The Lord gives Ezekiel a prophetic word concerning the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem on account of the sins of His people which they were unwilling to repent of, inspite of the many warnings that they were given, vs 21. On the very day that this prophetic word was given to Ezekiel, God told him that the king of Babylon was laying siege to Jerusalem, vs 1,2.

God explained this to them through Ezekiel in the form of a Proverb. The house of Israel is compared to the choice pieces of meat that they once were, and the pot is compared to the city of Israel, vs 3-6. On account of their disobedience to the Lord, because of which it seemed like they were consuming the blood of the sacrifice long with the pieces of meat in the pot and refusing to pour the same out on the ground and cover it with dust, as the Lord had desired them to do, vs 7; *God was now going to expose their sin in the open by publicly judging them fiercely in the sight of the Nations, vs 8-10, so as to purge them from their uncleanness, vs 11.

Nevertheless, even so, their thick rot was not yet removed, vs 12, because they had mixed uncleanness with obscene conduct, and could be purified only after God exhausted His anger on them, vs 13. This judgment was assured of coming and would be in accordance with their deeds and meted out without pity or regret, vs 14.

When the news of the destruction of the temple reached them together with the news of the death of their loved ones who were left behind, all they would be able to do was groan among themselves and rot on account of their iniquities, without experiencing any comfort that one would normally expect to receive when a painful situation occurs or a very close relative dies, vs 20-24! Infact, God would take away the delight of Ezekiel’s eyes, his very own wife, such that it would be a sign for them of what they were very soon to experience when the temple of God, which was their pride and delight was desecrated by the Gentiles.

Ezekiel would have to go through this painful process, so as to feel as God did and they did and do as God told him to during that time, such that he could be an example to them of what they should do too on hearing of the temple’s destruction, vs 15-19. On the day that happened, a fugitive would come and inform Ezekiel about the same and he would talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer, and thus they would know that the Lord is indeed truly God, vs 25-27.

As we read through this chapter, let us realise the horrible effects that sin, when not repented of, will eventually bring. God loves us sinners, but His justice demands that sin must be punished, and so, even though we, His people, are the delight of His eyes, He can and will show us no partiality whatsoever!

Let us hear and respond with wholehearted repentance for ourselves, our families, our Churches and our Nations. Amen.

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India.