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Adam, Eve and Serpent in the Garden of Eden

In our study we are going to learn some amazing truths that are revealed in the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel. But our study is primarily from Ezekiel 28:1-19. It is about judgment upon the prince of Tyre and the power behind his throne. The passage is divided into two sections. Verses 1-10 is the “Destruction of the Prince of Tyre.” Then verses 11-17 is “A Lamentation Over the King of Tyre.”

Before we read the first verse of Ezekiel 28, we need to remember that God had prophesied in Ezekiel 26 that He would destroy Tyre. The prophecy had two parts. First, it predicted that the Babylonian army would defeat the portion of the city of Tyre that was on land. This occurred about 585 B.C. The second part of the prophecy stated that the army of Alexander the Great would scrape the land portion of Tyre bare, like a rock, and destroy the island portion of the city of Tyre. That occurred in 332 B.C.

In Ezekiel 27, the prophet Ezekiel sang Yahweh’s lamentation about the destruction of Tyre. The lamentation symbolically described Tyre as a ship on the sea. God was going to sink it. The lamentation also emphasized the great impact that Tyre’s destruction would have on her trading partners around the Mediterranean Sea. We discovered that Yahweh planned to destroy Tyre because the nation was very proud. Because of their pride, they laughed when Israel was attacked by the Babylonian army. So, that is the context of our study.

Destruction of the Prince of Tyre

Now we are ready for verses 1-2 of Ezekiel 28. They say,

The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
“Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,
Because your heart is lifted up
And you have said, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods
In the heart of the seas’;
Yet you are a man and not God,
Although you make your heart like the heart of God —”
Ezekiel 28:1-2 (NASB)

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) says that Yahweh told the prophet Ezekiel to speak to the leader of Tyre. The Hebrew word that is translated as “leader” is nagid. It can be translated as leader, ruler, or prince. Since this prophecy is directed to the top man of Tyre, a better translation of nagid would be “prince” or “king.” It will become clear in verses 12-17 why the king is called “leader” or prince and not king. So, the prophet is speaking to the prince. History tells us that his name was Ethbaal III (591–573 BC).

Then Yahweh said in verse 2 that the prince’s heart was lifted up. That is, he was a very proud man. He was so proud that he thought he was a god. He thought, “I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the seas.” In the ancient Near East, the people believed the king of a nation was a god. We know that some of the Roman emperors thought they were gods and had temples of worship built for their people to use to worship them. So, the prince thought he was a god. Apparently, he thought he was a sea god for he said, “I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the seas.”

Yahweh replied, “Yet you are a man and not god.” You are just a man “although you make your heart like the heart of God.” Since the word heart was a common term for mind, the prince thought he had the intellect of a god. He thought it was his intellect that made him and his nation wealthy. This is obvious in the next three verses,

Behold, you are wiser than Daniel;
There is no secret that is a match for you.
By your wisdom and understanding
You have acquired riches for yourself
And have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.
By your great wisdom, by your trade
You have increased your riches
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches —”
Ezekiel 28:3-5 (NASB)

Verse 3 sounds like God is admitting that Ethbaal was wiser than Daniel, and knew everything, every secret. But both statements imply a negative response. They are sarcastic statements. The message is that Ethbaal thought that he was wiser than Daniel and knew everything, but he was wrong. Dr. J. Vernon McGee makes the comment that he believes the “wise men in that day would make the so-called intellectual crowd [today] look like beginners in kindergarten.”[1]

Verses 4-5 say he made himself so extremely wealthy that he became proud. I am sorry to say that is true for many unbelievers and even some believers. When God blesses us with wealth and a great reputation, many become proud. We forget 1 Samuel 2:7 which says,

The LORD makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.
1 Samuel 2:7 (NASB)

We fail to recognize that the wealth we have was given to us by God. We fail to recognize that we are not owners of our wealth. God gives us wealth to be used for His glory. That includes meeting our daily needs, sharing with those in need, and advancing the gospel. There are too many warnings in Scripture against us just using wealth to live a life of careless ease (Ezekiel 16:49). This give us our first principle. To avoid pride, remember that your wealth is a gift from God. Wealth should be a tool to be used for His glory—to meet our needs and to advance His kingdom (Luke 16:8).

In verses 6-8, Yahweh said,

“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD,
‘Because you have made your heart
Like the heart of God,
Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you,
The most ruthless of the nations.
And they will draw their swords
Against the beauty of your wisdom
And defile your splendor.
They will bring you down to the pit,
And you will die the death of those who are slain
In the heart of the seas.
Ezekiel 28:6-8 (NASB)

The strangers that Yahweh refers to in verse 7 are the Babylonian army. The army would destroy everything that Ethbaal’s wisdom had created. The pit in verse 8 refers to the grave. That is, he would die like those who die in the sea. That is, the god of the seas would die in the sea over which he thought was a god.

Then Yahweh announced the prince was not a god. He was only a man.

“‘Will you still say, “I am a god,”
In the presence of your slayer,
Though you are a man and not God,
In the hands of those who wound you?
You will die the death of the uncircumcised
By the hand of strangers,
For I have spoken!’ declares the Lord GOD!”’”
Ezekiel 28:9 (NASB)

Since the Phoenicians practiced circumcision, to be uncircumcised meant the individual was a barbarian. So, Yahweh announced that he would die like a barbarian.

Therefore, the message of verses 2-10 is that because the prince was so very proud, he believed he was a god, As a result, he would die a horrible, humiliating death.

A Lamentation Over the King of Tyre

Then verses 11-19 are about a lamentation over the king of Tyre. Verses 11-12 say,

“Again the word of the LORD came to me saying,
“Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and
say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,
“You had the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.’”
Ezekiel 28:11-12 (NASB)

Here we discover in verse 12 that Yahweh begins a lamentation over the king of Tyre. This is not the prince of Tyre because the Hebrew text says “king.” So, this is a different person. The person in view is not Ethbaal.

Who is the person? We are going to discover the answer in the next five verses. We will be given twelve characteristics about this individual. Here is verse 13,

“You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The ruby, the topaz and the diamond;
The beryl, the onyx and the jasper;
The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald;
And the gold, the workmanship of your settings
and sockets,
Was in you.
On the day that you were created
They were prepared.”
Ezekiel 28:13 (NASB)

Following the statement of the king’s perfection, the first clue about the identity of this individual is that he was in the garden of Eden. Now we know from Genesis 3 that the only individuals in the Garden of Eden were Adam, Eve, and Satan, who was disguised as a serpent. Since Adam and Eve were mortal and had died long before this lamentation, this individual must be Satan. The first clue was that he was in the garden of Eden.

