Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 24:8

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 24:8. That it might cause fury — This very blood shall be against them, as the blood of Abel was against Cain.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

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).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; no lot is fallen upon it. For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust. That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned."

"Woe to the bloody city" The implications of this epithet hurled against Jerusalem by God Himself may be read in the terrible fate of Nineveh, which city God addressed in the very same language (Nahum 3:1).

"Whose rust is not gone out of it" The "rust" here symbolizes the blood-guiltiness of Jerusalem. In the parable, this meant that the ingredients of the caldron were poisoned by the rust, and the mess within fit only to be destroyed.

"Take out of it piece after piece; no lot is fallen upon it" Sometimes in antiquity, lots were cast to determine a definite portion of a city either to be slaughtered, or to be made captives. "In the captivity of Jehoiachin and Jehoiachim some were taken, others left."Albert Barnes' Commentary, p. 360. But here, there would be none spared. All were doomed. The indiscriminate destruction of the population is indicated.

"Her blood is in the midst of her" This refers to the shameless murder of her victims. Jerusalem did not even bother to conceal or disguise the murders. The thought in this passage takes account of the fact that the blood of Abel, which the ground received, cried unto God for vengeance. Even the blood of animals was supposed to be covered with dust; but Jerusalem's brazen murders of men left the blood visible to all, thus constituting an aggravation of the sin of murder.

"I also will make the pile great" This refers to the pile of fuel on the fire, with the meaning that God will make the destruction of Jerusalem as complete as possible.

"Let the bones be burned" This means that any residue of the "choice bones" left in the caldron were also to be burned.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The top of a rock - The blood was poured upon a naked, dry, rock where it could not be absorbed or unnoticed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 24

Now again, chapter 24,

In the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month ( Ezekiel 24:1 ),

Now notice this. He's in Babylon and on this, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month,

the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day ( Ezekiel 24:1-2 ):

Write this day down, this date. It's the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month. Write this date down.

For on this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem ( Ezekiel 24:2 ).

This is the day that the siege against Jerusalem started. Now he's over in Babylon and in front of the people he writes down this date. You go back to Second Kings, chapter 25, verse Ezekiel 24:1 , "And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, and in the tenth day of the month that Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all of his host against Jerusalem and pitched against it. And they built the forts round about." How did Ezekiel know that? Without telegraph, or telephones, or any means of communicating that truth over that distance. Woke up this morning, wrote this date down. Said to the people, "This is the day the siege is started." Only by the knowledge of God could he have known these things. Only because God had revealed it to him. He's really putting himself out on a limb. "This is the day. The siege has started today." You know, it would take two weeks or so by fast express to get word back and forth in those days from Babylon to Israel. Another proof of the authorship, God, author of the book.

Now utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, and pour water into it: and then gather together the pieces of the animal, every good piece, the thigh, the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. 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. 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 upon it. 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; 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. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! ( Ezekiel 24:3-9 )

And now here is another sign. He sets on this big ol' pot and he sets all of this flesh and bones and burns the bones underneath and gets this thing boiling. Everybody comes around saying, "What in the world? You're going to burn that. What are you doing boiling all that stuff away?" And he said, "This is what's happening to the inhabitants in Jerusalem. They're about to be devoured."

Now, earlier in the sixteenth chapter they were saying, you know, "We are the caldron, or we are in the caldron and the fire is not going to touch us." But boy, he keeps this fire going until the thing boils and they are devoured, they are consumed. And thus, he speaks to them of the judgment that is coming.

Verse Ezekiel 24:14 :

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 change; according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD ( Ezekiel 24:14 ).

I mean, that's pretty sure when God says, "Hey, I have spoken it. It shall come to pass. I will do it. I will not go back, neither will I change." I mean, when God gets that emphatic, you can be sure that it indeed will happen and indeed it did.

Now the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I'm going to take away the desire of your eyes with a stroke ( Ezekiel 24:15-16 ):

I'm going to take your wife today. Your wife is going to die.

yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, nor cry when she dies. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, don't take off your turban ( Ezekiel 24:16-17 ),

Now that's what they would do when a person died, they remove their turban and they remove their shoes. They go around barefooted and their head bare.

but put on your shoes, and don't cover your lips ( Ezekiel 24:17 ),

That is, don't let your beard grow. Now that's another thing they would do after a person, a relative had died. You'd let your beard grow for thirty days and then you'd shave the beard at the end of thirty days and you'd bring the hair and offer it in a burnt offering to God. But don't let your beard grow, don't cover your lips, that is, with your mustache and beard.

and eat not the bread of man ( Ezekiel 24:17 ).

That is the traditional bread of mourning. They would eat this particular kind of bread as a sign of mourning. But he is not to do any sign of the traditional mourning for the dead which the people did when his wife died.

