Ezekiel 24:22

And yee shall doe as I haue done: yee shall not couer your lips, nor eate the bread of men. Ezekiel 24:22 (KJV)

The book of Ezekiel is a prophetic book in the Old Testament. Ezekiel was a prophet called by God to deliver messages of judgment and restoration to the exiled Israelites in Babylon. In this particular chapter, Ezekiel receives a message from God concerning the impending destruction of Jerusalem.

Throughout the book of Ezekiel, God often instructed the prophet to perform symbolic actions as a means of conveying His messages to the people. In verse 2 of this chapter, God tells Ezekiel to depict the boiling pot and the choice pieces of meat as a representation of Jerusalem and its inhabitants.

In verse 21, God declares that He will profane His sanctuary and allow the destruction of Jerusalem as a consequence of the people’s disobedience and idolatry. In verse 22, God instructs the people to “do as I have done.” This indicates that they are to imitate the mourning and grief demonstrated by Ezekiel upon hearing of the loss of his wife, as described earlier in the chapter.

The phrase “ye shall not cover your lips” refers to a customary practice in ancient Near Eastern cultures where individuals would cover their lips as a sign of mourning or grief. God is essentially instructing the people not to engage in the traditional acts of mourning, such as covering their lips, because their mourning would be ineffective in averting the coming destruction.

The phrase “nor eat the bread of men” may also be understood in the context of mourning rituals. During times of mourning, it was customary for people to abstain from regular meals and instead partake in a special bread or meal provided by mourners. The instruction therefore calls the people to recognize the gravity of the judgment that is about to befall them, rather than seeking human comfort or solace through customary meals.