The second clue about this individual’s identity is that he was beautiful. He was covered with precious gems. We do not know if the gems were real or symbolic. If they were real, this cannot describe a human. The third clue about his identity is that the Hebrew word translated as “created” is bara. The word refers to an activity that only God can perform. So, he was not born. He was not human. He was created by God.

Verse 14 gives us more clues about this individual.

You were the anointed cherub who covers,
And I placed you there.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
Ezekiel 28:14 (NASB)

This verse is extremely important in identifying the individual. It gives us two clues. The fourth clue is that he was the anointed or guardian cherub. He was and is a cherubim who used to cover Yahweh. That is, his wings covered Yahweh just as the two cherubim of the ark of the covenant spread their wings to cover God. The fifth clue is that this cherub was on the holy mountain of God. That is, he was in the presence of God in heaven. Six, we are told the cherub walked in the “midst of the stones of fire.” The identity of the stones of fire are not explained in Scripture. But, if we combine all the information from verses 12-14 together, it becomes clear the individual is Satan.

Verse 15 adds some bad news about Satan. We are told,

You were blameless in your ways
From the day you were created
Until unrighteousness was found in you.
Ezekiel 28:15 (NASB)

The seventh and eighth characteristics about Satan are given now. He was blameless when he was created until he sinned. The word blameless is translated from a Hebrew word that literally means completeness. He did not have any defect. It does not mean he was holy. It means he was without defect. But eventually he chose to be unrighteous. He sinned. That agrees with the next verse.

Verse 16 gives us more bad news about this individual,

“By the abundance of your trade
You were internally filled with violence,
And you sinned;
Therefore I have cast you as profane
From the mountain of God.
And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the stones of fire.”
Ezekiel 28:16 (NASB)

The meaning of the two statements “By the abundance of your trade” and “You were internally filled with violence” are not clear. But it appears from the Hebrew that it refers to a digression that describes what Satan had accomplished through the prince, King Ethbaal. It appears to reveal that Satan was continuing to be unrighteous. That is, Satan had sinned in the process of making King Ethbaal wealthy. His behavior demonstrated that he was in fact evil. This is the ninth fact about Satan. The tenth fact about Satan, is that Yahweh cast him out of heaven. He deserved it. Jesus said that He watched Satan being cast down in Luke 10:18,

And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” Luke 10:18 (NASB)

Isaiah 14:12-15 also describes this as follows,

“How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit.
Isaiah 14:12-15 (NASB)

This passage echoes the same facts given to us in Ezekiel 28:12-17. But Isaiah 14:14 reveals some new information when it says that Satan wanted to be like God. That is the eleventh fact about Satan. Ezekiel 28:17 gives us the inward motivation for his desire, which is the twelfth fact about Satan.

“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I put you before kings,
That they may see you.”
Ezekiel 28:17 (NASB)

He thought he was beautiful. Did he think he was better than God? We do not know. But we do know that God cast him down out of heaven. 1 Peter 5:8 says that today the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” He is dangerous.

He has been making nations wealthy and gaining power over the people of the world through them. Daniel 10:10-20 reveals he and his demons seek to control the nations of the world. So King Ethbaal was a puppet king. Satan was the real power or king on the throne. The same is often true today. There are demonic forces that seek to control the nations of the world. They are manipulating national leaders to accomplish their goal of total world domination. Eventually, they will succeed through the antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:4-12).

So, Satan controlled the nation of Tyre. When Tyre rejoiced that Jerusalem was being destroyed, the city revealed its pride, which revealed the pride of King Ethbaal, which reflected the pride of Satan, the power behind his throne. Satan’s work was going to be destroyed by the Babylonian kingdom.

Verses 18-19 are the final verses in this section,

‘“By the multitude of your iniquities,
In the unrighteousness of your trade
You profaned your sanctuaries.
Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you;
It has consumed you,
And I have turned you to ashes on the earth
In the eyes of all who see you.
All who know you among the peoples
Are appalled at you;
You have become terrified
And you will cease to be forever.”’
Ezekiel 28:18-19 (NASB)

These verses focus on King Ethbaal. He had built magnificent temples and buildings in the city of Tyre according to the ancient historians. The magnificent temples would have featured the worship of so-called gods or demons. Again, this revealed Satan working through the puppet king. The description applies to both the puppet and the real power behind the throne.

This gives us the second principle. Satan is the real power behind the puppet leaders of the nations of the world. The only exception would be Christian leaders. Satan wants to be like God and to have total control of the world.

But believers can rejoice! When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He defeated sin, death, and Satan. Because Jesus sacrificed Himself for us, we are no longer slaves to sin because we believe in Jesus. Since the Holy Spirit dwells within every Christian, Satan cannot enter us or possess us as he did with Judas, because the Holy Spirit lives within us (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 John 4:4). Because we believe in Christ, we have escaped the second death, the lake of fire. Romans 16:20 says,

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
Romans 16:20 (NASB)

Praise the Lord.

References:

1. J. Vernon McGee. Book of Ezekiel. Thru the Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers. 1982. p. 491.

In the previous study, we learned an important divine principle that occurs again in this study. The principle was that if God is punishing our enemy and we rejoice that our enemy is suffering, God will stop punishing our enemy and punish us. The principle is given to us in two proverbs. The first proverb is Proverbs 24:17-18 and it says,

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
Or the LORD will see it and be displeased,
And turn His anger away from him.
Proverbs 24:17-18 (NASB)

The second proverb is Proverbs 17:5.

. . . He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.
Proverbs 17:5b (NASB)

How often have we read these verses and did not think about their implication? But it is a principle that is in operation day after day. In the last study we saw two examples of this principle. The first was the Ammonites who rejoiced that Israel was destroyed. The second example was the Edomites. This study is a third example of this principle. We will learn that the city of Tyre rejoiced while the Babylonian army was attacking the nation of Israel.

Sin of Tyre and Yahweh’s Plan (v 1-6)

This study is about a prophecy directed at Tyre. It begins with Ezekiel 26 and ends with Ezekiel 28. This study will be limited to the first chapter, chapter 26. Chapter 26 describes the sin of the city of Tyre and her destruction. Chapter 27 is a lament about her destruction, and chapter 28 is about the king of Tyre and his incredible power. The prophecy is a very significant one as you will soon discover. So, like a swimmer, let’s jump in and read the first verse of chapter 26.

Now in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, the word of the LORD came to me saying. Ezekiel 26:1 (NASB)

Immediately, we are given a time marker. We are told that this prophecy was given in the eleventh year. We learned from Ezekiel 1:2 that the time markers are relative to the first year Jehoiachin was taken into exile in Babylon. Since he was exiled in the year 597 B.C., that means the eleventh year of his exile was eleven years later or 586 B.C. Then verse 1 adds that the prophecy was given in the first day of the month, but the month is not mentioned. According to Jewish custom, when the month is not specified, the month was usually Nisan. So the date of the prophecy is believed to be March 7, 586 B.C. in our calendar. Also, Jeremiah 52:12 tells us that the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian army occurred five months later on or about August 11, 586 B.C. So, this prophecy is given while the attack on Judah was still in process.