So I spake to the people in the morning: and in the evening my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. The people said unto me, Won't you tell us what these things mean, and why you are doing this? Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me saying, Speak to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary ( Ezekiel 24:18-21 ),

That is, the temple is going to be destroyed.

the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes ( Ezekiel 24:21 ),

Of course, every Jew, the temple was the thing that was... it was a thing of beauty. Solomon had built it and it was something of magnificent beauty, the desire of the eyes. But God said, "It's going to go."

that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men ( Ezekiel 24:21-22 ).

In other words, you're gonna get news soon that the temple is destroyed and your children have been killed. But you're not to enter into traditional mourning for them.

You're not to remove your turbans or your shoes: you're not to mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another ( Ezekiel 24:23 ).

Rather than pining for the dead or mourning for the dead, you're to mourn for yourself and for your sins.

Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this comes, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 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, That he that escapeth in the day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 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 ( Ezekiel 24:24-27 ).

So he was to be silent, really, until the time that news came confirming what he had said, and then he would speak again. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. The parable of the cooking pot 24:1-14

This parable represented the siege of Jerusalem, which began on the day that Ezekiel told this story.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The reasons for Jerusalem’s present judgment 24:6-8

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Therefore Yahweh was draining the blood out of Jerusalem by allowing the Babylonians to slay the Jews in it. The innocent blood that the Jerusalemites had shed had cried out to God for Him to take vengeance and to execute wrath on the murderers, as Abel’s blood had done (Genesis 4:10; cf. Isaiah 26:21). As the people of Jerusalem had shed blood openly, so the Lord would shed their blood openly, on the bare rock of Jerusalem.

"The severe judgment sent by God upon Judah should be ample warning to those today who share the same callous disregard for the value of human life, both the born and the unborn." [Note: Cooper, p. 237.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance,.... Into the heart and mind of God, into his face, speaking after the manner of men; observing such gross and open wickedness, he determined within himself to show his resentment, manifest his wrath and displeasure, and take vengeance on such capital and impudent offenders:

I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it might not be covered; by way of just retaliation; that as her sin was publicly committed, and no repentance shown for it, so her punishment should be open and manifest to all the world, and no forgiveness should be granted her. The Targum is,

"I have revealed their sins, because they have shed innocent blood openly, that it might not be forgiven.''

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 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 upon 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.   14 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.

      We have here,

      I. The notice God gives to Ezekiel in Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar's laying siege to Jerusalem, just at the time when he was doing it (Ezekiel 24:2; Ezekiel 24:2): "Son of man, take notice, the king of Babylon, who is now abroad with his army, thou knowest not where, set himself against Jerusalem this same day." It was many miles, it was many days' journey, from Jerusalem to Babylon. Perhaps the last intelligence they had from the army was that the design was upon Rabbath of the children of Ammon and that the campaign was to be opened with the siege of that city. But God knew, and could tell the prophet, "This day, at this time, Jerusalem is invested, and the Chaldean army has sat down before it." Note, As all times, so all places, even the most remote, are present with God and under his view. He tells the prophet, that the prophet might tell the people, that so when it proved to be punctually true, as they would find by the public intelligence in a little time, it might be a confirmation of the prophet's mission, and they might infer that, since he was right in his news, he was so in his predictions, for he owed both to the same correspondence he had with Heaven.

      II. The notice which he orders him to take of it. He must enter it in his book, memorandum, that in the ninth year of Jehoiachin's captivity (for thence Ezekiel dated, Ezekiel 1:2; Ezekiel 1:2, which was also the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, for he began to reign when Jehoiachin was carried off), in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem; and the date here agrees exactly with the date in the history, 2 Kings 25:1. See how God reveals things to his servants the prophets, especially those things which serve to confirm their word, and so to confirm their own faith. Note, It is good to keep an exact account of the date of remarkable occurrences, which may sometimes contribute to the manifesting of God's glory so much the more in them, and the explaining and confirming of scripture prophecies. Known unto God are all his works.

      III. The notice which he orders him to give to the people thereupon, the purport of which is that this siege of Jerusalem, now begun, will infallibly end in the ruin of it. This he must say to the rebellious house, to those of them that were in Babylon, to be by them communicated to those that were yet in their own land. A rebellious house will soon be a ruinous house.

