Israel was God’s Chosen Nation. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t follow His commandments and laws. Repeatedly, God warned them. Over and over again God warned them. Yet, they still preferred the pagan traditions of the neighboring nations before Him. In today’s chapter, we find a final parable demonstrating how God will cleanse the “scum” and “corruption” from Jerusalem. Sadly, Ezekiel loses his “dearest treasure”, yet he must stay silent. Let’s dig in…
Ezekiel 24 – The Sign of the Cooking Pot
On January 15, (588 BC) during the ninth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, write down today’s date, because on this very day the king of Babylon is beginning his attack against Jerusalem. 3 Then give these rebels an illustration with this message from the Sovereign Lord:
“Put a pot on the fire,
and pour in some water.
4 Fill it with choice pieces of meat—
the rump and the shoulder
and all the most tender cuts.
5 Use only the best sheep from the flock,
and heap fuel on the fire beneath the pot.
Bring the pot to a boil,
and cook the bones along with the meat.6 “Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
What sorrow awaits Jerusalem,
the city of murderers! (bloody city)
She is a cooking pot
whose corruption can’t be cleaned out.
Take the meat out in random order,
for no piece is better than another.
7 For the blood of her murders
is splashed on the rocks.
It isn’t even spilled on the ground,
where the dust could cover it!
8 So I will splash her blood on a rock
for all to see,
an expression of my anger
and vengeance against her.9 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
What sorrow awaits Jerusalem,
the city of murderers! (bloody city)
I myself will pile up the fuel beneath her.
10 Yes, heap on the wood!
Let the fire roar to make the pot boil.
Cook the meat with many spices,
and afterward burn the bones.
11 Now set the empty pot on the coals.
Heat it red hot!
Burn away the filth and corruption (scum).
12 But it’s hopeless;
the corruption (scum) can’t be cleaned out.
So throw it into the fire.
13 Your impurity is your lewdness
and the corruption of your idolatry.
I tried to cleanse you,
but you refused.
So now you will remain in your filth
until my fury against you has been satisfied.14 “I, the Lord, have spoken! The time has come, and I won’t hold back. I will not change my mind, and I will have no pity on you. You will be judged on the basis of all your wicked actions, says the Sovereign Lord.”
The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife
15 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 16 “Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears. 17 Groan silently, but let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the usual rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends.”
18 So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do. 19 Then the people asked, “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?”
20 So I said to them, “A message came to me from the Lord, 21 and I was told to give this message to the people of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will defile my Temple, the source of your security and pride, the place your heart delights in. Your sons and daughters whom you left behind in Judah will be slaughtered by the sword. 22 Then you will do as Ezekiel has done. You will not mourn in public or console yourselves by eating the food brought by friends. 23 Your heads will remain covered, and your sandals will not be taken off. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins. You will groan among yourselves for all the evil you have done. 24 Ezekiel is an example for you; you will do just as he has done. And when that time comes, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”
25 Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold—their joy and glory, their heart’s desire, their dearest treasure—I will also take away their sons and daughters. 26 And on that day a survivor from Jerusalem will come to you in Babylon and tell you what has happened. 27 And when he arrives, your voice will suddenly return so you can talk to him, and you will be a symbol for these people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 24 NLT
Key Points
- Obviously, this is a turning point in Ezekiel’s life.
- God tells him to put on a cauldron — it’s a living parable. It was to stir up the peoples’ hearts.
- God is showing Ezekiel events that are happening 600 miles away.
- The siege of Jerusalem started on Jan. 15, 588 BC, and the final breach of the wall happened on July 18, 586 BC.
- The false prophets were wrong. They were saying it would only last 2 years and it would end in peace. (Are you listening to false prophets?)
- Ezekiel’s wife’s death is a symbol for Jerusalem’s destruction. Ezekiel is told not to mourn openly for his wife. In the same way, the people are not to mourn for Jerusalem.
- God mutes Ezekiel from his last statement to the people until the messenger comes from Jerusalem. As it turned out, it took the messenger 5 months to get the news to Ezekiel in Babylon. Zeke was mute for 23 months! (Who in the New Testament was muted for 6 months?)
A Lesson in Hebrew Custom
Pastor Sandy Adams explains the significance of the blood from the cauldron…
When Cain slew Able, God asked him in Genesis 4:10, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.” When innocent blood gets spilled, metaphorically speaking, it cries out to God for justice – for Him to take vengeance. Leviticus 17:13 takes it one step further. When you hunt and kill an animal, you’re to pour it’s blood out on the ground, but then cover the blood with dust. This silences the metaphorical cry. The idea being that no vengeance is required. It was a legitimate killing.
Here the blood is still in the pot, vengeance has not been taken. But God will set it on top of a rock, where all can see that the judgment He is about to bring on Jerusalem is warranted. It’s just, it’s right, it’s fair.
Sandy Adams
If God can so harshly discipline His Chosen People, His Chosen Nation, imagine how much more terrible it will be for those who are NOT His true, born-again believers? Imagine the cries of all the innocent blood spilled through abortion in the name of convenience! As we’ll see as we get deeper into End Times Biblical Prophecy, God’s judgment will be just, right, fair, warranted and horrible.
Israel and the Jewish people are God’s Chosen Nation. Through Jesus, and ONLY through Jesus, we become His Chosen People. However, it’s way different. Yes, Judgment Day for the world’s sin is coming. Gratefully, He sent His Son to take on our sins on the cross where He defied death.
Everyone who believes this is spared from the final judgment. Yay! We don’t have to worry about it. Once saved, always saved!
Nevertheless, while we are still living in this fallen world, we born-again believers are His ambassadors. Unfortunately, we have to suffer along with some of the judgment of the world that’s going on right now.
God removes His hand of protection from the world and He allows extreme weather and events to happen. See how He used Babylon, a pagan nation, to bring judgment on Judah and Jerusalem? Don’t be fooled! God is still very much in control. He’s just letting Satan have his way for now.
Every day God is warning us that we are in the last days. He’s warning everyone that unless you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you will either go to hell when you die or be left behind when Jesus comes for His ambassadors.
Whenever there is a war or conflict in a nation, countries pull their ambassadors from their embassies first. We’re seeing that happen right now in Ukraine. So, before the Great Tribulation happens, God will pull His ambassadors out in the Rapture.
The question is — will YOU be Left Behind?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
We’re going to pause a bit with Ezekiel to go through Lamentations, which was written by Jeremiah in 586 BC, as a lament on the loss of Judah and Jerusalem.
