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, 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. 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:
Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh,
and 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! I will even make the pile for fire great. Heap on
wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let
the bones be burned. 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. She
hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth
out of her: her scum shall be in the fire. 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. 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 (verses 1-14).
The Prophet is instructed to note the exact date, the tenth day of the
tenth month in the ninth year. The same date we find in 2 Kings xxv:1.
"And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign in the tenth month,
in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it;
and they built forts against it round about." The same statement is made
by Jeremiah (chapter lii:4). But how did Ezekiel, far away from the
scene of the siege, know the exact date when the king of Babylon began
to carry out the threatened divine judgment? It was the Lord who gave
him this information. This is the statement of the second verse, "Son of
man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day, the king
of Babylon set himself (literally, leaned upon) against Jerusalem this
same day." Higher Criticism shows its teeth in connection with such
definite statements which introduce the power of God. We quote the
following from a recent commentator: "This verse (verse 2) forces on us
in the clearest fashion the dilemma--either Ezekiel was a deliberate
deceiver, or he was possessed of some kind of second sight." According
to these words Ezekiel was either an out-and-out deceiver, a wicked man,
or, he was a clairvoyant. That the word of the Lord came to him and
imparted unto him the news that on the same day Jerusalem's siege had
begun, is neither considered nor believed. Such is the blind unbelief of
the modern critics. The boiling pot or caldron mentioned in this parable
is the symbol of Jerusalem. What is cast into this pot typifies the
guilty people; the choice bones and the choice of the flock, the
leaders. All are to be thrown in one common caldron to seethe therein,
the symbol of the fiery judgments which had now come upon the city. The
scum[16] in the pot is symbolical of Jerusalem's sins. The woe is
pronounced upon the bloody city on account of the scum; it is to be
consumed. "She hath wearied Me with lies, and her great scum went not
forth out of her; her scum shall be in the fire." While the inhabitants
of the city are thus described suffering for their sins, the city itself
will be dealt with (verse 11). This parable becomes still more
interesting if we compare it with the message of the eleventh chapter.
Then the people of Jerusalem had said, "This city is the caldron, and we
be the flesh" (xi:3). The Lord had answered them, "This city shall not
be your caldron, within shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof"
(xi:11). They gave the caldron a different meaning from the parable
here. As the flesh is preserved in a pot, a caldron, so they thought
themselves secure and safe in Jerusalem. And now the Lord tells them
that Jerusalem shall be a caldron, but not for their preservation, but
for their judgment. They had deceived themselves when they thought
themselves safe. His fury is now to be displayed upon bloody, filthy
Jerusalem. "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." What the Lord hath spoken will come to pass;
He will do it. This is a solemn word. Men ignore what God has spoken.
Others sneer at it and are unbelieving. The mass of professing
Christians are indifferent and have no thought that God will do what He
has spoken about judgments to come. But they will as surely come upon
our age, as the threatened judgments came upon Jerusalem.
[16] Literally, Rust.