Out of the Pot and into the Fire

Ezekiel 24:1-14

(cf. Jer. 1:13–19)

1 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem this very day. 3 And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:

"Put on a pot, set it on,
And also pour water into it.

4 Gather pieces of meat in it,
Every good piece,
The thigh and the shoulder.
Fill it with choice cuts;
5 Take the choice of the flock.
Also pile fuel bones under it,
Make it boil well,
And let the cuts simmer in it."

6 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
"Woe to the bloody city,
To the pot whose scum is in it,
And whose scum is not gone from it!
Bring it out piece by piece,
On which no lot has fallen.

7 For her blood is in her midst;
She set it on top of a rock;
She did not pour it on the ground,
To cover it with dust.
8 That it may raise up fury and take vengeance,
I have set her blood on top of a rock,
That it may not be covered."

9 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
"Woe to the bloody city!
I too will make the pyre great.
10 Heap on the wood,
Kindle the fire;
Cook the meat well,
Mix in the spices,
And let the cuts be burned up.

11 "Then set the pot empty on the coals,
That it may become hot and its bronze may burn,
That its filthiness may be melted in it,
That its scum may be consumed.

12 She has grown weary with lies,
And her great scum has not gone from her.
Let her scum be in the fire!

13 In your filthiness is lewdness.
Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed,
You will not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore,
Till I have caused My fury to rest upon you.

14 I, the LORD, have spoken it;
It shall come to pass, and I will do it;
I will not hold back,
Nor will I spare,
Nor will I relent;
According to your ways
And according to your deeds
They will judge you,"
Says the Lord GOD.'"

Ezekiel recorded God’s message as the king of Babylon began his drawn out siege against Jerusalem but his message was a hidden parable for the rebellious people of God who had hardened their hearts from hearing.  It was hidden yet understandable to those God had chosen to call out from their sin to confession and repentance just as the parables which Jesus spoke as a fair warning against many and hope for those with ears to hear (Matthew 13:10-11, 13-15).  This parable was one of a coming judgment and the reason for it and not merely a moral lesson for the people of God.  A cooking pot was filled with the best choice cuts and quality of meats then thoroughly cooked and left to simmer.  Then a parallel was given of a sinful city which allowed scum to form on such a well prepared meal, just as Israel had wasted all the calling and blessings of the LORD in their immortality and idolatry.  They had eaten bad food and gone from the pot of His plenty and goodness into the fire of judgement’s refinement where they should have removed the dross of a cooked meal instead of meat.  This scum or rust is used figuratively to refer to the moral and religious corruption and rebellion of Jerusalem, which the Lord would consume by fire (CWSB); it could mean rust of an uncleaned pot or the rust floating to the top as if dross.  She also had left the blood of the meat on a rock as an offering to idols and did not even attempt to conceal this from Him.  The LORD therefore called out judgment by fire to consume their works and cleanse what remained, just as He will with us in a sense as 1 Corinthians 3:13-14 explains.  The pot of the parable was left emptied on the fire to ruin it by marring the metal, consuming the filth of sin, and burning away the scum left in it.  Unfortunately, Israel’s scum had not been cleaned away yet because they continued in sinful rejection with her immortality and idolatry and so now faced His fury of judgment, just as those who reject His Christ will in the final day of judgment.  God spoke these things with the promise that all would happen as He said and could not be altered in any way.  What is not revealed here is the hidden (1 Corinthians 2:7, Colossians 1:26-27), mystery of Jesus Christ who rescues the chosen ones while still judging those whose works do not include believing on and receiving Him for His work of graceful rescue from the fire (John 6:29).  We too would go out of the pot and into the fire apart from Christ standing in our place to be judged for our sins and found not guilty.  May we then seek to let others know of this example and point to the hope in Him for eternal rescue from that fire.  The good news is the only solution to the bad news of our sinful state in which we are born unless we are pulled from the fire (Jude 1:22-23) and remain in the pot of meat acceptable to Him with the rust and scum cleansed from these vessels of mercy.  Amen.