The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel 24
Chapter XXIV · Vol. III, pp. 1346–1347
1 By the parable of a boiling pot, 6 is showed the irrevocable destruction of Jerusalem. 15 By the sign of Ezekiel not mourning for the death of his wife, 19 is showed the calamity of the Jews to be beyond all expressions of sorrow.
1 Again, in the aninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,1
B.C. cir. 590.
a ch.1.1,2; 20.1, with 2 Ki.24.12.
1 This prophecy was revealed and uttered on the very day in which the Chaldean army commenced the siege of Jerusalem. Ezekiel is commissioned to announce the events about to occur to the captive Jews by the banks of the Chebar. The events are as usual set forth symbolically. The first symbol is that of a boiling pot or caldron, which represents the destiny of the people; the second symbol is the death of the prophet's wife, which is intended to show with what callous indifference the people of Jerusalem would regard the terrible judgments inflicted on their nation.—P.
2 Son of man, bwrite thee the name of the day, even of cthis same day; the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.
3 Andd utter a parable unto the erebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD, Set on a gpot,2 set it on, and also pour water into it:
* The allusion to 'a pot' is not undignified, as it refers to the boiling of the reserved portions of the sacrifices. The pot, Jerusalem.—The flesh and bones, citizens.—Fire and water, public calamities.—C.
d ch.17.12; 20.49.
e ch.2.3,6. Is.1.2; 63.10. Ac.7.51.
g ch.11.3. Je.1.13. ver.6.
2 See note * in first column.
4 Gatherh the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
5 Take the choice of the flock, iand 3burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.
i ch.11.7. 2 Ki.24.3,4. 2 Ch.36.16. Mat.23.35. ver.10,11; ch.22.21,22.
3 Or, heap.
6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Woe to the jbloody city, to the pot whose kscum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! lbring it out piece by piece;4 let nno lot fall upon it.
j ch.22.2-4,9,24-29; 11.6; 16.36; 23.37. Na.3.1. 2 Ki.21.16; 24.4.
k Pr.30.12. ch.22.24; ver.12,13. Je.6.29. Re.17.2-5.
l ver.4; ch.11.7-9; 9.5,6. Je.39.4-6; 52.8-11,24-27.
4 Piece by piece, one disaster following another.—No lot, let no class escape.—C.
7 For oher blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;
8 Thatp it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; qI have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.
p Ge.4.10. De.32.21,22. ch.5.13. 2 Ki.24.3,4. Je.15.1-4.
q Ps.90.8. Je.16.17. Am.8.7. ch.16.36,37,42; 23.22-34. Ps.50.21,22. De.29.22-28; 32.22-25. 1 Ki.9.7. Je.22.8,9.
9 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, rWoe to the bloody city! I will even smake the pile for fire great.
10 Heapt on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and uspice it well, and let the bones be burned.
11 Then vset it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and xthat the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
12 Shey hath wearied herself5 withz lies, and hera great scum went not forth out of her: bher scum shall be in the fire.
13 Inc thy filthiness is lewdness: dbecause I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thoue shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, gtill I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
c ch.23.29,35. Je.8.12.
d Re.2.21,22. ver.12. Am.4.6-11. Ho.6.5. 2 Ch.36.14-16. Zep.3.2,7. Je.25.3-7; 35.15; 5.3; 3.12,13. Is.1.5.
e Ps.81.11,12. Lu.13.7,9. Re.22.11. 2 Th.2.11,12. Ho.4.17.
g ch.5.13; 8.18; 16.42. Ro.2.8.
14 Ih the LORD have spoken it; it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neitheri will I spare, neither will I repent: jaccording to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.
h Nu.23.19. 1 Sa.15.29. Ps.33.9. Is.55.11.
i ch.5.11; 7.4,9; 8.18; 9.10. Je.13.14.
j ch.23.23-26,45-49; 16.35-43. Is.3.11. Je.2.19,20; 4.18; 13.22,27.
15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
16 Son of man, behold, kI take away from thee the desire of thine eyes6 with a stroke:7 yetl neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run8 down.
17 Forbear to cry,9 make no mourning for the dead, nbind the tire of thine head upon thee,1 and put oon thy shoes2 upon thy feet, and coverp not thy 3lips,4 and eat not the bread of men.5
9 Heb. Be silent, Ps.39.9.
n Le.10.6; 13.45; 21.10. Je.7.29; 16.5-7; 14.4.
1 See note * below.
o 2 Sa.15.30. Is.47.2.
2 Going barefooted was a token of sorrow, 2 Sa.15.30.—C.
3 Heb. upper lip, and so ver.22.
4 This referred to another token of mourning, Le.13.45.—C.
5 Je.16.5-7. Ho.9.4. Bread sent by friends to mourners.
* The signs of deepest sorrow and bereavement in the East are: shrill cries; removing the turban or head-dress and sprinkling ashes on the head; putting off the shoes; covering the mouth; and fasting. The prophet was forbidden to manifest any of these signs of mourning. He was in this the type of Israel, who, because they were wholly absorbed in their own misery, would take no notice of the destruction of the temple.—P.
