EXEGETICAL NOTES.—The prophet illustrates the destruction of Jerusalem by the allegory of a cauldron which he was to set on the fire, and having put water into it, to boil therein choice pieces of meat (Ezekiel 24:3-5). Then he follows with an application of the allegory to Jerusalem, as describing her irrevocable doom.
Ezekiel 24:3. “Utter a parable.” “The contents of these verses are called a proverb or parable. It follows from this that the ensuing act which the prophet is commanded to perform is not to be regarded as a symbolical act which he really carried out, but that the act forms the substance of the parable—in other words, belongs to the parable itself; consequently the interpretation of the parable (Ezekiel 24:10, etc.) is clothed in the form of a thing actually done” (Keil.) “Set on a pot … pour water into it.” The repeated demand expresses urgent haste. The pot is Jerusalem, which had become so foul as to poison all meats which were put into it.
Ezekiel 24:4. “The pieces.” The pieces represent the inhabitants of Jerusalem. By the “thigh, the shoulder, choice bones,” we are to understand the wealthy, the nobles, and chiefs of the people.
Ezekiel 24:5. “Burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well.” “The bones that had been stripped of their flesh were to be used for fuel: those to which it still adhered were to be thrown into the pot, that it might be boiled” (Henderson). “The fire with which they are boiled is the fire of war, and the setting of the pot upon the fire is the commencement of the siege, by which the population of the city is to be boiled away like the flesh and bones in a pot.”—Keil.
Ezekiel 24:6. “Whose scum is therein.” “We are not to understand such scum as gathers on the surface of the contents of a pot, but the rust or verdigris contracted by copper. The moral impurity of the city is intended. The prophet begins here to give the explanation of the parable. The Jews, indeed, could be at little loss to know what was intended by it. They had already themselves bandied the metaphor about as a taunt, boasting that they should dwell securely in Jerusalem.”—(Henderson). “Piece by piece.” The pieces were the various members of the body corporate. They were all to be brought out, no favour was to be shown, but all without discrimination were to be put into the cauldron. “Let no lot fall upon it.” No lot was to be cast in order to decide what part should be taken, and what should be spared (Nahum 3:10). All are doomed to be carried off, by death or by captivity.
Ezekiel 24:7. “She set it upon the top of a rock.” “Here we have the cause of this judgment: deeds of murder are done in Jerusalem boldly and without abhorrence, by which we are to under stand the numerous judicial murders which were perpetrated by the party who had at that time seized the helm of the state, the party of the external alliances, against which all were indignant, who in the name of the God of Israel raised a protest against this adulterous movement. An example of such judicial murder is the prophet Urijah (Jeremiah 26:20. &c.)” (Hengstenberg). “Poured it not upon the ground.” It was commanded in the Law, that the blood of animals slain for food should be poured on the earth and covered up with dust (Leviticus 17:13). Idolatrous Jerusalem recklessly poured out even human blood under the open sky, and covered it not up. She sinned shamelessly, and before the face of all. Therefore the Lord will not cover up her sin, but her blood shall be ruthlessly poured out in the sight of all nations.
Ezekiel 24:8. “Upon the top of a rock.” “The Hebrew word signifies a sunny rock, the highest part of a bare rock exposed to the rays of the sun. In just retribution, Jehovah declares that He would expose them with equal publicity, that the blood might call for vengeance.”—(Henderson).
Ezekiel 24:10. “Spice it well.” “There are differences of opinion as to the meaning of this word. The rendering sometimes given, namely ‘to spice,’ is at all events unsuitable, and cannot be sustained by the usage of language. It is true that in Exodus 30:25, &c., the verb is used for the preparation of the anointing oil, but it is not the mixing of the different ingredients that is referred to, but in all probability the thorough boiling of the spices, for the purpose of extracting their essence, so that ‘thorough boiling’ is no doubt the true meaning of the word.”—(Keil).
Ezekiel 24:11. “That the filthiness of it may be molten in it.” The uncleanness of the pot is the rust upon it. The impurity and rust of the pot itself must be consumed by the fire. Thus when the guilty inhabitants are slain, the city itself will be destroyed. In the Old Testament, impurity is considered as being attached to things as well is persons (Leviticus 18:25; Leviticus 27:28). Leprosy not only polluted men, but clothes also and houses.Thus God’s judgments fell not upon men only, but also upon cities and lands.
Ezekiel 24:12. “She wearied herself with lies.” The idea is, that the pot wearied and exhausted men in their exertions to cleanse it. All the labours spent upon the devoted city were of no avail.