      1. He must show them this by a sign; for that stupid people needed to be taught as children are. The comparison made use of is that of a boiling pot. This agrees with Jeremiah's vision many years before, when he first began to be a prophet, and probably was designed to put them in mind of that (Jeremiah 1:13, I see a seething pot, with the face towards the north; and the explanation of it, Ezekiel 24:15; Ezekiel 24:15, makes it to signify the besieging of Jerusalem by the northern nations); and, as this comparison is intended to confirm Jeremiah's vision, so also to confront the vain confidence of the princes of Jerusalem, who had said (Ezekiel 11:3; Ezekiel 11:3), This city is the caldron and we are the flesh, meaning, "We are as safe here as if we were surrounded with walls of brass." "Well," says God, "it shall be so; you shall be boiled in Jerusalem, as the flesh in the caldron, boiled to pieces; let the pot be set on with water in it (Ezekiel 24:4; Ezekiel 24:4); let it be filled with the flesh of the choice of the flock (Ezekiel 24:5; Ezekiel 24:5), with the choice pieces (Ezekiel 24:4; Ezekiel 24:4), and the marrow-bones, and let the other bones serve for fuel, that, one way or other, either in the pot or under it, the whole beast may be made use of." A fire of bones, though it be a slow fire (for the siege was to be long), is yet a sure and lasting fire; such was God's wrath against them, and not like the crackling of thorns under a pot, which has noise and blaze, but no intense heat. Those that from all parts of the country fled into Jerusalem for safety would be sadly disappointed when the siege laid to it would soon make the place too hot for them; and yet there was not getting out of it, but they must be forced to abide by it, as the flesh in a boiling pot.

      2. He must give them a comment upon this sign. It is to be construed as a woe to the bloody city,Ezekiel 24:6; Ezekiel 24:6. And again (Ezekiel 24:9; Ezekiel 24:9), being bloody, let it go to pot, to be boiled; that is the fittest place for it. Let us here see,

      (1.) What is the course God takes with it. Jerusalem, during the siege, is like a pot boiling over the fire, all in a heat, all in a hurry. [1.] Care is taken to keep a good fire under the pot, which signifies the closeness of the siege, and the many vigorous attacks made upon the city by the besiegers, and especially the continued wrath of God burning against them (Ezekiel 24:9; Ezekiel 24:9): I will make the pile for fire great. Commission is given to the Chaldeans (Ezekiel 24:10; Ezekiel 24:10) to heap on wood, and kindle the fire, to make Jerusalem more and more hot to the inhabitants. Note, The fire which God kindles for the consuming of impenitent sinners shall never abate, much less go out, for want of fuel. Tophet has fire and much wood,Isaiah 30:33. [2.] The meat, as it is boiled, is taken out, and given to the Chaldeans for them to feast upon. "Consume the flesh; let it be thoroughly boiled, boiled to rags. Spice it well, and make it savoury, for those that will fees sweetly upon it. Let the bones be burnt." either the bones under the pot ("let them be consumed with the other fuel") or, as some think, the bones in the pot--"let it boil so furiously that not only the flesh may be sodden, but even the bones softened; let all the inhabitants of Jerusalem be by sickness, sword, and famine, reduced to the extremity of misery." And then (Ezekiel 24:6; Ezekiel 24:6), "Bring it out piece by piece; let every man be delivered into the enemy's hand, to be either put to the sword or made a prisoner. Let them be an easy prey to them, and let the Chaldeans fall upon them as eagerly as a hungry man does upon a good dish of meat when it is set before him. Let no lot fall upon it; every piece in the pot shall be fetched out and devoured, first or last, and therefore it is no matter for casting lots which shall be fetched out first." It was a very severe military execution when David measured Joab with two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive,2 Samuel 8:2. But here is no line, no lot of mercy, made use of; all goes one way, and that is to destruction. [3.] When all the broth is boiled away the pot is set empty upon the coals, that it may burn too, which signifies the setting of the city on fire, Ezekiel 24:11; Ezekiel 24:11. The scum of the meat, or (as some translate it) the rust of the meat, has so got into the pot that there is no making it clean by washing or scouring it, and therefore it must be done by fire; so let the filthiness be burnt out of it, or, rather, melted in it and burnt with it. Let the vipers and their nest be consumed together.

