their messages, as they spoke the same truth from afar. Thus, Jeremiah conveys a message to those in Chaldea, while Ezekiel addresses those in Judea, for the God of all has taken every opportunity to ensure both groups can respond to His call.