Cooking Over Poop - Marques Jones

Devotional

Day 1: Baking Bread on Cow Dung: When God Grabs Our Attention

Ezekiel’s bizarre recipe—mixing grains with excrement—wasn’t about health trends. It was a visceral warning to Israel: their rebellion would leave them desperate, defiled, and exiled. God uses shocking methods to shake stubborn hearts awake, not to punish but to redirect. His urgency reveals how seriously He takes sin—and how deeply He desires repentance. Even in judgment, mercy whispers: turn back before it’s too late. [04:50]

“Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself… Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel… Then [Ezekiel] said, ‘Not so, Sovereign Lord!…’ [God] replied, ‘Very well, I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.’” (Ezekiel 4:9–15, NIV)

Reflection: Where is God using discomfort or disruption in your life to redirect you? What stubborn pattern might He be urging you to surrender?

Day 2: Broken Covenants and the God Who Stays

Israel’s betrayal went beyond breaking rules—they sacrificed children to idols, defiling their covenant with God. Yet He didn’t abandon them. A covenant isn’t a contract; it’s a bond forged by God’s unshakable loyalty. Even when we fail, His commitment holds. Our distinction as His people isn’t earned—it’s a gift upheld by His faithfulness, not our perfection. [19:50]

“You took your sons and daughters, whom you bore to me, and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.” (Ezekiel 16:20–21, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you exchanged covenant intimacy with God for lesser loyalties? How does His persistence soften your heart?

Day 3: The Love in God’s “No”

Discipline feels like rejection, but God’s correction is proof we’re His. Israel’s exile wasn’t abandonment—it was the severe mercy of a Father refusing to let His children destroy themselves. Every “no” from God is a “yes” to our healing. His justice isn’t cold; it’s the furnace that refines, not consumes. [15:18]

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:11–12, NIV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels like exile? How might God be using this season to deepen your trust in His fatherhood?

Day 4: Redeeming the Ruins of Our Past

The Israelites’ 390 years of sin left scars, but God promised restoration: “I will give you a new heart.” Our past isn’t erased—it’s redeemed. Shame becomes testimony; failure becomes wisdom. Christ doesn’t hide our brokenness; He transforms it into a monument to grace. [27:23]

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:23–24, NLT)

Reflection: What part of your story feels irredeemable? How could Jesus repurpose it for His glory and others’ good?

Day 5: The God Who Goes Further

Ezekiel’s warnings were severe, but God went further: He took the judgment Himself. The cross answers Ezekiel’s drama—God’s justice and mercy collide in Christ. Our sins were baked into the bread He ate, the cup He drank. The fuel of our judgment became the fire of His love. [32:21]

“I will gather you from the nations… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you… I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Then you will follow my decrees… You will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 11:17–20, NIV)

Reflection: How does Jesus’ sacrifice reshape your view of God’s justice? What will you do today to live as His redeemed, rehearted child?

Sermon Summary

Ezekiel names a people’s picture of God as the most important thing about them, because that picture steers worship, fear, choices, and even self-understanding. Ezekiel’s sign-acts refuse the Ezekiel-bread fad by putting the text back in its place. This is not a health plan. This is judgment enacted before a watching people. God asks his priest to build a tiny Jerusalem, siege it, lie on his side for years in days, lose his voice, tie himself up, and bake meager bread over dung in public. God goes really far to warn, because God is serious about sin and patient with sinners.

Babylon’s rise and Judah’s exile do not arrive out of nowhere. God tells Ezekiel that Israel is obstinate and rebellious. The covenant people, set at the center to be distinct in obedience, have become distinct in disobedience. In Ezekiel’s math, 390 plus 40 days equals centuries of compounded rebellion. Ten generations break faith and stain God’s name among the nations, even to detestable works like sacrificing children to idols. The why behind the siege is not God’s mood. The why is sin.

Yet covenant love does not snap. Like a faithful parent, God names what will happen, why it will happen, and then points toward hope. Exile and the ruined temple are not the last word. God promises to gather, to cleanse the land of idols, and to trade out a heart of stone for a heart of flesh. An undivided heart and a new Spirit will move the people to follow freely and carefully. God goes really far to warn, but he goes further to save.

In that turn, Ezekiel’s acted word leans forward to Jesus. Judgment falls, but not aimlessly. God holds back and then releases wrath on his Son, so sinners can be made right by faith in his blood. Grace does not make sin light. Grace shows how heavy sin is and how far God goes. Even when consequences linger, Jesus redeems the past. Guilt and shame do not get erased. They get reworked into testimony, wisdom, humility, and compassion. So when someone thinks “God of the Old Testament,” the text insists on patience, justice, and a relentless mercy that warns hard and saves harder.