      (2.) What is the quarrel God has with it. He would not take these severe methods with Jerusalem but that he is provoked to it; she deserves to be thus dealt with, for, [1.] It is a bloody city (Ezekiel 24:7; Ezekiel 24:8): Her blood is in the midst of her. Many a barbarous murder has been committed in the very heart of the city; nay, and they have a disposition to cruelty in their hearts; they inwardly delight in blood-shed, and so it is in the midst of them. Nay, they commit their murders in the face of the sun, and openly and impudently avow them, in defiance of the justice both of God and man. She did not pour out the blood she shed upon the ground, to cover it with dust, as being ashamed of the sin or afraid of the punishment. She did not look upon it as a filthy thing, proper to be concealed (Deuteronomy 23:13), much less dangerous. Nay, she poured out the innocent blood she shed upon a rock, where it would not soak in, upon the top of a rock, in despite of divine views and vengeance. They shed innocent blood under colour of justice; so that they gloried in it, as if they had done God and the country good service, so put it, as it were, on the top of a rock. Or it may refer to the sacrificing of their children on their high places, perhaps on the top of rocks. Now thus they caused fury to come up and take vengeance,Ezekiel 24:8; Ezekiel 24:8. It could not be avoided but that God must in anger visit for these things; his soul must be avenged on such a nation as this. It is absolutely necessary that such a bloody city as this should have blood given her to drink, for she is worthy, for the vindicating of the honour of divine justice. And, the crime having been public and notorious, it is fit that the punishment should be so too: I have set her blood on the top of a rock. Jerusalem was to be made an example, and therefore was made a spectacle, to the world; God dealt with her according to the law of retaliation. It is fit that those who sin before all should be rebuked before all; and that the reputation of those should not be consulted by the concealment of their punishment who were so impudent as not to desire the concealment of their sin. [2.] It is a filthy city. Great notice is taken, in this explanation of the comparison, of the scum of this pot, which signifies the sin of Jerusalem, working up and appearing when the judgments of God were upon her. It is the pot whose scum is therein and has not gone out of it,Ezekiel 24:6; Ezekiel 24:6. The great scum that went not forth out of her (Ezekiel 24:12; Ezekiel 24:12), that stuck to the pot when all was boiled away, and was molten in it (Ezekiel 24:11; Ezekiel 24:11), some of this runs over into the fire (Ezekiel 24:12; Ezekiel 24:12), inflames that, and makes it burn the more furiously, but it shall all be consumed at last, Ezekiel 24:11; Ezekiel 24:11. When the hand of God had gone out against them, instead of humbling themselves under it, repenting and reforming, and accepting the punishment of their iniquity, they grew more impudent and outrageous in sin, quarrelled with God, persecuted his prophets, were fierce to one another, enraged to the last degree against the Chaldeans, snarled at the stone, gnawed their chain, and were like a wild bull in a net. This as their scum; in their distress they trespassed yet more against the Lord, like that king Ahaz,2 Chronicles 28:22. There is little hope of those who are made worse by that which should make them better, whose corruptions are excited an exasperated by those rebukes both of the word and of the providence of God which were designed for the suppressing and subduing of them, or of those whose scum boiled up once in convictions, and confessions of sin, as if it would be taken off by reformation, but afterwards returned again, in a revolt from their good overtures; and the heart that seemed softened is hardened again. This was Jerusalem's case: She has wearied with lies, wearied her God with purposes and promises of amendment, which she never stood to, wearied herself with her carnal confidences, which have all deceived her, Ezekiel 24:12; Ezekiel 24:12. Note, Those that follow after lying vanities weary themselves with the pursuit. Now see her doom, Ezekiel 24:13; Ezekiel 24:14. Because she is incurably wicked she is abandoned to ruin, without remedy. First, Methods and means of reformation had been tried in vain (Ezekiel 24:13; Ezekiel 24:13): "In thy filthiness is lewdness; thou hast become obstinate and impudent in it; thou hast got a habit of it, which is confirmed by frequent acts. In thy filthiness thee is a rooted lewdness; as appears by this, I have purged thee and thou wast not purged. I have given thee medicine, but it has done thee no good. I have used the means of cleansing thee, but they have been ineffectual; the intention of them has not been answered." Note, It is sad to think how many there are on whom ordinances and providences are all lost. Secondly, It is therefore resolved that no more such methods shall be sued: Thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more. The fire shall no longer be a refining fire, but a consuming fire, and therefore shall not be mitigated and shortened, as it has been, but shall be continued in extremity, till it has done its destroying work. Note, Those that will not be healed are justly given up and their case adjudged desperate. There is a day coming when it will be said, He that is filthy, let him be filthy still. Thirdly, Nothing remains then but to bring them to utter ruin: I will cause my fury to rest upon thee. This is the same with what is said of the later Jews, that wrath has come upon them to the uttermost,1 Thessalonians 2:16. They deserve it: According to thy doings they shall judge thee,Ezekiel 24:14; Ezekiel 24:14. And God will do it. The sentence is bound on with repeated ratifications, that they might be awakened to see how certain their ruin was: "I the Lord have spoken it, who am able to make good what I have spoken; it shall come to pass, nothing shall prevent it, for I will do it myself, I will not go back upon any entreaties; the decree has gone forth, and I will not spare in compassion to them, neither will I repent." He will neither change his mind nor his way. Hereby the prophet was forbidden to interceded for them, and they were forbidden to flatter themselves with hopes of an escape. God hath said it, and he will do it. Note, The declarations of God's wrath against sinners are as inviolable as the assurances he has given of favour to his people; and the case of such is sad indeed, who have brought it to this issue, that either God must be false or they must be damned.