יחזקאל, פרק י״ב, פסוק ה׳

God commands His prophet to perform an unusual and dramatic physical action in plain sight of the people, serving as a living symbol of the approaching destruction and exile. Instead of leaving his home through the normal doorway, the prophet must break through the walls of the house and exit through them [אברבנאל].

To achieve this, the prophet is instructed to literally dig into the wall of his house until a hole is formed [מצודת ציון, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Once the wall is breached, he must pass his belongings, packed for exile, out through the new opening. Commentators differ slightly on the nature of this breach. While some describe digging until a large hole is created [ביאור שטיינזלץ], others emphasize that the opening will be a narrow space. Because it is so tight, the prophet is forced to push his belongings through the gap first, and only then exit himself [רד״ק].

This public display serves as a direct foreshadowing of the fate awaiting King Zedekiah of Judah. The king will eventually flee Jerusalem in secret, escaping through a cave or underground tunnel because he is too afraid to leave publicly while the Chaldean army besieges the city [רש״י, מצודת דוד]. By exiting through a broken wall, carrying his belongings in the dark, and covering his face like an ashamed and disgraced man, the prophet acts out a living metaphor. It vividly mirrors the desperate, nighttime escape of King Zedekiah, as well as the tragic destiny of all the residents of Jerusalem who will soon be forced into enemy captivity [אברבנאל].