241 And in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, of this selfsame day: on this selfsame day the king of Babylon draws near to Jerusalem. 3 And propose a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Set on the pot, set [it] on, and also pour water into it. 4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; fill [it] with the choice bones: 5 take the choice of the flock; and also [put] a pile of wood under it, for the bones; make it boil well, and let the bones of it seethe therein. 6 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is therein, and whose rust 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 bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust. 8 That it might cause fury to come up to execute vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered. 9 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. 10 Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, boil thoroughly the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. 11 Then set it empty upon its coals, that it may be hot, and the brass of it may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, [and] that its rust may be consumed. 12 She hath exhausted [her] labours, yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her: let her rust be in the fire. 13 In thy filthiness is lewdness, for I have purged thee, and thou art not pure. Thou shalt no more be purged from thy filthiness, till I have satisfied my fury upon thee. 14 I Jehovah have spoken [it]: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, nor will I repent. According to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 24:1-14
Commentary on Ezekiel 24:1-14
(Read Ezekiel 24:1-14)
The pot on the fire represented Jerusalem besieged by the Chaldeans: all orders and ranks were within the walls, prepared as a prey for the enemy. They ought to have put away their transgressions, as the scum, which rises by the heat of the fire, is taken from the top of the pot. But they grew worse, and their miseries increased. Jerusalem was to be levelled with the ground. The time appointed for the punishment of wicked men may seem to come slowly, but it will come surely. It is sad to think how many there are, on whom ordinances and providences are all lost.