Verses 2-3 describe a sin that Tyre committed and the consequences.

“Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers . . .’” Ezekiel 26:2-4a (NASB)

Yahweh told the prophet Ezekiel that he was to speak against Tyre. The reason is that they had said, “Aha” because the Babylonian army was destroying the temple, Jerusalem, and Judah. They were rejoicing that Israel was being attacked. They rejoiced just as the Ammonites and Edomites did. Another reason Tyre was rejoicing was that they believed they would become even more wealthy. Historical records reveal that Tyre was the capital city of the Phoenician nation and the commercial center of the Mediterranean region. Isaiah 23:8 says that Tyre was called “the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth.” They dominated and controlled the commercial sea routes, while Judah controlled the commercial trade routes on the land. So, if Israel was destroyed they would gain control of the caravans from Africa, Egypt, and the Middle East. Dr. J. Vernon McGee states,

We know today that they [Tyre] went around the Pillars of Hercules and the Rock of Gibraltar, and into Great Britain, where they obtained tin. They established a colony in North Africa. Tarshish in Spain was founded by these people. They were great colonizers and went a lot farther than we used to think they did in their explorations.[1]

So just as Tyre controlled the commercial sea routes, the people of Tyre believed they would also gain a monopoly of the commercial land trade routes. But Yahweh had plans for them. He said, “Behold, I am against you, O Tyre.” It is always bad news when Yahweh is against you.

Notice that Yahweh said in the last part of verse 3 that He would “bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.” The imagery of the waves on a sea constantly hitting a boat or the coastline sends a picture of eventual destruction. For a single wave, unless it is enormous, does not destroy anything. But waves constantly hitting, pounding a boat, a pier, a wall, or a building will eventually weaken and destroy it.

So, when Yahweh said, “They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers,” we understand the illustration. He used an illustration that the city of Tyre, which depended upon the sea, would understand. Yahweh would use multiple nations to destroy her – first one nation, then another nation, and then another one.

Then in verses 4-6 Yahweh explained what He would do next,

“‘. . . and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock. She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘and she will become spoil for the nations. Also her daughters who are on the mainland will be slain by the sword, and they will know that I am the LORD.’” Ezekiel 26:4-6 (NASB)

Notice in verse 4 Yahweh said, “I will scrape her debris,” and I will “make her a bare rock.” Yahweh has told us in verse 3 that He will uses nations to destroy Tyre. Now He says He will make her a bare rock. We will wait to explain that statement and the statement “make her a place for the spreading of nets” until verses 12-14 since these statements occur there again. “Her daughters” in verse 6 refers to satellite communities which were connected with the city, and the island that was off the coast. So, that is the sin of Tyre and an overview of Yahweh’s plan to destroy the city of Tyre and her “daughters.” She rejoiced because Jerusalem was attacked.

Details of the Destruction of Tyre (v 7-14)

Verses 7-14 now give us some incredible details about the destruction of the city of Tyre. Remember that we have been told nations would come against her “as the sea brings up its waves.” So the prophecy says that the first nation that came against her was the Babylonian army. Verses 7-11 describe the military might of Babylon as it destroyed Tyre.

For thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry and a great army. He will slay your daughters on the mainland with the sword; and he will make siege walls against you, cast up a ramp against you and raise up a large shield against you. The blow of his battering rams he will direct against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. Because of the multitude of his horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of cavalry and wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached. With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will slay your people with the sword; and your strong pillars will come down to the ground. Ezekiel 26:7-11 (NASB)

After King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jerusalem in 586 B.C., he attacked Tyre the next year in 585 B.C. That was Yahweh’s plan. We are told Yahweh called King Nebuchadnezzar the king of kings in verse 7. Why did Yahweh do that? The answer is that Yahweh had given him unprecedented dominion and authority. He was the first king in the “times of the Gentiles” that is mentioned by Jesus in Luke 21:24. We will learn more about it in Ezekiel 34. He was the head of gold on the statue in the dream that Yahweh gave to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2. Daniel told the king that he was the king of kings, and the sons of men had been given to him by Yahweh. So Nebuchadnezzar represented the first empire to defeat Judah.

Verse 8 says Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the satellite communities on the mainland that were part of Tyre’s commercial enterprise, and he did. During the siege, historical records indicate the inhabitants of mainland Tyre fled to the island for safety. We are also told from an early Egyptian papyrus dated from the fourteenth century B.C. that Tyre was already a city on the mainland and on an island.[2] So the island was considered a second Tyre before Nebuchadnezzar attacked the city.[3] Historical records state it took the army 13 years to defeat Tyre on the mainland. But Nebuchadnezzar abandoned his siege on the island. So, the prophecy in verses 7-11 describes the destruction of Tyre on the mainland.

When we arrive at verse 12, there is a change from the singular “he” to the plural “they.” The “they” is another “wave.” The “they” includes Alexander the Great who attacked Tyre on the mainland and the island two hundred and forty years later in 332 B.C. Here is the rest of the prophecy,

“Also they will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise, break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water. So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps will be heard no more. I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more, for I the LORD have spoken,” declares the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 26:12-14 (NASB)

The prophecy refers to the army of Alexander the Great. Historical records indicate that Tyre revived under the Medo-Persian rule which began in 539 B.C. until the time of Alexander the Great. The reason this occurred is that Isaiah 23:15-17 tells us that Yahweh would allow Tyre to rebuild to some degree. So when Alexander arrived, the city was partially rebuilt. He destroyed what was rebuilt and scraped all of the rubble including that created by Nebuchadnezzar off the mainland into the sea. He created what is called a mole or a causeway from the mainland to the island. Then his army was able to attack and defeat the island. The Associates of Biblical Archaeology provide this helpful description about Alexander the Great’s destruction of the city of Tyre in its Fall 1906 edition of the “Bible and Spade”,

The historian Diodorus attested that Alexander used the stones from the Old Tyre destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar to build his mole (Diodorus, 17.40; Wells 1936). The causeway was a half-mile (0.8 km) long and 200 ft (60 m) wide, and was built so Alexander could move his siege equipment over to the island. The rubble from Old Tyre was so thoroughly cleaned out by Alexander’s engineers that no trace of the ancient city can be found today. Thus, according to H. J. Katzenstein, the precise location of mainland Tyre is a point of controversy. According to this specialist on the history of Tyre, it was “totally dismantled by Alexander the Great in his famous siege…and disappeared totally” (1997: 15).[4]

Author Nina Jidejian states,

Looking down into the water one can see a mass of granite columns and stone blocks strewn over the sea bottom.[5]

Charles Feinberg in his commentary titled, “The Prophecy of Ezekiel” also adds,

The American archaeologist Edward Robinson saw forty or fifty marble columns beneath the water along the shores of Tyre.[6]

The message is that the beautiful and wealthy city of Tyre in the ancient world disappeared and its ruins lay in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea just as Ezekiel had prophesied.

