Ezekiel 24:1-14 KJV Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. [3] And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: [4] Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. [5] Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein. [6] Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it. [7] For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; [8] That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. [9] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great. [10] Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. [11] Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. [12] She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire. [13] In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee. [14] I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.
I. INTRODUCTION -- HOG-KILLING TIME
I will never forget as a young boy during the winter time every year when Emmett Grimsley, one of our neighbors would kill one of his hogs. I never say the actual killing of the animal when they would take a .22 rifle and shoot it in the head. Nor would I see the actual cleaning, gutting, and all that goes along with the preparation of the animal to freeze.
However, more times than one I saw Mr. Grimsley and his brother-in-law take the head of that hog and drop it down into a huge pot of boiling water. They had one of the old big black kettles and would build a huge wood fire under it and fill the pot about ¾’s full. Once the water began to bubble and brew they would drop that entire head down in the water. Eyes, ears, tongue, and everything else that goes along with it would be boiled out of the skull of the hog.
Their purpose was to make “hogs head” cheese or maybe better known to some as “souse.” They would have a large ladle to pull off the material from the pot and drop it over in another large metal pot and then they would let it cool until it congealed. They would add spices and such to it so that it would be edible during the rest of the winter and early spring.
I tried a bit one time and it was so good that I have never needed any more and probably won’t for the rest of my life! That is how good that stuff is! But Mr. and Mrs. Grimsley and all their kin-folks thought it was the greatest stuff in the world.
In all of that process, I would notice something though about that process. They would leave that old skull sitting that water and it would boil on for the rest of the day. As it boiled, there seemed to be more and more scum that would rise to the top of the pot and if the water level was high enough it would drop over into the fire. If the water level was lower it would sit in the pot and the scum would rise to the top of the pot and it would stick. As the day went on the ring around the top would become more disgusting looking and it would almost bake into the ring of the pot.
Mr. Grimsely would let it stay in the pot for several days sometimes even 2-3 weeks before he would finally get it all out. Because that huge black pot was cast iron, it would soon begin to rust around the ridge where all the scum deposit was. When you add a few flies to this and consider what they would do, it became a pretty crummy and nauseating scene to behold.
-When I read this passage of Scripture a few days ago, this memory from 30 or more years ago came back to me. Basically Ezekiel was passing along what God had said to them in this parable to a rebellious house.
-That is what I am preaching to you. . . A Parable for a Rebellious House. . .
II. EZEKIEL’S PARABLE OF JUDGMENT
-Straight out of the shute in Ezekiel 24:1, one notes the words, “the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,”
-When you specifically look for the phrase, “the word of the Lord came” in Ezekiel’s writings, 47 times this sentence appears.
-It does not take very long to read through the book of Ezekiel to find that this man would probably be placed in a category all alone. Perhaps some would even choose to call him a weird sort of man but he was one of God’s most prolific voices to Israel during their captivity (or exile as some scholars call it).
-In fact if you look at the first three verses of chapter 1, you immediately discover what kind of man that Ezekiel was.
Ezekiel 1:1-3 KJV Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. [2] In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, [3] The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
-The Psalmist tells us (137) that the captives sat down and wept with great sadness. While the people were weeping, Ezekiel is seeing visions.
-During this time frame, God will use two men to record what is being accomplished with his judgment of Israel’s idolatry. One is a prime minister (Daniel) and the other is a priest (Ezekiel).
A. He Marched to a Different Drummer
-Ezekiel certainly marched to the beat of a different drummer. The Bible very clearly stipulates to us some very strange things that this prophet did to gain his hearer’s attention.
• He drew a small map of Jerusalem on the ground and then set up toy soldiers with armies complete with battering rams to show how Israel was going to be taken down (4:1-3).
• He lay on the ground on his left side for 390 days to symbolize the sin of the Northern Kingdom. Each day was symbolic of a year (4:4-5).
• He then lay on the ground of his right side for 40 days to symbolize the sin of the Southern Kingdom. Each day was symbolic of a year (4:6).
• He cooked a very scant meal with mixed grains and then cooked it over cow dung. This object lesson was to show how scarce that food was ultimately going to be (4:9-17).
• He shaved his head and beard. Then he divided the cuttings into three parts. One part was burned, a second was cut up with a sword, and a third was scattered to the wind. All of this was to give Judah and Jerusalem a picture of their trouble. One third of the people would die by fire in a siege, one third would die by the sword, and one third would be scattered to the winds (5:1-4).
• He dug an entrance through the city wall. He took some of his baggage and placed it outside his home. In the evening he dug an escape hole through the wall. As he went through the hole, carrying the baggage, he covered his face. This was significant of the exiles having to hurriedly leave their homes. The hole in the wall symbolized their desperation to leave the doomed city. His covered face depicted Zedekiah, Judah’s last king, who was blinded by Nebuchadnezzar (12:1-16).
• He trembled as he ate (12:17-20).
• He would weep in public (21:1-7).
• He took a sword and had an imaginary fencing duel (21:9-17).
• He drew a map of the Middle East and traced two routes on it (21:18-22).
• He boiled a pot of water until the meat and vegetables were cooked. He then tossed it out and let the pot keep cooking until the whole pot was burned out to eliminate the rust and scum (24:1-14).
• He remained tearless at his wife’s funeral at the command of God (24:2).
B. The Parables of Ezekiel
-Throughout the book of Ezekiel, there are many parables that God will use (23).
