Ezekiel · chapter 24 of 48
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Ezekiel 24 begins with the date on which the king of Babylon starts to besiege Jerusalem, the very day the Lord reveals it to Ezekiel. The prophet tells the parable of the rusted cooking pot, where the flesh of the bloody city is boiled, and then is told not to mourn the death of his wife, the delight of his eyes, as a sign to the people. When a fugitive arrives, his mouth will be opened.
Ezekiel 24 marks the turning point of the book: the siege of Jerusalem begins (January 588 BC) and the prophet, from Babylon, announces it the same day. The first part, of prophecies of judgment on Jerusalem, ends here, and the book will move on to the nations. It is also the most personal chapter: Ezekiel becomes a sign through the grief of his own home.
In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the Lord tells Ezekiel to write down the date of that very day, for the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem. Then he gives him a parable for the rebellious house: set on a pot, pour in water, put in pieces of meat, the leg and shoulder, choice bones, and make it boil.
The Lord explains: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is in it and has not gone out of it! Her blood is in her midst, set on the bare rock so it would not be covered. So the Lord himself will make the pile great and set the empty pot on the coals so that its bronze burns and its filthiness melts. The rust will not go out with fire: though he tried to cleanse her, she was not cleansed. The Lord has spoken and will do it, without relenting or showing pity.
Then the Lord tells Ezekiel that he will take the delight of his eyes, his wife, away from him at a stroke, but he must not mourn or weep or let his tears run down. Ezekiel speaks to the people in the morning, and in the evening his wife dies. The next morning he does as he was commanded: he does not mourn in public, he binds on his turban and puts on his sandals, he does not cover his lips and he does not eat the bread of mourners. The people ask what it means. The Lord explains that so he will profane his sanctuary, the pride of their power and the delight of their eyes, and their sons and daughters will fall by the sword. They will do as Ezekiel has done: they will not mourn or weep, but will rot away in their iniquities and groan to one another. Ezekiel will be a sign to them.
On the day the Lord takes from them their stronghold and the desire of their eyes, a fugitive will come with the news, and on that day Ezekiel's mouth will be opened and he will speak, and he will no longer be mute.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord tells Ezekiel to write down the date of that very day: the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem. From Babylon, the prophet knows what is happening hundreds of miles away, which confirms that his word comes from God.
The Lord says woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is in it. The rust represents guilt that does not come out even with fire: Jerusalem's sin cannot be cleaned by rituals.
The Lord announces that he will take the delight of Ezekiel's eyes, his wife, at a stroke, and that he must not mourn. It is one of the hardest commands in the book; the prophet's pain becomes a parable of the people's pain.
Ezekiel will be a sign to them: they will do what he did. When it happens, they will know that he is the Lord God. The loss of the sanctuary will be so great that mourning will be left without words.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem. — Ezekiel 24:2
Answer: Choice pieces of meat, the leg and shoulder, with choice bones. — Ezekiel 24:3-5
Answer: The guilt of the bloody city, which does not come out. — Ezekiel 24:6
Answer: The delight of his eyes, his wife. — Ezekiel 24:16
Answer: Mourn, weep or let his tears run down. — Ezekiel 24:16
Answer: It will be opened and he will speak, and he will no longer be mute. — Ezekiel 24:27
The command given to Ezekiel is one of the hardest in the Bible: not to mourn for his wife. It shows that the Lord may ask his servants to carry a deep pain, and that this pain can become a testimony. We do not have to find reasons for every suffering, but we can trust that God accompanies those who suffer.
It also shows that some losses are so great they can no longer be wept. Anyone going through grief can find comfort in knowing that God understands that silence. In a small group, it is good to accompany the grieving with presence, prayer and listening, without trying to explain what we cannot explain.
Ezekiel 24 closes the first great part of the book: the siege of Jerusalem has begun and Ezekiel's mouth will stay closed until news of its fall arrives. In chapter 25 the prophecies against the neighboring nations begin, and afterward the book continues with messages of hope.
The text explains that it was a sign: when the sanctuary fell, the people would be so stricken that they could not mourn in the normal way. The command does not deny the prophet's love, for he calls his wife the delight of his eyes. It is an extreme example of how the prophets embodied their message.
The text presents the date as a revelation from the Lord, not as news that arrived by other means. This confirms that Ezekiel speaks with divine authority. The historical data of 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 39 and 52 place the start of the siege in that same period.
Since Ezekiel 3:26 the prophet spoke only when the Lord opened his mouth. Here it is announced that a fugitive will come with news of Jerusalem's fall and that he will then speak freely. It is fulfilled in Ezekiel 33:21-22, and from there the book turns to messages of hope.