Ezekiel 4:12 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Thou shalt bake, &c.— See Lamentations 4:5 and 1 Samuel 2:8 where the applicableness of the account concerning the frequent burning of dung in the East, to the case of Ezekiel, is visible. Commentators have remarked something of it; but I do not remember to have met with any who have thoroughly entered into the spirit of the divine command: they only observe, that several nations make use of cow-dung for fuel. The prophet was first enjoined to make use of human dung in the preparation of his food, though at length he obtained permission to use cow-dung for the baking of that bread, which was to be expressive of the miserable food that Israel should be obliged to eat in their dispersion among the Gentiles. Had this been ordered at first, it would by no means have fully or sufficiently expressed those necessities, and that filthiness in their way of living, to which they were to be reduced; for many of the eastern people very commonly use cow-dung in the baking of their bread; he therefore was ordered to make use of human dung, which was terribly significant of the extremities which they were to undergo: no nation made use of that horrid kind of fuel; whereas the other was very common, though it is not very agreeable for the purpose; the bread so baked being burnt, smoaky, and disagreeably tasted. If cow-dung was frequently used in Palestine for fuel, as we have reason to think wood was not more plentiful there anciently, when the country was much fuller of inhabitants, than it is now (see Lamentations 5:4.); its extreme slowness in burning must make the quickness of the fire of thorns very observable, and give life to that passage in Ecclesiastes 7:6. As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool, and to some other places, which have not, I think, been duly observed. The contrast is extremely remarkable. La Roque, taking notice of the excessive slowness of the one, informs us, that it is a common thing among the Arabs on this account to threaten a person with burning him in cow-dung, when they would menace him with a dreadful lingering punishment. On the other hand, every one must be apprized of the short-lived violence of the fire of thorns, furze, and things of that kind: but to make the thought complete, it is necessary to add, that cow-dung, this very slow fuel, is that which is commonly used; and thorns, &c. but seldom. See Observations, p. 140 and Psalms 58:9. How thankful should we be for the plenty of good fuel that we enjoy!