Verses 1-14

The cooking pot (24:1-14)

On the day Babylon began its siege of Jerusalem, Ezekiel spoke another message (24:1-2; see 2 Kings 25:1). Previously the Jerusalemites had boasted that the walls of the city would protect them from the Babylonian armies as a cooking pot protects the meat within from the fire (see 11:3). Ezekiel now uses the illustration of the cooking pot in an entirely opposite sense. The people of Jerusalem (the meat in the pot) are going to be 'cooked alive' by the 'fire' of the besieging armies of Babylon (3-5).

The cooking pot illustration is then used again. The pot, covered in rust and filth, cannot be cleansed, and the meat within it must be thrown out. Jerusalem is morally filthy beyond cleansing, and the people will be taken out of it into captivity (6).

One reason for Jerusalem's punishment is the innocent blood that has been shed in the city. That blood, which has cried out for vengeance and which till now has not been answered, will now receive a decisive response from God (7-8). Once the contents of the pot have been thrown out, the pot itself will melt in the intense heat of the fire. Only in this way can the filth of the pot be removed; and only by the destruction of Jerusalem can its filth be removed (9-14).

Verses 15-27

Death of Ezekiel's wife (24:15-27)

It came as a shock to Ezekiel to learn from God that his wife was about to die. He was told not to show any of the usual signs of mourning, but to go about his business as usual. Before his wife died, Ezekiel told the people what would happen (15-18).

As expected, the people asked Ezekiel why he was not observing the usual mourning customs (19). Ezekiel explained that he was demonstrating how the exiles would react when they heard news of the destruction of their temple and the slaughter of their relatives. Being exiles in the land of the conqueror, they could hardly show public signs of mourning, though they would groan privately to one another in their unspeakable grief (20-24).

When news of the fall of Jerusalem reached the exiles, the restrictions God had placed on Ezekiel's speech and movements would be lifted. The people would at last realize the truth of his message and be prepared to listen to him (25-27; cf. 3:22-27; 33:21-22).