It is very interesting to notice how God works. Since the name of Tyre means “rock,” Yahweh made Tyre like a rock. After Alexander the Great was finished, verse 14 says fishermen could spread their nets. This seemingly unimportant comment must not be missed. For in ancient times, fishermen would spread their nets out to dry over a flat place that was free of debris. The picture that is painted for us is that Alexander would make Tyre to look like a rock. All of the dirt and debris would be removed. Then Yahweh added, “You will be built no more.”

That prophecy has been fulfilled. Even though there is a city called Tyre in Lebanon today, the ancient ruins of Tyre have not been found by archaeological excavation.,[7, 8]

Effect of the Destruction of Tyre (v 15-21)

Verses 15-18 now prophesies about the mourning that would and did occur in the ancient world over Phoenicia’s glorious Tyre.

Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre, “Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst? Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones, remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble every moment and be appalled at you.
They will take up a lamentation over you and say to you,
‘How you have perished, O inhabited one,
From the seas, O renowned city,
Which was mighty on the sea,
She and her inhabitants,
Who imposed her terror
On all her inhabitants!
Now the coastlands will tremble
On the day of your fall;
Yes, the coastlands which are by the sea
Will be terrified at your passing.’”
Ezekiel 26:15-18 (NASB)

The lament occurred because Tyre was the commercial center of the Mediterranean Sea and also had a strong religious influence. The colonies of Tyre will be described in the next chapter.

Verses 19-21 now record a promise from Yahweh that the ancient city would be desolate.

For thus says the Lord GOD, “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you, then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient waste places, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory in the land of the living. I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more; though you will be sought, you will never be found again,” declares the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 26:19-21 (NASB)

These verses reinforce Yahweh’s statement that the ancient Tyre would not be built again. That is true, the ancient city has not been found. In verse 20, the word “pit,” bor, is another name for the grave or Sheol. That means the people would be killed.

Conclusion

This prophecy against Tyre is one of the most significant in the Bible. In the fall 1906 edition of the Bible and the Spade, an article was written in which it was stated,

Secular historians have no religious agenda to promote. Thus they clarify and even defend Ezekiel, rather than condemn him. It is indeed ironic that Ezekiel is regarded as a false prophet by a large group of Biblical scholars, yet deemed generally correct by secular historians.[9]

But later in the 1930s, secularists and liberal theologians both began to argue for a third century date for the book of Ezekiel.[10] They did this for two reasons. First, they did not believe the book of Ezekiel was inspired. Second, if the book was inspired, then they would have to admit that God wrote the book for God had said “then they will know that I am the LORD.”

But we know the book of Ezekiel was written before the third century for it is contained in the Septuagint which was compiled in 270 B.C. But more importantly the Jewish Great Assembly, a group of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, knew about the book of Ezekiel between the time of 516 B.C. and before Alexander the Great destroyed Tyre on the island in 332 B.C.[11]  The message is that the book of Ezekiel existed before the prophecy was fulfilled. That is, the book of Ezekiel is inspired by God. We know that Yahweh is our God and He punishes those who do not bless Israel.

References:

1. J. Vernon McGee. Book of Ezekiel. Thru the Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers. 1982. p. 487
2. Merril Unger. R. K. Harrison (editor). The New Unger Bible Dictionary. Moody Publishers. 2005. p. 1311.
3. Bible and Spade. Associates of Biblical Archaeology. Fall 1906.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Charles Lee Feinberg. The Prophecy of Ezekiel. Moody Press. 1969. p. 150.
7. Tyre. Britannica Dictionary. (www.britannica.com/place/Tyre).
8. Joshua J. Mark. Tyre. World History Encyclopedia. 23 November 2021 (www.worldhistory.org/Tyre/).
9. Bible and Spade. Ibid.
10. George Ricker Berry. The Composition of the Book of Ezekiel. Journal of Biblical Literature. The Society of Biblical Literature. Vol. 58, No. 2 (Jun., 1939), pp. 163-175.
11. Tava Ganzel. The Rabbis Sought to Withdraw the Book of Ezekiel”: The Rabbinic Re-Authorization of the Book of Ezekiel. Journal of Ancient Judaism. II. 2020. p. 3. Note: author states, “ts composition to the Great Assembly, which they dated to the first half of the Second Temple period.” That is, it existed between 516 B.C. to 332. B.C.

There is a man in the Old Testament named Ezekiel. The first time we read about this man is in Ezekiel 1:1. From the first verse we know that he was 30 years old when he received his first vision from Yahweh. The second verse helps us understand that the first vision occurred in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile. That would be the year 597 B.C. That means this man was born in the year 622 B.C. and was taken captive to Babylon when he was 25 years old in 597 B.C. We are also told that he was relocated near the Chebar canal along with other exiles. The canal was close to the ancient city of Babylon, about 825 miles from the city of Jerusalem. Ezekiel 1:3 gives us the name of his father, Buzi, but we do not know anything about him. We do not know anything else about his parents or if he had brothers or sisters.

We are told that he was a priest, but we do not know anything about his duties (Ezekiel 1:3). We know from Ezekiel 4:13-14 that he had been careful to not defile himself by eating the wrong food. We know that he had hair on his head, a mustache, and a beard because Ezekiel 5:1 states that on one occasion Yahweh ordered him to shave off the hair of his head and cut off his beard. Ezekiel 24:22 says he had a mustache. We know that he also wore a turban, a robe and shoes (Ezekiel 5:3; 24:23). Ezekiel 8:1 does tell us that he had a home. Ezekiel 24:18 indicates that he had a wife. But we do not know her age or if he had any children. We are never told if he had any friends. Those are the few facts that we know about this man of God.

Ezekiel, Called to Be a Prophet

Then in the opening chapter of the book of Ezekiel, we are told the prophet saw an awesome vision of Yahweh and some cherubim. This vision cannot be found in any other book of the Old Testament. In the vision, the prophet saw Yahweh riding a war chariot. Yahweh appears as a rainbow of colors while He is sitting on a throne. His throne rests upon four cherubim each with four faces, that of a man, a lion, a bull, and an eagle. Below each cherub was a wheel that had the appearance of a sparkling beryl gem. Each wheel had a second wheel which was perpendicular to the first wheel and was within the first wheel. The wheels had eyes all around. When the wheels moved, they moved instantly without turning! The four cherubim supported the chariot and the four wheels were the wheels of the chariot. The vision looked like a war chariot carrying Yahweh to battle.

