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The props used in this dramatic skit vividly illustrate the meaning of this parable. Ezekiel was told to use a sword, the universal symbol of war and conquest, to shave his head and beard. In addition, priests were not to shave their heads (Lev 21:5; Eze 44:20), and since Ezekiel was a priest, this must have had a startling effect on his viewers. While most of his shaved hair was to symbolize either the burning, the killing by the sword, or the taking into exile of the people after the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, a small portion of the hair was to be tucked into his robe. In this way Ezekiel portrayed the doctrine of the remnant which most preexilic prophets taught (see Isa 6:13; Jer 23:3; Mic 2:12; Zep 2:3; etc.). In every generation a remnant, a faithful few, would give hope for the future.