Key Takeaways

1. God goes far to warn God’s sign-acts through Ezekiel are not theatrics. They are mercy with a siren, putting consequences in plain sight so hardened hearts can be startled awake. When God speaks this starkly, indifference is already a deeper danger than fear. Attention to warning is itself a gift. [12:44]
2. Judgment names covenant love Discipline is not covenant failure. It is covenant faithfulness that refuses to let betrayal stand as normal. God names the what, the why, and then steers the beloved toward hope, because love will not abandon truth or the beloved. Justice and affection ride together. [15:34]
3. Sin compounds across generations Ezekiel’s days-as-years show how rebellion stacks up over time until it feels ordinary. Unconfessed patterns do not stay personal; they become cultural air others breathe. Naming the line and breaking it with repentance is a holy interruption. [18:27]
4. Hope of a new heart God does more than call for change; God gives power to change. An undivided heart and a new Spirit move obedience from grudging to glad. The same hands that judge idols remake desire so the law becomes a joy, not a leash. [23:11]
5. Jesus redeems even the past Consequences may remain, but condemnation does not. By his blood, Jesus rethreads failure into testimony and pain into ministry, giving a new relationship to yesterday. In his mercy, nothing wasted, everything repurposed. [27:06]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:52] - What comes to mind about God
[01:15] - Tozer and why it matters
[02:51] - Hard and weird stories matter
[03:15] - Turning to Ezekiel 4
[03:36] - Ezekiel bread and the fad
[04:13] - Reading Ezekiel 4:9–15
[05:44] - Context, not a diet plan
[06:09] - What a prophet is and does
[08:12] - Exile backdrop and Babylon’s rise
[11:21] - Ezekiel’s sign-acts explained
[12:44] - God goes far to warn
[13:18] - The coming siege and exile
[15:53] - Why judgment: breaking covenant
[16:49] - Wrong distinction among the nations
[18:27] - Generational weight of sin
[21:03] - Modern idols and obedience
[22:34] - Mercy within judgment, future hope
[23:11] - New heart and new Spirit
[23:59] - God goes further to save
[27:06] - Jesus redeems the past
[30:15] - Romans 3 and the cross
[32:21] - Remembering judgment with Ezekiel bread
[32:39] - Closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Ezekiel 4:9–15 (ESV)
“And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer, and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them. During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it. And your food that you eat shall be by weight, 20 shekels a day; from day to day you shall eat it. And water you shall drink by measure, a sixth of a hin; from day to day you shall drink. And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung. And the Lord said, ‘Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will drive them.’ Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself. From my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has tainted meat come into my mouth.’ Then he said to me, ‘See, I assign to you cow’s dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.’”

Ezekiel 11:17–20 (ESV)
“Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

Romans 3:23–25a (ESV)
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

Observation questions

In Ezekiel 4:9–15, what specific actions was Ezekiel commanded to perform, and how might these have shocked or challenged the people watching him?
According to the sermon, why did God use Babylon as an instrument of judgment against Judah? [08:12]
What does the 390 days in Ezekiel’s sign-act represent about the nature of sin over time? [18:27]
How does Romans 3:23–25 connect God’s justice with His mercy?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think God chose such dramatic, physical methods (like lying on his side for months or baking bread over dung) to communicate His message through Ezekiel? What does this reveal about His heart toward stubborn people?
The sermon states, “Discipline is not covenant failure. It is covenant faithfulness.” How does judgment align with God’s love for His people? [15:34]
Ezekiel 11:17–20 promises a “new heart” and “new spirit.” How does this transformation address the problem of generational sin described in Ezekiel 4?
Romans 3:23–25 says Jesus’ sacrifice demonstrates God’s fairness. How does this answer the tension between God’s wrath in the Old Testament and His grace in the New Testament?

Application questions

The sermon warns that unconfessed sin can become “cultural air others breathe.” What patterns in your life (habits, attitudes, priorities) might negatively influence those around you if left unaddressed? [18:27]
God gave Israel a “new heart” to obey Him joyfully rather than grudgingly. Where do you feel your obedience to God is motivated by duty instead of delight? What practical step could help you lean into His Spirit’s transforming power? [23:11]
The sermon says, “Jesus redeems the past” by repurposing guilt and shame into testimony. What past failure or pain in your life could God use to minister to others? How might sharing it bring hope instead of hiding it? [27:06]
Ezekiel’s warnings were ignored because sin felt “ordinary” over time. What areas of your life (e.g., relationships, work, entertainment) have you normalized that might need a “holy interruption” through repentance?
The sermon emphasizes that God’s patience includes clear consequences. How can you discern the difference between trusting God’s grace and presuming on His patience in areas where you’re tempted to compromise?

Sermon Clips

52s

“``God has held back his wrath and his judgment, correction. He released it on his son, on your behalf, on my behalf. And he is pointing us to the answer, Christ. And he is giving us the blueprint for what we don't wanna do in living apart from him. And so the next time you eat Ezekiel bread, you remember God's judgment and his justice. And he goes really, really far to warn us. But, church, he goes so much further to save us. Let's pray.”

57s

“God's love does not give up on me. It does not give up on you. It does not give up on those who are far Christ even if you have done the most detestable things. If you have been actively working against God in your life, if you have turned your back on God, his love is not given up on you. He is still pointing you to Jesus Christ in the hope and the love of his son. Even if you are a cultural Christian, it's just a checkbox to come to a worship service and you call yourself a Christian because your parents are Christians or your friends are Christians, but your life cannot be distinguished from the rest of the world. God's love is not given up on you. He is pointing you to his son Jesus Christ.”

56s

“When I say god of the Old Testament, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it mercy or justice? Is it wrath or kindness? Is it love or judgment? Theologian and pastor, a w Tozer, has a classic quote. He says, what comes into our minds when we think about god is the most important thing about us. If, a w Tozer's statement is true, then what you just thought about when I said, what do you think about when I say god of the old testament reveals a critical aspect of your understanding of who god is, which then shapes and informs your values, how you worship him or not worship him, the decisions you make in your life, your fears and your hopes even.”

56s

“But I am so thankful he doesn't stop there, aren't you? Because he points towards hope and love. See, God's mercy is actually revealed through his judgment. The exile, the destruction of Jerusalem, that's not the end of the story. Ezekiel eleven seventeen says this, therefore say, this is what the sovereign Lord says, I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered. I will give you back to the give you back the land of Israel again. They will return to it and remove its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them. I will remove from their heart of from them the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”

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Cooking Over Poop - Marques Jones | North Shore Campus