What an incredible vision for this thirty years old, flesh and blood man to see. This vision was given to him because Yahweh planned to change the life of this young priest by calling him to become His prophet. Let’s read Ezekiel 2:1-3,

Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.” Ezekiel 2:1-3 (NASB)

We need to notice that Yahweh did not ask this priest to volunteer to become a prophet. Yahweh did not ask or plead with him to serve Him. There were no bulletin notices or pleas from the church pulpit for volunteers. Just as Yahweh commanded Moses to go and speak to Pharoah, Yahweh commanded Ezekiel to become a prophet to Israel. In verse 1 we simply read, “Son of man, stand on our feet that I may speak with you.” Then in verse 3, Yahweh said, “I am sending you to the sons of Israel.” Yahweh did not ask Ezekiel if he wanted to go. Yahweh simply said, “Stand up, I have a ministry for you.” I have picked your ministry and the people to whom you will minister. You will minister to rebellious people. They will hear your words and ignore you. They will compliment you to your face, but they will hate you. That was the ministry of this thirty-year old man alongside the Chebar canal in a foreign land. At that moment he became both a priest and a prophet. What is truly amazing about his call to minister for Yahweh is that Yahweh simply commanded him to serve. That is how Yahweh called each of the apostles, including Paul. That describes a true call by Yahweh upon anyone to serve Him. That is how the Holy Spirit calls each believer. He gives us the spiritual gifts that He wants us to use in ministry to others. He wants us to use our spiritual gifts. That is one way the Holy Spirit ministers to all of us!

Ezekiel’s Preparation For Ministry

From a human perspective, Ezekiel’s ministry was sad for four reasons. First in Ezekiel 2:5, Yahweh told him that the people to whom he would minister would ignore him. In Ezekiel 3:7-8, Yahweh repeated the disappointing news that the people would not listen to him. That means the rebellious people would remain rebellious.

The second piece of sad news, is that Yahweh told him that he would be mute throughout his ministry until the Babylonian army conquered the temple, Jerusalem, and Judah. He would not be able to talk with his wife and children, if he had any children, nor could he talk to others. Therefore, he must have communicated by writing or sign language. The only time he could speak was when Yahweh specifically gave him something to say (Ezekiel 3:26-27). Then the prophet would speak the Word of the Lord. So, Yahweh told him that he would be a mute prophet. At least he knew what to expect. Everyone of his messages would be prepared by Yahweh. He did not need to write his own messages.

The third piece of sad news was that he would be confined to his house and could not leave unless Yahweh told him to leave (Ezekiel 3:24-25). That means his ministry would be performed from the house most of the time.

The fourth piece of sad news is that Yahweh would destroy the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and the nation of Judah.

Then Yahweh began to give Him three pieces of helpful news. The first helpful news that Ezekiel was given was in Ezekiel 3:1-2, 10. Yahweh said in verses 1-3,

Then He said, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.” Ezekiel 3:1-3 (NASB)

So the prophet ate the scroll, which symbolized the Word of God. Then in verse 1, Yahweh told him to take Scripture into his heart and listen closely to what he read. That is how we can be encouraged and be positive in a very disappointing ministry. We must be in His Word and listen to it closely. We must not hurriedly read His Word and look for a quick fix. We must read His Word, digest His Word, listen closely, and then it will have meaning.

The second helpful news was about his responsibility. The news gave him direction. Ezekiel was going to be a watchman (Ezekiel 3:14-21). His ministry was one of warning the righteous to not sin, and to the wicked to repent and to not continue to sin. Yet even though he warned them they would not repent. So, Yahweh told him that his ministry would be ineffective.

The third piece of helpful news is given in Ezekiel 3:8-9.Yahweh promised to strengthen him. It is interesting that the Hebrew meaning of Ezekiel’s name is “whom God will strengthen.” Ezekiel needed to be strengthened.

At that point Ezekiel had directions from Yahweh about his ministry. He would be mute, house-bound, speak prophecies prepared by Yahweh, and be ineffective. The vast majority of the people to whom he ministered would die during the next Babylonian invasion in the years 588 – 586 B.C. He had been given clear and positive direction from Yahweh, but what a disappointing ministry it would be!

Ezekiel’s Ministry

Then chapters 4-24 of the book of Ezekiel describes the first part of his ministry. At the very beginning of his ministry, chapters 4 and 5 state the prophet performed several skits to teach the people that Yahweh would destroy their nation. The skits taught the people that two-thirds of the population of Jerusalem would die and the remaining third would be scattered. The fathers and mothers would eat their sons due to famine. The city would be ravaged by plagues and bloodshed.

In Ezekiel 6-9, Ezekiel rebuked them for their idol worship, for profaning the temple, and for their bloodshed. Yahweh announced that the temple and city would be destroyed and all of the wicked within the city of Jerusalem, except for the righteous would be killed.

In chapter 10-11, Yahweh announced that His Shekinah glory would leave the temple, move to the Mount of Olives and leave.

Then in chapters 12-14, Ezekiel performed skits and spoke in proverbs to illustrate that eventually more people would be taken into exile again, people would be scattered, and the land of Judah would be stripped.

From chapters 15-23, Ezekiel was told to announce judgment upon his own people for sacrificing their sons and daughters as food to idols and for making their sons walk through the fire of Moloch. He denounced the different sins of the wicked leaders, the false priests, and the false prophets. Yahweh said Judah was like a useless vine. It was good for nothing. Interleaved through these chapters, the prophet announced good news about a future day when the Messiah would come, restore Israel, and give her a glorious future.

His ministry must have been difficult. Imagine giving your own leaders, priests, prophets, and people such terrible news for four long years. Thirty-four times during these four years the prophet announced the “Word of the Lord” and then gave them horrible news. The temple, the city, the nation, and they themselves would be destroyed, except most of the righteous. It is difficult enough for us to read these various announcements of judgment. Some of us may wish that we could hear something new during our studies of the book. We can be confident that they did. How much more did Ezekiel, who had to give this horrible news, then witnessed the people’s rejection of his messages, and endured the criticism that occurred.

Then in Ezekiel 24, Yahweh told Ezekiel that the desire of his eyes would die. Throughout his ministry he did not say anything about himself. Now for the first time, we learned that this mute, house-bound, seemingly ineffective male prophet did have feelings. When his wife died, Yahweh did not allow him to reveal his emotions to anyone. He could only groan silently. He could not publicly mourn, or weep her death. His wife would die but he could not express his grief. The person whom he loved the most among those wicked, unrepentant, rebellious people was going to die as a sign to them. Yet, they would not listen just as Yahweh had told him. So, why did she have to die? Yahweh wanted to give them a sign. They would lose the temple they loved, just as Ezekiel would lose his beloved wife. After the prophet told the people his wife would die, she died that evening. Her death was a sign the temple would be burned to the ground. When she died, Scripture records for the first time that Yahweh called the prophet Ezekiel by his first name.

