These signs were followed by denunciations growing naturally out of what they had taught. In general terms, the prophet first foretold the coming judgment of the sword against the whole land, and the consequent scattering of the people. It was distinctly declared that in this process of judgment Jehovah would preserve a remnant of those who would escape from the destruction of Jerusalem, and in whose mind the judgment would remain, producing repentance, and the conviction that the word of God was not in vain.
The prophet was then charged to deliver this message of the sword with all the outward signs of vehemence and passion, and to make perfectly clear that vengeance moved toward the purpose of restoring a knowledge of Jehovah to those who had forgotten Him. The reference to the remnant in the course of this first denunciation explains the final action in the fourth sign, that is, the gathering of a few scattered hairs and binding them in the skirts of the prophet's- garment.
Ezekiel's consciousness of the underlying cause of the reprobation of the chosen people is evident through all this section, in which he describes its results. Israel had fallen out of fellowship with God, and had ceased to know Him. Presently this is dealt with in greater detail, but it is interesting to notice the prophet's recognition of it throughout the whole of these messages.