Ezekiel 24:14. “I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent.” “The impurity of the inhabitants of Jerusalem was of the most atrocious character. It was crime, deliberate wickedness. Jehovah had used a variety of means, both physical and moral, to restore them to purity, but they had produced no effect. It remained now only for the Chaldeans to do their work. The decree was irrevocable, and the execution inevitable.”—(Henderson).
HOMILETICS
THE FINAL JUDGMENTS OF GOD UPON JERUSALEM
I. They would be severe. The judgments coming upon Jerusalem are set forth under the parable of a boiling pot, tilled with flesh and bones and set over a fierce file. Not only are the contents to be completely destroyed by fire, but also the rust of the pot itself. This declares that God’s purpose is to destroy Jerusalem itself as well as the guilty inhabitants (Ezekiel 24:11). They are to be burned well until the whole is consumed (Ezekiel 24:10). The blood Jerusalem had shed must now be avenged upon her before the eyes of all nations (Ezekiel 24:8).
II. They would be a just retribution. For corruption had spread to all ranks and conditions of the people (Ezekiel 24:4). Sin, like rust, had eaten into the very substance of the nation. The “scum” had cleaved to the vessel (Ezekiel 24:6). So universal was the corruption that there was no need for the “lot” to be cast in order to decide what part should be taken for destruction, and what spared. All were doomed to be carried off, by death, or by captivity. Nor were these judgments a sudden thought, or expedient—a desperate remedy applied at the last moment. They had often been warned and corrected before. God by the ministry of His prophets had effected some reformations, but the effect of these soon wore off and the nation refused to be purged of her iniquity (Ezekiel 24:13). Holy men were wearied with toil to cleanse the sinful city, but their labours were in vain (Ezekiel 24:12). She had sinned in the most open and shamless manner, had done nothing to cover her sin, had shown no signs of repentance, and had resisted all the instruments which God had used to restore her. There was nothing arbitrary or vindictive in her punishment, which was but a just recompense for her sin. The city with her sinful population were left to share the inevitable consequences which arise from the persistent breach of moral laws. “According to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God” (Ezekiel 24:14). The judgments were to fall upon the city itself as well as upon the inhabitants. The works of man are turned by his sin into the instruments of his punishment. The blood of Christ was shed at Jerusalem, and retribution came, at length, when Titus burned the city. Divine grace abused will bring sure vengeance. Sin must be put away out of God’s sight, either by cleansing it away, or by overwhelming it under His dire judgments. When God Himself has done all that could be done, consistent with man’s moral liberty, then judgment must take it course. “Thus also it was not cleansed by Christ, who had wearied Himself in labours for Jerusalem even to hot tears.”—(Jerome).
III. They would be irrevocable. The Lord had spoken, and He would not repent of His word (Ezekiel 24:14). Their time of grace had run out.
“As to the principle of dealing, there is no essential difference between what God did then with Israel, and what He still does with those who stand in a similar relation to Him, and pursue a similar course. Where there is the profession of a belief in God’s word, and a regard to God’s authority, though intermingled with much that is false in sentiment, or unrighteous in conduct, there must still be dealings of severity and rebuke, to bring the professor, if possible, to a sense of his sinfulness, and lead him to renounce it; but, failing this, to vindicate concerning him the righteousness of God, and leave him without excuse if iniquity should prove his ruin. In the case of sincere, God-fearing people, the severity exercised will always be attended with salutary results; for they have the root of the matter in them, and are sure to profit by the chastening of the Lord. But with those who have the profession only, without the principle of true godliness, the iniquity is clung to in spite of all the severity that is exercised, until the wrath falls on them to the uttermost. There may be signs of the Divine displeasure sufficient to startle the tender conscience, and call for deep humiliation of spirit, while nothing appears outwardly wrong, and all may even wear a smiling aspect as far as regards social and public relations. Should there be a restraining of Divine grace within, an absence of spiritual refreshment, a felt discomfort of mind, or an obvious withdrawal of spiritual privileges, there is beyond doubt the commencement of a work of judgment; and if such marks of God’s displeasure are slighted, others of a more severe and alarming kind may assuredly be looked for. But as men’s tempers and circumstances in life are infinitely varied, so there is a corresponding variety in the methods employed by God to check the risings of sin, and expel its poison from the heart. And it is the part of spiritual wisdom to seek for the wakeful ear and the discerning eye, which may enable one to catch even the earliest intimations of God’s displeasure, and so improve these as to render unnecessary the heavier visitations of wrath.”—(Fairbairn.)