It is a surprise that Yahweh called this man by his first name at this point, for Yahweh had always called the prophet the “Son of Adam” 93 times throughout the book. The Hebrew phrase for “Son of Adam” literally means “Son of Man.” One commentator said that the Hebrew phrase just simply means “man.” But when Ezekiel’s wife died, Yahweh called the prophet by his first name for the first and only time in the pages of Scripture. Imagine Ezekiel hearing Yahweh say his name — Ezekiel! You can find that occasion in Ezekiel 24:24. I wonder how this flesh and blood man felt. I hope it gave the prophet great joy to know that Yahweh loved him. I believed that Yahweh waited until the moment of his wife’s death to do that in order to give Ezekiel comfort.

Ezekiel was also a sign to the people in two ways. First, Yahweh told him that he could not mourn, weep, or publicly grieve the death of his wife. His behavior was a sign to the people that they would react in the same way. But they would not mourn for Yahweh’s temple, they would mourn, weep, and groan for themselves as they rotted in their own sins (Ezekiel 24:23). Then the people would know that the Lord indeed had spoken. That was the repeated message that Yahweh gave to the people through Ezekiel.

Then 18 months later the Babylonian army defeated the people, burned the temple to the ground, tore down the city, and killed many people who were fleeing throughout Judah. After that, the prophet gave more prophecies against some of the surrounding nations. Then he gave prophecies into the far distant future about the valley of dry bones, the battle of Gog and Magog, the second coming of Christ, and the millennial temple. That was his ministry.

End of Ezekiel’s Ministry

The last prophecy that Ezekiel gave is recorded in Ezekiel 29:17. The verse says his last prophecy was given in the twenty-seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, which corresponds to the year 570 B.C. We have already discovered from Ezekiel 1:2 that Ezekiel became a prophet in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile. So if we do some math, and subtract the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile from the twenty-seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, that tells us Ezekiel was a prophet for 22 years. Then since we know he was 30 years old when he became a prophet, we discover he was 52 years old at the end of his ministry in the year 570 B.C.

Then we never hear from him again. His name does not appear in any other book of the Bible. So, what happened to the prophet Ezekiel? Jewish tradition says that the captives to whom he spoke the Word of God killed him by dragging him across rocks. What a sad and thankless reward he received from them for his faithful service to Yahweh. If the Jewish tradition is correct, then the great chapter of faith in Hebrews 11 does include him along with the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah when verse 35 says some were tortured to death. Ezekiel was a faithful prophet for the Lord. Matthew 10:41 tells us that God’s prophets receive something called a prophet’s reward. So, Ezekiel will have a special reward for his ministry.

Ezekiel is an example for us!

Conclusion

Now I want us to compare ourselves to the prophet Ezekiel. Find Luke 14:25 in your Bible. The passage I want to look at is from verse 25 to verse 35. In this passage Jesus reveals an important characteristic of being His disciple. Verses 25-27 say,

Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:25-27 (NASB)

So, we are told that Jesus is speaking to a large crowd. He speaks in hyperbole. He makes an extreme statement to teach us a principle. He makes two important points. First, He says that if anyone comes to Him he must hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even himself. That is the requirement for being a follower of Jesus Christ. If we are not willing to love Christ more than everyone in our family and ourselves, then Jesus tells you and me, we cannot be His disciple. The Greek word for “cannot” means “do not have the power” or “do not have the ability.” That is, Jesus must be the most important person in your life.

Then in verse 27, Jesus drives the point home when He adds, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” We understand the word cross for Jesus died on a cross. He carried the cross to Golgotha, the place where He was crucified. So when Jesus tells us that we must carry our own cross, He means that following Him is like a death sentence. We are to die to self. A true Christian is one who loves Jesus Christ so much that he will be willing to suffer hardship, endure pain, deny self, and even die for Him. Jesus gives us this principle first.

Then Jesus gave two illustrations. The first illustration is verses 28-30. It is about a man who wants to build a tower. Jesus’ point is that if a man is wise, he will determine how much it costs before he starts building. The second illustration is about two kings who planned to go to war. Again, Jesus’ point is that if a king is serious, he will determine if he can win on the battlefield. If he cannot, then he will seek peace. The common message is that a wise person will count the cost of following Jesus for Jesus demands everything from us. So, in verse 33 He said,

So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Luke 14:33 (NASB)

That is, just as Ezekiel gave up everything to serve God, so we must be willing to give up everything for Jesus. Those who are not willing to give up everything for Christ were never Christians. The sign a person is a Christian is that they are willing to give up everything for Christ. Ezekiel did. He was a mute, house-bound prophet who spoke prophecies prepared by Yahweh, and appeared to be ineffective. Two-thirds of the people to whom he ministered were killed. In the process he lost his wife. He suffered emotional pain, disappointment, and may even have been tortured to death for God. He gave up everything for God. That is the ministry Yahweh gave to Ezekiel, and he was faithful.

Then in verses 34-35, Jesus gave us another principle.

Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 14:34-35 (NASB)

First, Jesus said salt is good. Salt is good for many things, but if it is tasteless, it cannot be used to season our food. Then in verse 35, He answers the question, “What is salt good for if it has lost its taste?” The answer is that salt is useless. It is not good for the ground. It is not good for anything, except to be thrown out. The message is that someone who is unwilling to give up everything for Christ is useless. That person is not a real Christian.

Luke 14:25-35 describes Ezekiel. He never told Yahweh, “No!” He just kept submitting to Yahweh’s will. He was accomplishing His purpose. He was a priest and then a prophet until he was tortured to death. He was salt that was useful to God. In heaven Christ will reward him for his faithfulness. This is a call for you and me to be like the prophet Ezekiel.

Our study tonight is from Ezekiel 24. It is an extremely important chapter in the book of Ezekiel because it describes the fulfillment of prophecies in chapters 4 to 23. In the first three chapters, Yahweh called Ezekiel to be His prophet and prophesy to the people who were still living in Jerusalem and Judah. Yahweh told the prophet the people were rebellious and would not listen to him and would not repent. What a sad ministry! Earlier the Babylonian army had invaded Judah and taken many Jews captive back to Babylon in 605 B.C. That was the first invasion and deportation. Then Babylon invaded the land again in 597 B.C. and deported more Jews. One would think the people would have understood that Yahweh was punishing them, but they ignored the warnings signs.

