Ezekiel 24:1

The Bible says in Ezekiel 24:1-13, “Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,[2] Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.[3] And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:[4] Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.[5] Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.[6] Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall up on it.[7] For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;[8] That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.[9] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.[10] Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.[11] Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.[12] She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.[13] In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.” Of course, these verses present a symbolism between animals that are killed in sacrifice. The animals are killed, their blood is shed, a fire is built, they are cooked in a pot, and the scum is skimmed off the top and thrown away. That symbolizes what would happen to the Israelites. God used Babylon to bring this judgment on Israel. God prepared Babylon and the king of Babylon to be God’s instrument to bring the judgment. In verse 2 God said, “the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.” Obviously, the king of Babylon brought his armies against Jerusalem because he decided to do so. But why did that king make such a decision? He made his decision because God moved on his heart. Jesus is the King of kings. The Lord can make any ruler or any person in authority go one direction or another. The next time that someone makes a decision against you because of the power that they have on some matter, in addition to doing what you can in your own rights and power, I hope you will also react in faith knowing that God turns the hearts in one direction or another. The heart of the king is in God’s hands. He turneth it whithersoever He will.

At the end of verse 13 God said, “I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.” There could be only one possible result: judgment from God. In verse 14 God said, “I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.” The judgment was sure, and terrible, and complete. I am glad that I have a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 24:15-23, “Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,[16] Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.[17] Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.[18] So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.[19] And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?[20] Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,[21] Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.[22] And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.[23] And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.” This is an amazing thing that God asked of Ezekiel. But maybe not so amazing if we remember that the most important thing in all the world is the advancement of the Gospel, and the glory of the name of Christ, and that God’s will be done and not our will. Our only desire should be to serve God and to do what pleases Him. Sometimes we will have tremendous life-changing events that will challenge us and challenge our faith and commitment to these high ideals. We might very well need to draw much closer to the Lord to get strengthened by His presence. Ezekiel was told that his wife would be taken from him. She would die, and Ezekiel would not mourn her passing. This was no small matter. Ezekiel loved his wife. She was called “the desire of thine eyes.” Ezekiel loved her, but God took her. Life is like that. Everyone must die, and each of us must die when it is God’s time for God’s reasons. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. But each death fits into the plan: the great plan that God has for the world. The plan of God was that Ezekiel’s wife’s death and Ezekiel’s reaction to it would be used to teach the entire nation of Israel what would happen to all of them if they did not repent. If you are blessed, your life will be used by God and also your death will be used by Him. The greatest work of Christ was His death on the cross of Calvary.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 24:24-27, “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.[25] Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,[26] That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?[27] In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.” God used Ezekiel as a sign, it says in verse 24. God uses people to do His work. That was true in the Old Testament, and it is true also for those who believe in Jesus in our age of grace in which we live. What a privilege it is to be used of God in His great work. What will be the final result if God uses you? That is explained at the end of verse 27, “thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.” God wants people to know that He is the Lord. The word “LORD” in the King James Old Testament, when it is capitalized, means Jehovah, the eternally existent One. In other words, He is the only one true God, who lives forever. God will prove who He is to every soul: either in this life or in the next life at the judgment. God wants everyone to know Him. God wants everyone to know Jesus. There may be those who are arrogant and proud, and who turn away now, but the day will come when they will bow at the feet of the King of kings. It says in Romans 14:11-12, “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.[12] So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

The Bible says in Ezekiel 25:1-7, “The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,[2] Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them;[3] And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;[4] Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.[5] And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.[6] For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel;[7] Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.” There are several things to learn about God’s judgment against the Ammonites. The first is that God is the Judge of the whole earth. Jesus is called the King of kings and the Lord of lords for a reason. God is watching every nation and the people of that nation. They answer to Him whether they know it or not, and God will bring judgment on any people and any nation when the time has come for judgment. There is always a time of opportunity, and man fails at his opportunities. Then there is a time where there needs to be repentance and confession of sin in order to find forgiveness. God is very patient. Sometimes He gives centuries before His judgment comes, but the judgment will come. That is what the Great Tribulation is all about: a seven year period of judgment that follows the age of grace in which we all now live. Now is the chance to put your faith in Christ. But you will not have that chance forever. The Israelites were judged because they turned away from the one true God whom they knew. But the Ammonites never knew the one true God. Why did God judge them? God judged the Ammonites because they saw the judgment that fell on Israel, and they laughed about it. God described their sin in verse 3, “Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity.” Never rejoice and never be happy when someone suffers, even if that suffering is the just result of their own sins. We should have compassion on people. We should mourn that they missed their opportunity. This was Jesus’ attitude when He knew that judgment would come on the city of Jerusalem. Jesus said in Matthew 23:37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

The Bible says in Ezekiel 25:8-17, “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;[9] Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim,[10] Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.[11] And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.[12] Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;[13] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.[14] And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.[15] Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;[16] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.[17] And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.” In these verses God mentions several other countries that are coming under His wrath: Moab, Edom, and the Philistines. All three of them committed the same offence: they hated or opposed Israel in some way. God will judge every nation that does that. The nations of the world had better beware. God promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” God always keeps His promises. Here is a great promise: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Call upon the name of Jesus and He will forgive you and save your soul from hell.

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