Ask the pastor: Ezekiel 39:17 — God telling a prophet to speak to birds and beasts

• In Ezekiel 39:17, why would God tell a prophet to speak to birds and beasts, and is there precedent for God interacting with animals this way?

Boova was struck by Ezekiel 39:17, where Ezekiel is told to speak on God's behalf to the birds and beasts, inviting them to feast on God's defeated enemies. They discuss precedent: the sackcloth-on-animals call in Jonah's Nineveh, creation groaning, God doing business with his whole creation, and Ezekiel's other strange obedience acts like pantomiming an escape through a wall and baking bread over dung. Ben's take: prophets do weird things in obedience, and obedience opens your eyes to see God working rather than causing him to work.