Then beginning in chapter 4, the prophet Ezekiel prophesied that the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Judah would be destroyed. In chapters 6 and 7, Judah’s idol worship and great sins were denounced. In chapters 10 and 11, Yahweh announced both the departure of the glory of God (the Shekinah glory) from the temple and the destruction of the temple. From chapters 12 to 21, a wide range of sins were condemned, including rebukes to the leaders, false priests, and the false prophets of the nation. In chapters 22 and 23, Yahweh summarized the nation’s many sins.

Sadly, the false prophets and false priests had lied to the people saying that the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel were wrong. They said the temple, Jerusalem and the nation of Judah would not be destroyed by the Babylonian army. In the last prophecy given in chapter 23, Yahweh declared, “You will bear the penalty of worshiping your idols. Then He added, “You will know that I am the Lord.” That last statement occurs sixty-three times in the book of Ezekiel. Or, Yahweh would say, “You will remember, I, the Lord, have spoken.” In Ezekiel 17:24, Yahweh promised, “I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will perform it.” Yahweh promised they were going to be punished for their sins since they refused to repent.

Parable of the Boiling Pot

That brings us to our study. The first verse of Ezekiel 24 gives us the date of prophecy. It says,

And the word of the LORD came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying . . . Ezekiel 24:1 (NASB)

We learned in Ezekiel 1:2 that the dating of these prophecies began with the date of King Jehoiachin’s exile in 597 B.C. That means this prophecy was given on approximately 15 January 588 B.C.

Verse 2 reveals this prophecy was given on the very day King Nebuchadnezzar began a siege of the city of Jerusalem. Here is the word of the Lord,

“Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.” Ezekiel 24:2 (NASB)

It is important to notice that the phrase “this very day” is repeated. That reveals the fulfillment of chapters 4-23 had finally started. This means the people did not discover that Yahweh had spoken until after the invasion had started. They should have repented earlier. Their idols were nothing but metal, wood, clay, and stone which could not talk, could not see, and could not hear. They had killed their children and committed abominations, thus defiling themselves, without any benefit. Like a cancer, the invading army began killing them because of their wickedness and unrepentant hearts.

Verses 3- 5 are a parable about a boiling pot.

“Speak a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,
“Put on the pot, put it on and also pour water in it;
Put in it the pieces,
Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder;
Fill it with choice bones.
“Take the choicest of the flock,
And also pile wood under the pot.
Make it boil vigorously.
Also seethe its bones in it.”
Ezekiel 24:3-5 (NASB)

Immediately, we are told this is a parable. It is about a parable of the invasion that was already in progress. Since it is a parable, we are not to understand this literally but figuratively. Next, we are told the parable was to the rebellious house. The parable begins with “Put on the pot.” The Hebrew word for pot is “sir.” It refers to a metal pot that can withstand hot, boiling water. The parable continues with, “put it on, and also pour water into it.” Good pieces were to be put into the pot such as the thigh, shoulder, and bones. Verse 5 tells us the meat and bones were from the flock. Wood was to be put under the pot in order to make everything in the pot boil vigorously. But what do these symbols mean?

First Interpretation of the Parable

Verses 6-8 gives us the first interpretation of the parable.

Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,
“Woe to the bloody city,
To the pot in which there is rust
And whose rust has not gone out of it!
Take out of it piece after piece,
Without making a choice.
For her blood is in her midst;
She placed it on the bare rock;
She did not pour it on the ground
To cover it with dust.
That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance,
I have put her blood on the bare rock,
That it may not be covered.”
Ezekiel 24:6-8 (NASB)

Then Yahweh interpreted the parable and said, “Woe to the bloody city.” That helps us understand the pot is the city of Jerusalem. Why? First, the immediate context is about the rebellious house. Second, because Ezekiel 11:3-11 told us that Jerusalem was like a pot. Just as a pot is made of metal, the people believed that Jerusalem would protect them from any invasion. But that was a lie from their false leaders and false prophets. Therefore, Yahweh used their words about a pot and flesh in this parable. Rather than the pot providing protection, the boiling pot would kill everything in it. At this very moment, the Babylonian army had surrounded the city. This helps us understand the “pieces” of meat were the citizens of Jerusalem. The reason the invasion was occurring, was because of Jerusalem’s great abominations and that it was a bloody city. Ezekiel 22:2 had already called her a bloody city, and Ezekiel 22:3 called her a “city shedding blood.” That message was repeated in Ezekiel 23. Jerusalem was a bloody city! This is an important warning to our nation, since we are killing the unborn in massive numbers, and allowing criminals to commit murders.

Next Yahweh said the pot had rust. In verse 7 the rust referred to the people’s wickedness, which included the sin of murder. The phrase, “whose rust has not gone out of it” reveals they had not repented of wicked abominations.

In verse 7 Yahweh said her blood had been poured on the bare rock and not on the ground. This would have reminded the people of the command in Leviticus 17:13 which told the Israelites to cover blood with the dust of the ground. The message is their killing was not hidden. So Yahweh would make sure everyone knew about their murders. Jerusalem was a bloody city! This gives us the first principle in this study. In some situations, God may allow our sin to become known to others if we continue sinning and do not repent. That is part of the punishment.

Second Interpretation of the Parable

Verses 9-13 give us a second interpretation of the parable. Beginning in verse 9, Yahweh called Jerusalem a bloody city again and said,

Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,
“Woe to the bloody city!
I also will make the pile great.
Heap on the wood, kindle the fire,
Boil the flesh well
And mix in the spices,
And let the bones be burned.
Then set it empty on its coals
So that it may be hot
And its bronze may glow
And its filthiness may be melted in it,
Its rust consumed.
She has wearied Me with toil,
Yet her great rust has not gone from her;
Let her rust be in the fire!
In your filthiness is lewdness.
Because I would have cleansed you,
Yet you are not clean,
You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again
Until I have spent My wrath on you.
Ezekiel 24:9-13 (NASB)

Now Yahweh called for the pot to be destroyed! Verse 10 calls for spices to be added to the pot and the meat to be boiled. After the pot was empty, then it was to be melted and destroyed. That refers to the city of Jerusalem being burned. 2 Kings 25:8-17 describes the destruction of the city.

Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 2 Kings 25:8-10 (NASB)

During the invasion, the Babylonian army burned the temple and all the homes. It tore down the walls. At that point, the city was rubble. If we continued reading, we would discover that the people who were alive after the conquest were taken into exile, except for the poor people. Verses 18-21 of 2 Kings 25 tell us the top officers of the temple and the civil leaders were killed. Finally, the rust, the wickedness, was completely removed. Yahweh caused that to happen. This gives us a second principle. Wicked civil and religious leaders of a nation must be removed before a wicked nation can become a righteous nation.

