Reflections on Ezekiel 24

Ezekiel 24 (Contemporary English Version)
1. Nine years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the LORD spoke to me on the tenth day of the tenth month. He said:
   
2. Ezekiel, son of man, write down today's date, because the king of Babylonia has just begun attacking the city of Jerusalem.
   
3. Then tell my rebellious people: "Pour water in a cooking pot and set it over a fire. *
   
4. Throw in the legs and shoulders of your finest sheep and put in the juicy bones.
   
5. "Pile wood underneath the pot, and let the meat and bones boil until they are done."
   
6. These words mean that Jerusalem is doomed! The city is filled with murderers and is like an old, rusty pot. The meat is taken out piece by piece, and no one cares what happens to it.
   
7. The people of Jerusalem murdered innocent people in the city and didn't even try to cover up the blood that flowed out on the hard ground.
   
8. But I have seen that blood, and it cries out for me to take revenge.
   
9. I, the LORD God, will punish that city of violence! I will make a huge pile of firewood,
   
10. so bring more wood and light it. Cook the meat and boil away the broth to let the bones scorch.
    
11. Then set the empty pot over the hot coals until it is red-hot. That will clean the pot and burn off the rust.
    
12. I've tried everything else. Now the rust must be burned away.
    
13. Jerusalem is so full of sin and evil that I can't get it clean, even though I have tried. It will stay filthy until I let loose my fierce anger against it.
    
14. That time will certainly come! And when it does, I won't show the people of Jerusalem any pity or change my mind. They must be punished for the evil they have done. I, the LORD God, have spoken.
    
15. The LORD said,
    
16. "Ezekiel, son of man, I will suddenly take the life of the person you love most. But I don't want you to complain or cry.
    
17. Mourn in silence and don't show that you are grieving. Don't remove your turban or take off your sandals; don't cover your face to show your sorrow, or eat the food that mourners eat."
    
18. One morning, I was talking with the people as usual, and by sunset my wife was dead. The next day I did what the LORD told me,
    
19. and when people saw me, they asked, "Why aren't you mourning for your wife?"
    
20. I answered: The LORD God says
    
21. he is ready to destroy the temple in which you take such pride and which makes you feel so safe. Your children who now live in Jerusalem will be killed.
    
22. Then you will do the same things I have done. You will leave your face uncovered and refuse to eat the food that mourners usually eat.
    
23. You won't take off your turbans and your sandals. You won't cry or mourn, but all day long you will go around groaning because of your sins.
    
24. I am a warning sign--everything I have done, you will also do. And then you will know the LORD God has made these things happen.
    
25. The LORD said, "Ezekiel, I will soon destroy the temple that makes everyone feel proud and safe, and I will take away their children as well.
    
26. On that same day, someone will escape from the city and come to tell you what has happened.
    
27. Then you will be able to speak again, and the two of you will talk. You will be a warning sign to the people, and they will know that I am the LORD."
    
    

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    The time had arrived for Jerusalem's fall. On the very day that God gave Ezekiel the parable told in this chapter, Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem. Her fall was to serve as a purification process for Judah. This process is described with a parable in which Jerusalem is depicted as a pot and the people as the contents of the pot. The false prophets had used a similar parable, depicting Jerusalem as a pot, but in their parable the people were safe within the pot. Thus, the people thought they were safe inside the walls of Jerusalem. There no harm would come them, so they were led to believe. But Ezekiel's parable of the pot debunked that false claim.
    
    In Ezekiel's parable, the pot (Jerusalem) was put on the fire (the Babylonian siege). Then water was poured into the pot along with choice pieces of meat (the people of Jerusalem). The contents of the pot were then brought to a boil (the pressure of the siege). But once the contents came to a boil the pot was found to have rust in it (the corruption of the people). Jerusalem's impurities floated to the surface fully exposed. So the contents of the pot were ruined and had to be dumped out (as the people of Jerusalem were to be drug out of the city). As those of Jerusalem had shed the blood of their victims openly, not even trying to hide their sin, their blood would be shed openly on rocks where dust would not cover it.  Once the pot was emptied of its tainted contents, God dealt with the pot (Jerusalem). Every effort to rid Jerusalem of its rust (corruption) had failed, so the empty pot was heated on the open fire until its copper glowed and the rust was consumed. God's judgment went beyond the inhabitants to include the city itself, destroying it to remove its impurities.
    
    Ezekiel told his parable to the Jewish people who were in exile in Babylon along with himself. He told them the parable on the morning Jerusalem was attack. That same evening his wife died. Her death represented the death or loss of Jerusalem and its people. God instructed Ezekiel not to openly grieve her death. "You must not lament or weep or let your tears flow. Groan quietly; do not observe mourning rites for the dead." (24:16-17) The following morning when Ezekiel's wife was to be buried, the people asked him to explain what all this meant. They recognized there was a significance to it. So Ezekiel explained that God was "about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Also, the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword." (24:21) When this happened they would do as Ezekiel had done and not openly mourn their loss. Those who had lost loved ones could not mourn with those who had not, for all of them will have lost loved ones. They will have to mourn in silence.
    
    Soon a messenger would come to them with news about the destruction of Jerusalem and its people. When this happened, they would all know that God is God. All that was spoken through His prophet Ezekiel will have come to pass and they will know it is of the Lord.