Ezekiel 24:1-27

Ezekiel: ‘They shall know that I am God’

The *Sin of Judah and the Judgement of God

Ezekiel Chapter s 1 to 24

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 24

• The punishment of Judah would happen soon. The *Lord compared Jerusalem to a cooking pot that nobody could clean. And then the *Lord informed Ezekiel that his wife would die. But Ezekiel must not allow the people to see how sad he was. In the same manner, the *Israelites would be unable to express their sad feelings after the *Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem.

God destroys Jerusalem – Ezekiel 24:1-27

(1) The pot on the fire – Ezekiel 24:1-14

v1 In the 9th year of our *exile, on the 10th day of 10th month, the *LORD spoke to me. v2 ‘*Son of man, record this date, this very day. Today the king of Babylon has surrounded Jerusalem with his army. v3 Tell this story to the people who refused to obey me. Say to them, “The *LORD your King says this. Put the pot on the fire and pour water into it. v4 Put pieces of meat into it. Put in the best pieces, the legs and shoulders. Fill it up with the best bones. v5 For this purpose, choose the best of your sheep. Put a lot of wood under the pot. Boil the meat and cook the bones with it.

v6 The *LORD your King says this. How terrible it will be for the city. There were so many murders in that city. It is like a dirty pot and the dirt will not come off. Take the meat out of the pot, one piece after another. Do not choose any special piece.

v7 The blood from those people that she (Jerusalem) killed is in the city. She poured the blood on the bare rock. She did not pour it on the ground where dust would cover it. v8 To cause anger and punishment, I have put her blood on the bare rock. There nobody can cover it.

v9 So, this is what the *LORD your King says. How terrible it will be for the city where there were so many murders. I myself will put a large pile of wood to burn that city. v10 So, heap on the wood and light the fire. Cook the meat well and mix in the powders for flavour. Burn the bones. v11 Then put the empty pot on the coals so that it may become hot. Heat the pot until the metal glows. Then the unclean substances will melt and the dirt will burn away. v12 But all efforts to clean the pot have failed. Nobody can remove the dirt even in the fire.

v13 By your wicked actions, you have become *unclean. I tried to clean you, but you are still *unclean. You will not be clean from your *sin until I have satisfied my anger against you.

v14 I, the *LORD, have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back. I will not pity, nor will I change my mind. I will punish you because of your way of life and because of what you have done. This is what the *LORD your King declares to you.” ’

Verses 1-2 The *Lord spoke to Ezekiel. It was on the day that King Nebuchadnezzar’s army surrounded Jerusalem. That was in the month of January in the year 588 *BC. This was two years and 5 months after the previous messages (see chapter Ezekiel 20:1). What Ezekiel had said was now starting to happen.

God told Ezekiel to record the date. The news would soon reach the *exiles. Then they will know that Ezekiel spoke from God. And God would do all that he had said by Ezekiel.

Verses 3-5 Ezekiel told this story to the *Israelites in *exile. It is a story about what would happen next in Jerusalem. This story was to show how awful it would be. Ezekiel wrote it in the form of a poem or song. The poem describes how to cook meat. Put a pot of water on the fire. Put into the water the best joints of meat. Put in the best bones. With plenty of wood and bones on the fire, boil the contents of the pot.

The pot meant Jerusalem. The best joints and bones meant the leaders and important people. The wood and the bones on the fire meant the people in the city. This passage is similar to the *prophecy in Ezekiel 11:3; Ezekiel 11:7 and Ezekiel 11:11.

Verses 6-8 The pot, which meant Jerusalem, was not just dirty. The blood of the murders had damaged the pot. In other words, those evil deeds had ruined Jerusalem. Nobody could repair it. Nobody could make it clean again. The only solution was to destroy Jerusalem.

Some of the people would not die. The *Babylonians would take them out of the city, even as the cook took some of the meat from the pot. Those people would go into *exile.

The people in Jerusalem could not hide the awful things that they had done. Those deeds were like blood on the bare rock. So, everyone would see the *sins of the people. And they would know that God has punished them.

Verses 9-14 The *Lord says clearly that he is punishing Jerusalem. The foreign armies were as tools for this task. The *Babylonians would clear the city of people. Many people would die in the city. Those people who remained alive would go into *exile.