Ezekiel 24:13 tells us that sexual sins were also included in the rust. So, Yahweh condemned all of their wickedness, especially their killing and sex sins in this parable. The rest of verse 9 means that Yahweh had already punished them with the first two Babylonians invasions, but they did not repent so as to be cleansed. So since they were still filthy, He would have to pour out His wrath in order to cleanse them.

Then verse 14 gives us the summary. Yahweh said,

“I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not pity and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you,” declares the Lord GOD.’” Ezekiel 24:14 (NASB)

As the invasion is in process, Yahweh told them it was too late to stop the punishment. They had not repented. They were like rust that cannot be removed. So the pot must be destroyed. Yahweh was acting. He would not change His plan. He will not respond to pleas for safety and protection. He would not be sorry. They would be punished according to their deeds. What they sowed, they would reap (Galatians 6:7). Their evil deeds revealed the evil of their hearts (Matthew 15:18-20). This gives us a third principle that is not found or repeated in the New Testament. When we do not repent of our sins, sometimes God will continue punishing us until we stop. Eventually, He may take your life in order to stop your evil. I have found that this principle exists by personal experience. When God disciplines me, I have not always immediately stopped my sin. He at times has given me another opportunity to learn that I should stop.

Two Signs — Ezekiel and His Wife

Verse 15 now introduces a sign. The sign is Ezekiel’s wife. The following verses will explain the sign,

And the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your mustache and do not eat the bread of men.” Ezekiel 24:15-17 (NASB)

Who is the desire of Ezekiel’s eyes? It was his wife. Verse 18 explains,

So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. Ezekiel 24:18 (NASB)

In order to understand what is being described in verses 15-18 I want to read a quote from Ralph H. Alexander’s commentary in Ezekiel from the Expositor’s Bible Commentary. He writes this about the culture of Ezekiel’s time,

In the funeral rites of the ancient Near East, the mourner normally would tear his garments and put on sackcloth (2 Sam 3:31). He would remove his shoes and head­dress (2 Sam 15:30; Mic 1:8), shave his head, and put earth on his head (1 Sam 4:12). The lower part of the face (from the mustache down) would be covered with a veil of some sort (2 Sam 15:30; 19:4). The mourner would roll his head or his whole body in dust and then lie, or sit, among a heap of ashes (Isa 58:5; Mic 1:10). He would fast for a day (2 Sam 1:12; 3:35), after which friends would bring “mourning bread” (Jer 16:7). Funeral lamentations – repeated shrill cries – would be made by the family, relatives, and professional mourners (2 Sam 1:17; 11:26; Mic 1:8).

In verses 16b-17, the Lord instructed Ezekiel not to use any of these normal procedures to mourn the loss of his wife. In fact, he was not to mourn at all, not even to shed a tear. He was only to groan silently. This was certainly an unnatural response to death for a man who loved his wife, especially in the culture of Ezekiel’s day. Priests mourned the death of a family member (Lev 21:1-3), but Ezekiel would not even be allowed that privilege.[1]

Verse 18 tells us that Ezekiel did in the morning as Yahweh had commanded. He told the people his wife would die and she died in the evening. Then Ezekiel did not mourn, weep, shed tears, or do the other things.

Next, verses 19-24 tell us the people wanted to know the meaning of the prophet’s wife’s death and his behavior. Verse 19 states,

The people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?” Then I said to them, “The word of the LORD came to me saying, ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. You will do as I have done; you will not cover your mustache and you will not eat the bread of men. Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep, but you will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan to one another. ‘Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done you will do; when it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’” Ezekiel 24:19-24 (NASB)

The meaning of the death of Ezekiel’s wife is that Yahweh’s temple or sanctuary would be destroyed. Verse 21 indicates the people were proud of the appearance of the temple. They loved to look at its white marble and gold exterior trim. The temple was the desire of their eyes just as Ezekiel’s wife was the desire of his eyes! Yet, Yahweh burned down His own temple. But actually, it was the Babylonian army that burned down the temple and killed their sons and daughters. The army was His tool. So Ezekiel’s wife died in order to teach the people an important truth. Ezekiel remained faithful and did not stop serving Yahweh. This reminds us of a fourth principle that we have discussed before. Yahweh may want us to suffer, even die, for the spiritual benefit of others. This is a test of our love and desire to please Yahweh.

Verses 22-24 tells us that Ezekiel was a sign also, not just his wife. The people would do just as he had done. But when they mourned, it would reveal they did not want anything to change. They were not eager for the “rust” to disappear. But 2 Chronicles 36:19 tells us that the army did burn down the temple, destroy its utensils, and tear down the city walls. These unrepentant people did not want their wicked lives to change! But the rust was removed.

Third Sign — Know I Am the Lord

Verses 25-27 concludes this prophecy.

“‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their pride, the desire of their eyes and their heart’s delight, their sons and their daughters, that on that day he who escapes will come to you with information for your ears? On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.’” Ezekiel 24:25-27 (NASB)

Now Yahweh tells Ezekiel that on the day when the destruction of Jerusalem is completed, the prophet will no longer be mute. When someone told Ezekiel the invasion was successful, then he would be able to speak freely. Ezekiel 3:25-27 told us that at the beginning of his ministry, he would only be able to speak when Yahweh had given him a message. So this would be another sign that Yahweh had spoken.

The last part of verse 27 gives us our fifth, and last principle. It is not new. It has been occurring repeatedly though chapters 4-23. It is the most important principle. The principle is that when God speaks, we will know that He has spoken. Yahweh has given us prophecies, principles, and warnings in Scripture. When the prophecies are fulfilled, and when the principles and warnings are proven to be true, then we know the Lord has spoken. They are another proof that He loves us.

Both Ezekiel and his wife suffered for Yahweh. Ezekiel is an incredible example to us. Ezekiel was mute during his entire ministry, except when he spoke by command from God. I wonder how he communicated to his family for four years? When Ezekiel did prophesy, the people refused to listen and repent. From a human perspective, that is not a very successful ministry. Then he lost his wife in order to teach the rebellious people that because of their sins, the temple would be destroyed. Then Ezekiel was not allowed to mourn. Sadly, the ministry that most believers want is a positive and encouraging one. But that was the ministry that God gave to Ezekiel.

But he had the thrill of seeing the fulfillment of Yahweh’s prophecies because Yahweh burned down His temple, destroyed His city Jerusalem, and exiled His people, except for the poor, because they refused to believe God and repent.

We can thank God for Hebrews 11:5-6. For in these two verses He has told us how we can please Him. It says that we can please God when we believe He exists, and that He rewards those who seek Him. We please Him when we desire to know Him. The search is a lifelong journey as we search the Scriptures in order to know Him.

References:

1. Ralph H Alexander. Ezekiel. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Regency Reference Library. 1986. p. 862.