Ezekiel 24:1-14

A. The Parable of the Cooking Pot 24:1-14

TRANSLATION

(1) And the word of the LORD came unto me in the ninth year, the tenth month, the tenth day of the month, saying, (2) Son of man, write for yourself the name of the day, this very day; this very day the king of Babylon has leaned upon Jerusalem. (3) Utter a parable against this rebellious house, and say unto them; Thus says the Lord GOD: Set on the pot, set it on, and pour water into it. (4) Gather into it the pieces belonging to it, every good piece the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. (5) Take the choice of the flock, and also pile the bones under it; boil it well, that its bones may boil in the midst of it. (6) Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose filth is in it, and whose filth has not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; no lot is fallen upon it. (7) For her blood is in the midst of her; upon the bare rock she set it; she did not pour it out upon the ground to cover it with dust; (8) to cause fury to go up, that vengeance might be taken, I have set the blood upon a bare rock, that it should not be covered. (9) Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city; I also will make the pile great, (10) heaping on the wood, kindling the fire that the flesh may be consumed; and preparing the mixture that the bones may be burned; (11) then I will set it empty upon its coals, that it may be hot, and the bottom of it burn, that its impurity may be melted in it, that its filth may be consumed. (12) She has wearied (Me) with toil; yet its great filth shall not go out from it; its filth shall be in the fire, (13) Because of your filthy lewdness, because I purged you, and you were not purged from your uncleanness, you shall not be purged from your uncleanness anymore until I have satisfied My wrath on You. (14) I the LORD have spoken it; it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, nor will I have pity, nor will I repent; according to your ways and according to your deeds they shall judge you (oracle of the Lord GOD).

COMMENTS

On that fateful day Ezekiel set forth a parable concerning Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Jerusalem had previously used the image of a caldron to support their delusion of invincibility (cf. Ezekiel 11:3). Now Ezekiel gives the true interpretation to that image. A pot is filled with water and placed on the stove. This symbolizes the first stage of the siege of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 24:3).

The chunks of meat placed in the pot symbolize the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the fugitives from other towns who sought refuge there. The good pieces of meat and choice bones represent the civil and military leaders (Ezekiel 24:4) who come from the choice of the flock, i.e., the upper classes. Bones as well as meat the total population were to be placed in that pot, with the bones under the meat. Ezekiel is then to bring the pot to a boil until even the bones the toughest members of society are brought to a boil (Ezekiel 24:5). The boiling water points to the destructive turbulence of the Babylonian siege.

The prophet drops the symbolism in verse six and sets his message in plain prose. He pronounces a woe on the bloody city of Jerusalem, the pot whose filth had never been removed. The reference is to the bloodstains of the innocent who had been murdered in Jerusalem. Piece by piece the chunks of meat in that pot would be removed. By this the prophet means that the destruction of the city and the deportation of the inhabitants would take place in stages. No lot is fallen on the content of that pot, i.e., the deportation would be indiscriminate (Ezekiel 24:6).

Openly and unashamedly crimes had been committed in Jerusalem. Evidence of bloodshed could be seen throughout the place. It was as though Jerusalem had smeared blood on a bare rock which was in plain view. The Law required animal blood to be poured to the ground and covered with dust (cf. Leviticus 17:13). However no similar effort had been made to conceal the blood of humankind unjustly slain (Ezekiel 24:7). God would preserve those bloodstains in plain view that He might execute divine wrath on those responsible (Ezekiel 24:8).

A second time the sentence against Jerusalem is pronounced, They had piled one sin on top of another. God would now make the pile great, i.e., He would heap up the fuel for their punishment (Ezekiel 24:9). He would gather the wood, kindle the fire, and prepare the mixture of spices to be added when the meat had been sufficiently cooked. It was God's purpose to consume the meat (population of Jerusalem) and burn the bones (leaders, especially military leaders) in that pot (Ezekiel 24:10). After the contents of that pot (Jerusalem) had been consumed God would see to it that the pot itself was melted down and the filth thus removed (Ezekiel 24:11). Thus Jerusalem would be purified by the conflagration. Efforts had been made from time to time to purge Jerusalem, but to no avail. God had become weary with these half-hearted and ineffective efforts. The uncleanness of the city could only be removed by the drastic process of melting down the caldron, i.e., destroying Jerusalem (Ezekiel 24:12). All efforts to reform the nation through prophetic admonition had failed. No further effort in that direction would be attempted. All that remained was for God to pour out His wrath and purge the place by total destruction (Ezekiel 24:13). Such is the irrevocable divine decree.[364] The Lord would hand them over to the Chaldeans who would execute a judgment upon Jerusalem which was appropriate to her sins (Ezekiel 24:14).

[364] The Hebrew uses the prophetic perfect, viewing the action as so certain it could be described as already completed.