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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Jerusalem, Cooking Pot


Ezekiel 24:1-27 NIV



Jerusalem as a Cooking Pot


1In the ninth year, in the tenth month on the tenth day, the Word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, record this date, this very date, because the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘Put on the cooking pot; put it on
and pour water into it.
4Put into it the pieces of meat,
all the choice pieces—the leg and the shoulder.
Fill it with the best of these bones;
5take the pick of the flock.
Pile wood beneath it for the bones;
bring it to a boil
and cook the bones in it.

6“ ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed,
to the pot now encrusted,
whose deposit will not go away!
Take the meat out piece by piece
in whatever order it comes.
7“ ‘For the blood she shed is in her midst:
She poured it on the bare rock;
she did not pour it on the ground,
where the dust would cover it.
8To stir up wrath and take revenge
I put her blood on the bare rock,
so that it would not be covered.

9“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed!
I, too, will pile the wood high.
10So heap on the wood
and kindle the fire.
Cook the meat well,
mixing in the spices;
and let the bones be charred.
11Then set the empty pot on the coals
till it becomes hot and its copper glows,
so that its impurities may be melted
and its deposit burned away.
12It has frustrated all efforts;
its heavy deposit has not been removed,
not even by fire.

13“ ‘Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until My Wrath against you has subsided.

14“ ‘I the Lord have spoken. The time has come for Me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”


Ezekiel’s Wife Dies


15The Word of the Lord came to me: 

16 “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. 17 Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.”

18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.

19Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things have to do with us? Why are you acting like this?”

20So I said to them, “The Word of the Lord came to me: 21Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate My Sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. 22And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners. 23You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because ofa your sins and groan among yourselves. 24Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done.

When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’

25“And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters as well— 26on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. 27At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent.

So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”






Is this chapter the destruction of the city and Temple of Jerusalem is prophesied of; the former under the parable of a boiling pot; the latter is represented by the sudden death of Ezekiel's wife.
The time of this prophecy was that very day the king of Babylon began the siege of Jerusalem (588 B.C.) Ezekiel 24:1, the parable of the boiling pot, Ezekiel 24:3, the explanation and application of it to the city of Jerusalem, Ezekiel 24:6, the prophet is told of the death of his wife, and told  not to mourn for her death, Ezekiel 24:15, upon the people's inquiring what these things meant, he informs them that hereby was signified the profanation of the temple; and that their distress should be so great, that they should not use any set forms of mourning, but pine away and die, Ezekiel 24:19.


And the chapter is closed with assuring the prophet, that the day these things should come to pass, a messenger should be sent him, to whom he should open his mouth, and be no more silent, Ezekiel 24:25.

Oholah and Oholibah


Ezekiel 22:1-49 NIV



Two Adulterous Sisters



1The Word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. 3They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. 4The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

5“Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors 6clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. 7She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after. 8She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.

9“Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she lusted. 10They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and punishment was inflicted on her.

11“Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister. 12She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men. 13I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.

14“But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall, figures of Chaldeansa portrayed in red, 15with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.b 16As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. 18When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. 19Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. 21So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.c

22“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stir up your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side— 23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses. 24They will come against you with weapons,d chariots and wagons and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment, and they will punish you according to their standards. 25I will direct My Jealous Anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters, and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire. 26They will also strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry. 27So I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore.

28“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to deliver you into the hands of those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. 29They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you stark naked, and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your lewdness and promiscuity 30have brought this on you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. 31You have gone the way of your sister; so I will put her cup into your hand.

32“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“You will drink your sister’s cup,
a cup large and deep;
it will bring scorn and derision,
for it holds so much.
33You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
the cup of ruin and desolation,
the cup of your sister Samaria.
34You will drink it and drain it dry
and chew on its pieces—
and you will tear your breasts.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.

35“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you have forgotten Me and turned your back on Me, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.”

36The Lord said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices, 37for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, as food for them. 38They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled My Sanctuary and desecrated My Sabbaths. 39On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered My sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in My House.

40“They even sent messengers for men who came from far away, and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, applied eye makeup and put on your jewelry. 41You sat on an elegant couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and olive oil that belonged to Me.
42“The noise of a carefree crowd was around her; drunkards were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets on the wrists of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is.’ 44And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah. 45But righteous judges will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood, because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.

46“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder. 47The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.

48“So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you. 49You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry.

Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”






In this chapter the idolatries of Israel and Judah are represented under the metaphor of two harlots, and their lewdness. These harlots are described by their descent; by the place and time in which they committed their prostitutions; by their names, and which are explained, Ezekiel 23:1, the idolatries of Israel, or the ten tribes, under the name of Oholah, which they committed with the Assyrians, and which they continued from the Egyptians, of whom they had learned them, are exposed, Ezekiel 23:5, and their punishment for them is declared, Ezekiel 23:9.



Then the idolatries of Judah, or the two tribes, under the name of Oholibah, are represented as greater than those of the ten tribes, Ezekiel 23:11, which they committed with the Assyrians, Ezekiel 23:12, with the Chaldeans and Babylonians, Ezekiel 23:13 in imitation of the Egyptians, reviving former idolatries learnt of them, Ezekiel 23:19, wherefore they are threatened, that the Chaldeans, Babylonians, and Assyrians, should come against them, and spoil them, and carry them captive, Ezekiel 23:22, and the prophet is commanded to declare the abominable sin of them both, Ezekiel 23:36, and to signify that they should be judged after the manner of adulteresses, should be stoned, and dispatched with swords, their sons and their daughters, and their houses burnt with fire; by which means their adulteries or idolatries should be made to cease, Ezekiel 23:45.


Oholah  and Oholibah (or Aholah and Aholibah)


In Ezekiel 23, Oholah (אהלה) and Oholibah (אהליבה)  are pejorative names given by the prophet Ezekiel to the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, respectively. There is a pun in these names in the HebrewOholah means "her tent", and Oholibah means "my tent is in her"

Ezekiel's rhetoric portrays Oholah and Oholibah, or Samaria and Jerusalem, as the daughters of one mother. Both are said to be "brides of God", and both are guilty of idolatry and of religious and political alliances with Gentile nations. 

These kingdoms are described as prostitutes and adulteresses, given up to the abominations and idolatries of the Egyptians and Assyrians. Because of Oholah's crimes, she was carried away captive, and ceased to be a kingdom.

List of Jerusalem's Sins


Ezekiel 21:1-31


Judgment on Jerusalem’s Sins


1The Word of the Lord came to me:
2“Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices 3and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols, 4you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries. 5Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil.

6“ ‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood. 7In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8You have despised My Holy Things and desecrated My Sabbaths. 9In you are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. 10In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. 11In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter. 12In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors. And you have forgotten Me, declares the Sovereign Lord.

13“ ‘I will surely strike My Hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst. 14Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. 15I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness. 16When you have been defileda in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

17Then the Word of the Lord came to me: 18“Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver. 19Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in My Anger and My Wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. 21I will gather you and I will blow on you with My Fiery Wrath, and you will be melted inside her. 22As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out My Wrath on you.’ ”

23Again the Word of the Lord came to me: 24“Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the Day of Wrath.’ 25There is a conspiracy of her princesb within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. 26Her priests do violence to My Law and profane My Holy Things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken. 29The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice.

30“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. 31So I will pour out My Wrath on them and consume them with My Fiery Anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”




In this chapter a catalogue or list of the sins of the Jews is given; a comparison of them to dross is made, and they are dealt with accordingly; and a complaint is lodged against all ranks and orders of men for their sins; on account of which, there being no intercessor for them, they are threatened with captivity and destruction.

The prophet is ordered to judge them, and lay before them their abominable sins, Ezekiel 22:1, of which a long list is given, as murder, idolatry; contempt of parents; oppression of the stranger, fatherless, and widow; negligence of holy things; profanation of the Sabbath; tale bearing, lewdness and uncleanness of various sorts; bribery, usury, extortion, and dishonest gain, Ezekiel 22:3 for which the Lord threatens to deal with them in a manner that would be intolerable to them; that he would carry them captive, and scatter them among the nations, Ezekiel 22:14.

They are compared to dross, and as such should be gathered into a furnace, and melted down, Ezekiel 22:17, all ranks and orders of men are complained of, because of their sins, and threatened, Ezekiel 22:23, the prophets for their rapine, murder, and lies, Ezekiel 22:25, the priests, for their violation of the Law, neglect of Holy Things, and profanation of the Sabbath, Ezekiel 22:26, the princes, for their cruelty, murder, and dishonest gain, Ezekiel 22:27, the people of the land, for their oppression and robbery, Ezekiel 22:29, and there being none to stand in the gap for them, the Lord threatens to pour out His Wrath upon them, and consume them, Ezekiel 22:30.