Eze 24 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Ezek 24:1-14: 24:1-14 At first sight, the picture of a cooking pot is positive, conjuring expectations of good food and fellowship. Various choice pieces of a sacrificial animal had been gathered, a fire was kindled underneath the pot, and the contents were brought to a simmer. However, as in many parables, there is a sting in the tail of the story. What ought to have been a tasty meal had become a foul, profane mess. The choice pieces of meat that had gone in were uniformly corrupt when they came out. The pot represented Jerusalem (24:9 ); its contents would be burned and destroyed.

Summary for Ezek 24:1-14: 24:1-14 ^a At first sight, the picture of a cooking pot is positive, conjuring expectations of good food and fellowship. Various choice pieces of a sacrificial animal had been gathered, a fire was kindled underneath the pot, and the contents were brought to a simmer. However, as in many parables, there is a sting in the tail of the story. What ought to have been a tasty meal had become a foul, profane mess. The choice pieces of meat that had gone in were uniformly corrupt when they came out. The pot represented Jerusalem (24:9 ^b); its contents would be burned and destroyed.
24:2 ^c Ezekiel had been warning the people of this event, and it had now finally arrived (see also 2 Kgs 25:1-2 ^d).

• is beginning his attack against (literally is leaning on): The same terminology was used when a worshiper pressed his hands on the animal he had brought to be sacrificed (Lev 1:4 ^e; 3:2 ^f). Jerusalem was thus identified as the sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered to the glory of God.
24:3 ^g The people of Jerusalem were rebels against their treaty with Babylon and against their covenant with the Lord.
Summary for Ezek 24:6-8: 24:6-8 ^h The cooking pot was beyond cleansing. Jerusalem was full of blood that she had shed and left exposed. The Old Testament required that the blood of animals shed for meat be covered with earth (Lev 17:13 ⁱ). By leaving the blood of her innocent victims exposed, Jerusalem was doubly guilty. Her own blood would justly be splashed on the rocks (cp. Ps 137:8-9 ^j).
Summary for Ezek 24:9-12: 24:9-12 ^k God declared that he would now make the cooking pot , Jerusalem, as red hot as if it were in a refiner’s furnace. Even this fire would not purge its corruption, however, for Jerusalem’s impurity was indelible.
Summary for Ezek 24:13-14: 24:13-14 ^l All that remained for Jerusalem was judgment without pity because of her wicked deeds and her refusal to turn back to the Lord.
Summary for Ezek 24:15-17: 24:15-17 ^m Nowhere is a prophet’s total involvement in his message demonstrated more vividly than when God took the life of Ezekiel’s wife, and Ezekiel was not allowed to mourn his dearest treasure openly. Ezekiel was a priest (1:3 ⁿ), and all priests had restrictions placed on their mourning. The public rituals of torn clothes and an unkempt appearance would make one unclean, and priests were not permitted to make themselves unclean for any but the closest blood relatives (Lev 21:1-4 ^o). Ezekiel’s lack of mourning was also a sign act that showed what was about to happen to Israel (Ezek 24:20-24 ^p; see thematic note for Prophetic Sign Acts at end of chapter).
Summary for Ezek 24:20-24: 24:20-24 ^q Ezekiel’s lack of mourning (24:15-17 ^r) was a sign to Israel of what lay ahead for them. The Lord was about to take away the place your heart delights in—the Temple of Jerusalem. God was going to desecrate it and destroy the sons and daughters they had left behind in Jerusalem. On that day, the people would behave as Ezekiel had done; they would not mourn in public or carry out the associated rituals. Though they would feel the loss deeply in their hearts, the scale of the devastation would be so overwhelming that there would be no opportunity for normal mourning rites. In the context of such terrible and complete desolation, only internal grief could be observed.
Summary for Ezek 24:25-27: 24:25-27 ^s In the midst of this deep gloom and woe, on the very day when a survivor would arrive to confirm the fall of Jerusalem, there would also be a sign of hope for the people. On that day, Ezekiel’s voice would suddenly return (see 3:26 ^t), and he would once again be able to pray to God for the people and intercede on their behalf. The final destruction of Jerusalem would complete the full outpouring of God’s wrath and fury. On that day, Ezekiel would finally be able to speak words of hope to the shattered remnant of the exiles, so that they might know the Lord.

Thematic note: Prophetic Sign Acts
The prophets of Israel occasionally communicated through sign acts, which were dramatic visual aids performed in public to increase the impact of the message and help people feel the truth as much as hear it. Their purpose was to present an unforgettable message. These acts were unusual, even outlandish—and not just from a modern perspective. Unlike modern readers, however (who might think that the prophet was psychologically disturbed), ancient observers understood these sign acts as a regular part of a prophet’s communication style.
Ezekiel was required to act out his message more frequently than any other prophet, perhaps because he was communicating to a particularly hardened audience (Ezek 2:6-7 ^u). The sign acts reinforced the content of his message and underlined the depth of his personal commitment to it. For example, after he swallowed the word of God (2:8–3:3 ^v), Ezekiel embodied it for the exiles (3:4-9 ^w) in a series of judgment scenes (chs 4–6 ^x). This dramatic form of communication is difficult for even a hostile audience to ignore or forget.
The ultimate sign act was performed by Jesus Christ on the cross (see Matt 27:32-54 ^y). There God visibly depicted his wrath against sin in the darkness, the earthquake, and the agony of the sinless one who was apparently abandoned by his Father. God also depicted his profound love for the world in that he would rather die than let his people go. The cross is a confrontational message of God’s love and wrath that is hard to ignore or forget.

Passages for Further Study
Jer 13:1-11 ^z; 19:1-15 ^aa; 25:15 ^ab; Ezek 2:6–3:3 ^ac; 3:4-9 ^ad; 4:1-17 ^ae; 5:1–6:14 ^af; 12:1-28 ^ag; 21:19-23 ^ah; 24:1-14 ^ai, 16-27 ^aj; 37:15-28 ^ak; Hos 1:2-9 ^al; 3:1-3 ^am; Matt 26:26-28 ^an; 27:45-54 ^ao; Mark 6:11 ^ap; 11:12-21 ^aq; Luke 22:17-20 ^ar; Rom 6:3-5 ^as; 1 Cor 10:16-17 ^at; 11:23-32 ^au