Ezekiel 24 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Ezekiel 24 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
This chapter is dated to the 9th year, in the 10th month, of the exile of King Jehoiachin (Eze 24:1), 588 or 587 BC.
Below is a list of kings of Judah and dates for their reign:
Amon (642-640 BC)
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum, 609 BC)
Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
WHAT WE STUDIED PREVIOUSLY
Ezekiel 1 – Ezekiel had a vision of 4 living creatures, 4 wheels, and God’s throne.
Ezekiel 2 – God commissioned Ezekiel to be a prophet to his rebellious countrymen.
Ezekiel 3 – The end of the heavenly vision. Ezekiel ate a scroll of God’s words, and God called him to be a watchman over the people of Judah.
Ezekiel 4 – Ezekiel prophesies with an object lesson in the street by laying on his side for 430 days, eating rations of bread, and creating a siege scene with a brick that represents Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 5 – After the 430 days, Ezekiel cut off his hair divided it up into 3 parts and used it as a symbol for what would happen to the people of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 6 – Ezekiel prophesies against the idol worshipers in Judah, telling them their bodies will be thrown at the feet of their powerless gods.
Ezekiel 7 – God spoke to Ezekiel about the day of His judgement. The end was near for the citizens of Jerusalem, and their doom was on the horizon.
Ezekiel 8 – Ezekiel saw a vision of the Temple in Jerusalem. God guided him through the courts and gates of the Temple and showed him the secret idolatries that filled God’s house.
Ezekiel 9 – God sends a man with a writing case to mark the foreheads of those who hated the idolatries of Judah. Afterwards, God sends 6 executioners to kill everyone in Jerusalem who didn’t have the mark.
Ezekiel 10 – God’s glory departed the inner sanctuary of the Temple and ascended to His throne carried by the 4 living creatures.
Ezekiel 11 – God announced judgement on the wicked rulers of Judah. They thought they were safe in Jerusalem, like meat in a cauldron, but God promised to bring them out for death and captivity. At the end of the chapter, God spoke of a future day, when He would regather a remnant of His people and give them a new heart and new spirit.
Ezekiel 12 – Ezekiel prophesied about the downfall of King Zedekiah by carrying his possessions out of his house as if he were going into exile. God promised that His judgement was near, and anyone who suggested otherwise would be put to shame.
Ezekiel 13 – God confronted the false prophets and sorceresses amongst the people of Judah. The false prophets falsely claimed to speak with the authority of God, and the sorceresses hunted the souls of God’s people through witchcraft and divination.
Ezekiel 14 – God condemned the elders of Judah who harbored love for idols in their hearts. He told Ezekiel Jerusalem would not be spared even if righteous men like Noah, Daniel, and Job lived there.
Ezekiel 15 – God compared the citizens of Jerusalem to useless vine wood that was good for nothing except to burn.
Ezekiel 16 – God compared his people to a young woman who he had raised and cared for. When she grew up, she turned her back on God and prostituted herself with foreign nations and idols.
Ezekiel 17 – Ezekiel spoke a parable to the people of Judah about two great eagles. The parable indicated that the King of Judah would betray Babylon and be uprooted by them.
Ezekiel 18 – The people of Judah were accusing God of punishing them for the sins of their ancestors. God clarified that each man was responsible and would be held accountable only for his own sins.
Ezekiel 19 – God lamented the unfaithfulness of His people through two laments, the lament of the lion cubs and the lament of the vine.
Ezekiel 20 - The elders of Israel wanted to consult with God, but God refused them based on their continual and cyclical rebellion against His laws. God spoke of His future judgement on Judah and His future grace that would restore the nation.
Ezekiel 21 – Ezekiel spoke of the sword of the Lord that God had sharpened to punish Judah. The king of Babylon stood at a fork in the road, and God was going to direct him and his army to Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 22 – God condemned Judah for a litany of sins and their total neglect of any attempt to keep His commands. He told them He would melt them down like metal within the furnace of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 23 – God illustrated the unfaithfulness of Israel and Judah with a story about two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah.
OUTLINE:
“EMPTY THE CORRODED POT AND MELT IT DOWN” (24:1-14):
In the 9th year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel.
God announced to Ezekiel the specific day the king of Babylon would begin his siege of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel was told to speak a parable to the people.
The parable portrayed Jerusalem as a pot set over a fire for cooking. Inside the pot were pieces of meat and bones.
God commanded the meat and bones to be taken out of the pot until everything was consumed.
He said the pot was full of corrosion.
Violence was so prevalent in the city, the spilled blood could be seen on the tops of the rocks. The people didn’t even bother to hide it when they murdered their neighbors.
Because of their sins, God said He would make Jerusalem a bloody city.
Everything in Jerusalem would be consumed, all the inhabitants, and then the pot itself needed to be burned and melted because it was so corroded with uncleanliness and unrepentant sin. There was nothing else to do with it but to let the fire consume it.
God was resolute in His decision. He said, “I am the LORD. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord GOD” (24:14).
EZEKIEL’S WIFE DIES (24:15-24):
God told Ezekiel his wife was about to die, and when she did, Ezekiel was not allowed to mourn publicly for her.
As God said, Ezekiel’s wife died, and he was faithful to God’s instructions.
This behavior was to be a sign to the people, a parable of sorts.
When asked why he didn’t mourn, Ezekiel was to tell the people that the thing they loved and cherished the most would be taken from them, and in that day, they would not mourn according to their usual customs.
He was referring to Jerusalem, the Temple, and the family members of the people of Judah who lived in Jerusalem. All of it would be destroyed or taken from them, and they would not be able to mourn according to their usual customs because any survivors would be in chains preparing to make the march to Babylon as captives.
A FUGITIVE WILL REPORT THE NEWS (24:25-27):
God told Ezekiel the news of Jerusalem’s burning would come to him via a fugitive.
On that day, God would lose Ezekiel’s mouth, and he would no longer be mute.
This appears to refer to what God did to Ezekiel in chapter 3 when He made him mute by causing his tongue to stick to the roof of his mouth except for when Ezekiel was speaking the words of the Lord (3:26-27).
APPLICATION:
God asks a lot of His servants sometimes.
God had already asked a lot of Ezekiel before He told him his wife was about to die.
God had already asked a lot of Jeremiah before He made him go through the siege of Jerusalem.
When you feel like God is asking a lot of you, rather than getting mad or frustrated at Him or sulking in self-pity, see it as an opportunity to rise to the level of faithfulness of some of His great prophets.