The *Lord had to clean the city. In the end, the pot on the fire would melt. The great heat of the fire would destroy the pot but it would clean the metal. So, God would destroy Jerusalem to make the city clean again. So, he would satisfy his anger.

God had spoken this message. He would do what he said. He would not change his mind. He would not pity the people. He would punish them. The time had come and there could be no more delay.

(2) The death of Ezekiel’s wife – Ezekiel 24:15-27

v15 Then the *LORD spoke to me again. v16 ‘*Son of man, I shall take your wife from you. The woman that you love will die a sudden death. You must not be sad or weep. You must not cry and your eyes must not flow with tears. v17 Sigh, but not aloud. Do not cry aloud for your dead wife. Wear your normal clothes, hat and shoes. Do not cover your face. Do not eat different foods as those who are sad about a death.’

v18 In the morning, I spoke to the people. In the evening, my wife died. Next morning, I did what the *Lord told me to do.

v19 Then the people asked me this question. ‘Please tell us what you are doing. What do these things mean for us?’

v20 Then I told them, ‘The *LORD spoke to me. v21 Say to the *Israelites, “The *LORD your King says this. I will ruin my *temple. You think it gives you strength. You are proud of it. It was the delight of your eyes, and what your heart desired. And your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall die by the sword. v22 When that happens, you must act like me. You must not cover your faces. You must not eat the food of those who are sad about a death. v23 Your hats must stay on your heads, and your shoes on your feet. You must not cry aloud. But you will be weak because of your *sins. You will be sad and you will sigh to each other.

v24 Ezekiel will be a sign to you. You will do what he has done. All this will happen. Then you will know that I am the *LORD your King.”

v25 And *son of man, this is what will happen. I will take away the *temple that gives them strength and joy. I will take away that building which makes them proud. They looked at it with love, and it made them happy. Also, I will take away their sons and daughters. v26 On that day, a person will escape. He will come to tell you the bad news. v27 At that time, I will open your mouth. You will speak with that person, and you will not still be silent. And you will be a sign to them. They will know that I am the *LORD.’

Verses 15-17 The *Lord informs Ezekiel that his wife will die. It will be a sudden death. Ezekiel loved his wife so her loss would be painful. But he must not cry or show any emotion. He may hurt inside but he must not show it.

There were particular customs for people who were sad after a death. They would tear their clothes. They would wear the rough material from which they made sacks. They would take off their shoes and hats. They would shave their heads and they would put earth on their heads. They would cover the lower half of their faces. They would lie down or sit on ashes. They would eat no food for a day. Their family and friends would come to sympathise. And they would pay other people to weep with them. All these people would weep and scream aloud. The *Lord told Ezekiel to do none of these things.

Verses 18-24 Ezekiel was speaking to the people in the morning. Then, in the evening, his wife died. Ezekiel would have buried his wife the next day. He then did as the *Lord had told him. Probably, it was very hard for Ezekiel to obey the *Lord. But the *Lord’s instructions were for a purpose. The *exiles could see that there must be some reason for Ezekiel’s unusual behaviour. So, they came to ask him what it meant.

Ezekiel’s wife had been his delight and he was proud of her. The delight of the *exiles had been the *temple of the *Lord in Jerusalem. (Of course, they were not loyal to the *Lord. But they were still proud about the *temple. It was probably the most splendid building in Jerusalem. It impressed everyone who saw it.) However, the *Lord would soon destroy the *temple. And their families who were still in Jerusalem would die. When they hear the news, they must be like Ezekiel. As Ezekiel acted after the death of his wife, so they must act.

All this would happen soon. Then they will know that the *Lord is God.

Verses 25-27 The *Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem and the *temple. That same day, a person would escape and he would bring the news to the *exiles. This happened in Ezekiel 33:21. That person would have to travel a long way to reach Ezekiel and the other *exiles in Babylon. So, it was probably 6 months after the event when he actually arrived with the news.

For some years, Ezekiel had been unable to speak except as the *Lord told him (Ezekiel 3:26-27). Now he would be able to speak again. And the *exiles will know that the *Lord is the God of *Israel.

sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
exile ~ When people have to live in a foreign country they are in exile. Such a person is called an exile.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.

'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
unclean ~ unfit for sacred purposes. Unclean food is food that the Jews should not eat because of their religion. When the temple was unclean, it was not right for the worship of God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.