Ezekiel

Ezekiel 24: God performs His severe word

Begin in prayer

Before reading the word God gave on Jerusalem's day of siege, let us pause before Him in reverence. Ask the Lord to subdue our distractions, be present with our family and reveal Christ to us as we read Ezekiel 24.

I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will make you wear sackcloth on all your bodies, and baldness on every head. I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.

Amos 8:10

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Help us understand that Your word will stand and see Jesus, the Savior who bore judgment for His people. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

God tells Ezekiel to record the day Babylon draws near Jerusalem. He pictures the bloody city as a rusty pot whose filth remains despite the fire, and announces judgment without sparing. God then says He will take away the desire of Ezekiel's eyes with a stroke, and his wife dies that evening. Ezekiel obeys the command to sigh quietly without the signs of mourning. God will likewise profane the sanctuary the people treasure, and their children will fall by the sword. They will waste away in their iniquities, and a survivor will bring news to Ezekiel. His muteness will end, and they will know that the Lord is God.

As you read Ezekiel 24, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God performs His word of judgment and makes His people know that He is the Lord.

Recording the siege's exact day while Ezekiel is among the captives will let later news confirm the word God gives him. The cooking pot reverses the earlier picture of safety, making Jerusalem the vessel whose filth persists under judgment. Its exposed blood explains the accusation against the city, while the stubborn rust pictures wickedness that cleansing has not removed. God's refusal to spare follows His declaration that Jerusalem will not be cleansed again until His wrath rests. The repeated phrase desire of the eyes links Ezekiel's beloved wife with the sanctuary the people treasure. Her death makes the coming loss personal and visible, while his commanded restraint becomes God's particular sign to Israel. Keeping headdress and shoes and refusing mourning food leaves out customary signs of grief, as the people will do in their coming calamity. Their treasured sanctuary and children cannot shelter them from the God who says He will profane it and bring the sword. The survivor's arrival and Ezekiel's opened mouth will confirm that the Lord who warned them has performed His word.

How does Ezekiel 24 show us that God performs His word of judgment and makes His people know that He is the Lord?

God exposes the city that refuses cleansing.

Jerusalem is like a rusty cooking pot whose filth will not leave it (verses 1 to 14). Its blood lies uncovered on rock. God will perform His judgment without sparing or turning back. God says she will not be cleansed again until His wrath toward her has come to rest (verse 13).

God makes His prophet a sign of coming loss.

God takes Ezekiel's wife, the desire of his eyes, and commands him to omit mourning signs (verses 15 to 24). The sanctuary the people treasure will be profaned by God. Their sons and daughters will fall by the sword. They too will waste away in their iniquities.

God will confirm His word when the news arrives.

A survivor will come to Ezekiel with news of the loss God foretells (verses 25 to 27). His mouth will open, ending his muteness. The people will know that the LORD has spoken.

Memorize

I, Yahweh, have spoken it: it shall happen, and I will do it: I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent.

Ezekiel 24:14

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what hard word from God am I avoiding, and will I trust Jesus?

God declares, “I, Yahweh, have spoken it: it shall happen, and I will do it”. The city's uncleanness will meet the judgment He has announced. Even Ezekiel's terrible loss becomes a sign that His word will stand. We cannot make His warning harmless by refusing to hear it.

Jesus came to rescue His people from the judgment their sins deserved. He bore their punishment when He died for them on the cross. His blood purchased their complete redemption, and His finished sacrifice is enough to bring them to God. He rose from death, fulfilling the word He had spoken about His resurrection (Luke 24 verses 6 and 7).

Turn from your sin and trust this living Savior. Come to Him with the guilt that God's warning exposes. He promises forgiveness to every sinner who receives Him in faith. The Savior who died and rose receives repentant sinners with the mercy His completed work secured.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God's word stands, and Jesus died and rose to save those who trust Him. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Please explain the death of Ezekiel's wife and the children's coming deaths with care, keeping God's actions and the sign clear.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for speaking truth that will surely stand, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.

Hebrews 6:18

Father, thank You that Your Word is true and that Jesus saves sinners from judgment. Forgive our refusal to hear painful warnings, and help each one repent and believe in Him. Please give us humble hearts under Your Word and comfort us as we bring our sorrows to You. Amen.