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,
Two years later…
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."
“Today, Nebuchadnezzar decided to destroy Jerusalem.”
3 "And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, 'Thus says the Lord God; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:'"
“Tell the people, Put some water on to boil.”
4 "'Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.'"
“Cook some meat.”
Bone broth has been a delicacy in many countries. It is full of vitamins and minerals and is just plain good for you.
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.'"
“Make a nourishing bone soup.”
6 "'Wherefore thus says 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.'"
Jerusalem is the pot, and probably a rusty one at that (there is a bit of disagreement on whether this should say scum or rust.)
When you boil a soup, the impurities often rise to the top as a gray scum that is removed. The inhabitants hadn’t bothered to purify themselves.
God tells them to empty the pot without making a distinction between pieces of meat. In the same way, He would empty the city, rich and poor, without regard to rank. Previous attacks by the Babylonians had only removed a part of the people. This time would be different.
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;'"
Jerusalem had killed the prophets, innocents and babies, and instead of hiding the fact (like blood soaked into the ground) they had flaunted it (like blood poured on a rock.)
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.'"
God would do the same to them that they had done to others.
9 "'Therefore thus says the Lord God; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.'"
The pile of wood under the pot would be very big.
10 "'Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.'"
If you let either meat or bones boil long enough they become a solid, jellied mess (bologna).
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.'"
An empty pot set on a fire will often ruin. It will warp and burn and, if the fire is hot enough, melt.
God was going to ruin Jerusalem.
12 "'She has wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.'"
Jerusalem was filthy, dirty, just like a mess of bologna made from unwashed meat.
13 "'In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shall not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused My fury to rest upon thee.'"
God has, in the past, worked to purify the Jews, to bring them to righteousness. He won’t bother any more until He is done punishing them.
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, says the Lord God.'"
How Judah has treated the prophets, poor, innocent and babies was just how God would treat them. This is one of His universal laws of the universe; “Whatsoever you sow, so shall ye reap.” Galatians 6:7
15 Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
16 "Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shall thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down."
God was fixing to remove the thing Ezekiel loves most. He was not allowed to mourn.
17 "Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men."
“The tire of thine head” is his turban.
Traditional mourning rituals included removing the decorative turban and replacing it with a mourning veil, going barefoot, and only eating that food sent by neighbors and relatives for comfort. Ezekiel is to do none of those things.
18 So I spoke unto the people in the morning: and at even My wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
His wife was the thing he loved most, as it should be.
19 And the people said unto me, "Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou do so?"
The people didn’t understand why he wasn’t mourning like custom commanded.
20 Then I answered them, "The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
21 "'Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.'"
The Jews were very proud of Jerusalem. They loved her.
22 "'And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
23 "'And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.'"
They would not be allowed to mourn properly for their beloved city.
24 "'Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he has done shall ye do: and when this comes, ye shall know that I am the Lord God.'"
They would behave just like Ezekiel.
25 "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,
26 "That he that escapes in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?"
Those who lived through the destruction would come tell these captives and describe the horror.
27 "In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shall speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shall be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord."
Ezekiel had been unable to speak except when giving God’s word. As soon as they hear the word of the destruction, his mouth would be opened and he would talk again.