18 So I spake unto the people in the morning; and at qeven my wife rdied: and I did in thes morning tas I was commanded.
19 And the people said unto me, uWilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?
20 Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I vwill profane my sanctuary, the xexcellency of your strength, the ydesire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth;6 and zyour sons and your daughters whom ye have left7 shall afall by the sword.
v 1 Ki.9.8. Je.7.14. La.1.9,10. ch.7.19-22. Ps.78.60,61; 96.6; 132.8; 27.4; 105.4. Da.11.31. Je.52.13-23. Ps.79.1; 74.6-8. Am.5.8. ver.16.
x Ps.48.1-3.
6 Heb. the pity of your soul.
z ch.5.12,13; 23.37. Je.16.3,4; 9.21; 6.5,11, with ch.16.20; 23.37.
7 Whom ye have left behind you in Jerusalem, when you were carried captive.—C.
a 2 Ch.36.17.
23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep: but ye shall dpine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.
A.M. cir. 3414. B.C. cir. 590.
d ch.4.2,17; 33.10,11. Le.26.39.
24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you ea sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do; and gwhen this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
e ch.4.3; 12.6. Is.8.18; 20.3.
g ch.6.7; 25.5,7,11,14,17, with Jn.13.9,14. 29.16.11.
25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their hstrength, the ijoy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their 8minds, jtheir sons and their daughters,
26 That khe that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
k ch.33.21,22. Je.52.4. 1 Sa.4.12-18. Job 1.15-19.
27 In that day 9shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be la sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
9 ch.3.26,27; 29.21; 33.21,22. Ep.6.19. And till that time thou shalt prophesy no more to the Jews, but against the heathen nations around.
l See ver.24.
Notes
Ver. 4-13. Gather the Jews, especially their great men, kings, princes, and rulers in church and state, into Jerusalem, that there my kindled wrath may render them and their people inexpressibly miserable, by sword, famine, or pestilence. Since they continue obstinate in wickedness let them be destroyed, one after another, by diversified judgments. By their open and avowed wickedness they have provoked me to punish them with public, correspondent, and destructive judgments. Let resentment and hope of plunder animate the Chaldeans utterly to destroy the inhabitants, and even burn up their city, to see if that will cure them of their vain hopes, heathen confederacies, and obstinacy and impudence in wickedness, notwithstanding all my reproofs, threatenings, and lesser judgments. 21-23. I will give up the temple, that magnificent structure on which ye rely for security and indemnity, to be defiled and destroyed by the Chaldean heathens; and your friends left at Jerusalem to be murdered; and yet ye shall not dare to make any open discoveries of your mourning for them; but shall secretly, in your own breasts, or with one another, bewail your misery, and pine away in sorrow.
Ver. 1. Ninth year of Jehoiachin's captivity and Zedekiah's reign. The date is so precisely noted that the captive Jews might have an opportunity of observing the accurate fulfilment of the prophecy. C.
Ver. 2. Ezekiel was now in Chaldea—many hundreds of miles distant from Jerusalem—and so could have no human means of ascertaining the precise commencement of the siege; or, indeed, whether there should be any siege at all. His confidence of assertion marks his unhesitating belief in his divine inspiration; and the accurate correspondence of the fact should have amply convinced his fellow-captives that he was indeed the messenger of God. C.
Ver. 17. Bread of men—such as used to be sent from one friend to another upon occasions of mourning; a custom founded upon the presumption that the mourner would neglect to prepare necessary food, which therefore friendship provided for him. C.
Ver. 23. Ye shall not mourn nor weep. The public calamities shall absorb all private sorrows; and the continuance of evils shall at last render you careless and callous.—But ye shall pine away, &c. Ye shall complain one to another, and waste your thoughts and time in vain and provoking recriminations; each man charging his neighbour as the author of the public calamities; no man repenting of his own sins, and returning in contrition to the Lord. C.
Ver. 27. No more dumb. From this date till the taking of Jerusalem, about eighteen months after, the prophet was either altogether dumb, or at least refrained from all public preaching to the people. C.
Reflections.—All times, places, and events are under the immediate inspection of God; and it is useful to keep an exact account of his remarkable providences. But men only weary and ruin themselves by following after lying vanities. And inviolable are the threatenings, and tremendous the judgments, of God against obstinate sinners. Daring sinners must be made a spectacle to angels and men. They who harden themselves against God's means for their conversion must perish without remedy; and they who obstinately indulge their lusts must at last be abandoned to them. Agreeable marriage connections are very delightful; but our dearest created comforts are always on the wing to depart from us; and if they be taken from us, let us eye the hand of God and hear his language therein; and by faith let us take himself and his fulness to supply their room. Such submission will exceedingly sweeten our wormwood and gall. The removal of other men's comforts ought to make us think of parting with our own.—But if men hate the power of godliness, it is just that God should strip them of their beloved forms of it, and make them to mourn for their sufferings who never would mourn for their sins; yea, that he should make hardened sinners to feel the truths which they slighted when preached to them. But dreadful is the situation when miseries are so heavy as to stupify and overwhelm the mind. And still more so when men, under terrible calamities, pine away in their sin.