“Therefore, you son of man, prepare your stuff for removal, and remove by day in their sight. And you will remove from your place to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider, even though they are a rebellious house. And you will bring forth your stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removal, and you will go forth yourself in the evening in their sight, as when men go forth into exile.” is
What Ezekiel had to do this time was make a great show of packing his household goods and chattels as though he was moving house and going on a journey. Indeed just as though he was going into exile. He was to pack during the day and leave in the evening, bearing his goods and transferring from one place to another.
This would then stir the thinking of his fellow-captives who would want to know what he was doing. They had seen what he had acted out before, they had seen him in a trance-like state as though he was no longer in his body, and now the news got around that he was ‘doing it again'. Unquestionably the crowds would gather. Some would mock, others would shake their heads, but hopefully, said Yahweh, some might even consider the implications of his actions in spite of their rebelliousness (compare Ezekiel 2:5). It was necessary to give them a chance, for Ezekiel was the watchman of the house of Israel.