Ezekiel 24

Chap. XXIV. Ver. 1—27. The destruction of Jerusalem signified by other typical representations.—On the very day on which Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, the Prophet describes the fate of that city and its inhabitants, by the emblem of a seething (or boiling) pot.—The pot signifies Jerusalem; the flesh and pieces for sacrifice, the inhabitants; the coals and boiling water, the calamities they were to endure. That he that escapeth in that day shall die, should be their punishment. As another sign of the greatness of those calamities, Ezekiel is forbidden to mourn for his wife, of whom God tells him he was to be immediately deprived; intimating thereby, that the sufferings of the Jews should be so overwhelming as to surpass all expression of grief; and that private sorrow, however affectionate and tender the object, must be absorbed in the public calamities.

The Prophet, having farther expressed his message in plain terms, intimates that he was to speak to them no more, till the prediction should be fulfilled; in the mean time, they would be left to mourn secretly one to another. (See (Ezekiel 33:21-22).) Chap. XXV. Ver. 1—17. God’s judgment on the heathen nations.—Edom ‘hath dealt against the house of Judah’ (xxviii. 21, &c.) It contains predictions of God’s heavy judgments against the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines, on account of their conduct toward his people in their time of distress. When we see the judgments of God upon others, we should always bear in mind that we also are sinners, and deserve like punishment; but what made the conduct of these nations the more criminal was, that they had themselves led the Jews into those idolatries which brought on them all their sufferings.

Nor could they be ignorant of this, since Ezekiel, and others who dwelt among them, made no secret of their predictions. But it was not only against the house of Judah that they had sinned, but against the God of Israel, whose temple they had profaned; and said, “Aha!” and rejoiced in heart, with all their spite, against the land of Israel. (See verses 3 and 6.) Edom is censured with peculiar severity, because, as it should appear, they were in the habit of taking advantage of Israel when in distress; and, it is believed, had cut off many of the fugitives that escaped the sword of the Babylonians. (See (2 Chronicles 28:17), (Ezekiel 35:2), &c.) These judgments, which were also predicted by several other prophets, began to be fulfilled about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.

Notes on the verses

Chap. XXIV. Ver. 1. In the ninth year, &c.—[This was the ninth year of Zedekiah, about Thursday, January 30, A. M. 3414, the very day in which Nebuchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem.]—Bagster. Compare (Jeremiah 52:4).; also (Ezekiel 11:3, 7), &c. Ver. 3. Set on a pot.—[The pot was Jerusalem; the flesh, the inhabitants in general: “every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder,” Zedekiah, his princes; the bones, the soldiers; the fire and water, the calamities they were to suffer; and the setting on of the pot, the commencement of the siege.]—Bagster. Ver. 4. Gather the pieces.—It appears from this and other texts, that a part of the sacrifices were seethed (or boiled) in a pot, or caldron. See (1 Samuel 2:13).—The thigh—or “leg,” namely, of a sheep, or kid.—Choice bones—Newcome, “Joints.” See note on ver. 3. Ver. 5. And burn—See margin.—Newcome, “Pile” the bones. This Newcome understands of the useless bones deprived of meat, (see ver. 10.) those containing meat were to be boiled in it. Ver. 6. Whose scum, &c.—“Scum denotes wickedness.”—Newcome. See note to ver. 12.—Let no lot, &c.—That is, let no chance screen it. Ver. 8. I have set it (her blood) upon the top of a rock—that is, have exposed all her guilt—that it shall not be covered, or concealed. Ver. 10. Spice it well.—Heb. “Spice it with a compound of spices.” The same term is applied to perfumes, &c. (Exodus 30:25-35). Ver. 12. Her scum shall be in the fire—(The pot, being polluted with the scum, must be heated, melted, and even burned with fire, till purified; that is, Jerusalem shall be entirely levelled with the ground, as nothing short of this will purify it from the relics of its idolatrous abominations.)—Bagster. Ver. 13. I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged—That is, purified; all the means used have failed. Ver. 16. The desire of thine eyes—That is, his wife, ((Genesis 4:7).)—With a stroke. In hot countries, diseases are often fatal in a very few hours. Ver. 17. Bind the tire.—Newcome, “The ornament” of thy head; that is, the turban. Dean Addison, in his account of the Jews in Barbary, says, that during their time of mourning for the dead, they wear no shoes, even if compelled to go abroad; and bind up their jaws, as they do those of the dead.—Eat not the bread of mourners.—Lechem anoshim, not “the bread of mourners,” as some render, but “the bread of other men,” i.e. such as was commonly sent to mourners on such occasions by their friends. See on (Jeremiah 16:7).—B. Ver. 18. I did in the morning—That is, the morning following. Ver. 23. Mourn one toward another, &c.—“Mourn every man to his brother;” i.e. so. Ver. 25. That whereupon they set their minds.—Heb. “The lifting up of the soul;” this refers to the temple. See ver. 21.