Ezekiel Chapter 24
1 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the LORD's word came to me, saying,
2 "Son of man, write the name of the day, this same day. The king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day.
3 Utter a parable to the rebellious house, and tell them, 'The Lord GOD says, "Put the cauldron on the fire. Put it on, and also pour water into it.
4 Gather its pieces into it, even every good piece: the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice bones.
5 Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under the cauldron. Make it boil well. Yes, let its bones be boiled within it."
6 " 'Therefore the Lord GOD says: "Woe to the bloody city, to the cauldron whose rust is in it, and whose rust hasn't gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece. No lot is fallen on it.
7 " ' "For her blood is in the middle of her. She set it on the bare rock. She didn't pour it on the ground, to cover it with dust.
8 That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood on the bare rock, that it should not be covered."
9 " 'Therefore the Lord GOD says: "Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
10 Heap on the wood. Make the fire hot. Boil the meat well. Make the broth thick, and let the bones be burnt.
11 Then set it empty on its coals, that it may be hot, and its bronze may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, that its rust may be consumed.
12 She is weary with toil; yet her great rust, rust by fire, doesn't leave her.
13 " ' "In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you and you weren't cleansed, you won't be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath towards you to rest.
14 I, the LORD, have spoken it. It will happen, and I will do it. I won't go back. I won't spare. I won't repent. According to your ways, and according to your doings, they will judge you," says the Lord GOD.' "
15 Also the LORD's word came to me, saying,
16 "Son of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke: yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.
17 Sigh, but not aloud. Make no mourning for the dead. Bind your headdress on you, and put your sandals on your feet. Don't cover your lips, and don't eat mourner's bread."
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning; and at evening my wife died. So I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19 The people asked me, "Won't you tell us what these things are to us, that you do so?"
20 Then I said to them, "The LORD's word came to me, saying,
21 'Speak to the house of Israel, "The Lord GOD says: 'Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.
22 You will do as I have done. You won't cover your lips or eat mourner's bread.
23 Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You won't mourn or weep; but you will pine away in your iniquities, and moan one towards another.
24 Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.' " ' "
25 "You, son of man, shouldn't it be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters,
26 that in that day he who escapes will come to you, to cause you to hear it with your ears?
27 In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you will speak, and be no more mute. So you will be a sign to them. Then they will know that I am the LORD."
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Ezekiel Chapter 24 Guide
The final prophecy in this division described the coming destruction of the city. This was first done under the parable of a cauldron set on a fire, filled with water, and made to boil. The prophet applied his figure directly, declaring that Jerusalem was indeed a cauldron. It will be remembered that the conspirators seen by the prophet on an earlier occasion had declared that Jerusalem was a cauldron, and they the flesh, and by that had intended to indicate their safety. Ezekiel would seem now to turn to their own figure and use it against them, making it indicate, not safety but judgment, as he foretold the certainty of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and its people.
At this time the prophet was bereft of his wife, and commanded to give no external manifestation of grief. He obeyed the command and so unusual was his attitude in the presence of grief that the people inquired what he meant. He answered that Jehovah was about to visit them with calamity so dire that they would not be able to find relief in mourning or weeping.
The prophet was then told that the news of the fall of the city would be conveyed to him, and that in that day his mouth would be opened, and he would be able to speak with assurance the messages of Jehovah.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Ezekiel Chapter 24 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- The fate of Jerusalem. -- (1-14)
- The extent of the sufferings of the Jews. -- (15-27)
Verses 1-14
The pot on the fire represented Jerusalem besieged by the Chaldeans: all orders and ranks were within the walls, prepared as a prey for the enemy. They ought to have put away their transgressions, as the scum, which rises by the heat of the fire, is taken from the top of the pot. But they grew worse, and their miseries increased. Jerusalem was to be levelled with the ground. The time appointed for the punishment of wicked men may seem to come slowly, but it will come surely. It is sad to think how many there are, on whom ordinances and providences are all lost.
Verses 15-27
Though mourning for the dead is a duty, yet it must be kept under by religion and right reason: we must not sorrow as men that have no hope. Believers must not copy the language and expressions of those who know not God. The people asked the meaning of the sign. God takes from them all that was dearest to them. And as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction, so neither should they weep for theirs. Blessed be God, we need not pine away under our afflictions; for should all comforts fail, and all sorrows be united, yet the broken heart and the mourner's prayer are always acceptable before God.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.