• Of the Living Creatures -- 1:1-28
• Of the Eaten Roll -- 2-3
• Of the Decorated Tile -- 4:1-17
• Of the Shaved Head and Beard -- 5:1-17
• Of the Image of Jealousy -- 8:1-18
• Of the Man With the Inkhorn -- 9-10
• Of the Cauldron of Meat --- 11:1-25
• Of the Removal -- 12:1-28
• Of the Vine Branch -- 15:1-8
• Of the Faithless Wife -- 16:1-63
• Of the Great Eagle -- 17:1-24
• Of the Lioness and her Whelps -- 19:1-9
• Of the Vine With Strong Rods -- 19:10-14
• Of the Two Sisters -- 23:1-49
• Of the Scummy Pot -- 24:1-14
• Of the Prophet’s Wife -- 24:15-24
• Of the Anointed Cherub -- 28:1-19
• Of the Cedar of Lebanon -- 31:1-18
• Of the Unfaithful Shepherds -- 34:1-31
• Of the Valley of Dry Bones -- 37:1-14
• Of the Two Sticks -- 37:15-28
• Of the Measuring Reed -- 40:1-5; 41:19-20; 43:1-19
• Of the Rising Waters -- 47:1-12
-There is little doubt in my mind that every one of these has very powerful messages that should be developed and preached at some point during my life time!
-All in all, one quickly notes that this prophet was willing to do the radical for God. That is the way the prophets operate. Rarely are you confused about the message that they bring to us.
• If I could only do that with this message.
• If I could pull on the cloak of a prophet.
• If I could slip on his sandals for a while.
• If my voice could ring with authority and passion.
• If God could grant me the role of a prophet for a little while, then I would be able to convey to you what I feel that God has directly put into my spirit.
C. The Parable to a Rebellious House
-Now we come specifically to the text that we read. God told Ezekiel to take some specific steps and live out a parable in front of the city of Jerusalem.
• Get a pot.
• Fill it with water.
• Gather the choice cuts of meat from the choice of the flock.
• Burn the bones under the pot.
• Bring it to a boiling point.
• Pile wood under the pot.
• Dump the meat and broth out.
• Put it back on the fire and burn the scum out of it.
-God was showing to Jerusalem that their only hope of cleansing was through the fires of judgment. The fire of judgment has the ability to burn away everything that displeases God.
-The picture is painted by God but the activity is being carried out by Ezekiel. Everything is to be thrown into the pot. The common fire of judgment would come to all classes.
• Jerusalem is the pot.
• The walls would not protect them. The heat came through the walls. Nothing on earth would protect them from the divine wrath of God.
• Jerusalem is imprisoned in their boiling pot with no escape.
• Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians are the intense fire that will cleanse them.
-Imagine that preacher on that day, working at that boiling pot, all the while crying out a message of doom to Jerusalem. Not a very popular message. In fact, this message is not very religiously or politically correct but God never has had much time for religion or politics.
C. The Scum in the Pot
-Amidst all of this boiling there is a point that God makes. It is a scummy pot. The Hebrew word here is chelaw. Its proper meaning would be that of a disease or could even be expressed as rust that was in the pot.
Ezekiel 24:13-14 MOFFAT’S The rust is your impurity so foul. Because I would have cleansed you and you would not be clean, you shall never be cleansed from your impurity till I glut my eternal fury on you. [14] I the Eternal have said it, and I will do it; I will not refrain, I will not pity, I will not relent, I will punish you as you have lived and act—so says the Lord the Eternal.
-Whatever word that the prophet was getting at, whether disease, scum, or rust, the fact of the matter is that God saw that the rebellious house had an impurity about it that He would not let escape His wrath.
• Scum is like a corrosive agent that bites into the pot like an acid.
• Scum reveals the inferior character of the pot.
• Scum attaches itself to the walls of the iron pot (It could not do so to gold or silver, which are superior to iron).
• Scum presents when temptation is given into quickly. It reveals an inferior base metal in the soul.
• Scum corrupts the very substance of the soul.
• Scum breaks down the integrity of the soul.
• Scum will wear away the resistance of the soul.
• Scum will destroy the beauty of the soul.
-This boiling scum is the very pit of a man’s rebellious heart. Such extremes come to a rebellious heart especially when the boiling fires begin to seek out the spirit. The fire of judgment exposes such fearful things in a man’s life.
-There are some who try all sorts of means to get rid of the scum. Some men will simply turn from their past without any intervention of the Holy Ghost. Others resort to discipline and behavior modification. A few even rely on their ability to make restitution of the damages.
Ezekiel 24:12 KJV She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
-The emphasis of this passage is that the pot wearied and exhausted men in their efforts to cleanse it. The only way the rust and impurity could be removed was through the fire.
-All of these efforts are nothing more than self-righteousness which always comes up empty. There is only one way to remove the scum. . . The intervention of the fire. . . This is why that God planned it for every man when he first walked into the Tabernacle to face the brazen altar where a sacrifice had to be offered at an altar of fire.
Deuteronomy 4:23-24 KJV [23] Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. [24] For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
D. Why the Judgment?
-Some may be wondering what was it that caused Israel to come under such a moment of judgment? This question is answered in the text that we read.
• 24:3 -- They are a house of rebellion.
• 24:6, 9 -- They are a city of blood full of violence and murder.
• 24:12 -- They consume themselves with lies, corruption, deceit, fraud, and insincerity.
• 24:13 -- Lewdness which is defined as a sensual sin but also the carnality of luxury that brought much lethargy to their spiritual man.
-But now God is faced with a dilemma. . . . .
Ezekiel 24:13 KJV . . . because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
“I purged you but you would not be purged! I did My best!”
• Preachers were sent their way.
• Prophets appeared on the scene.
• The Law was working in their behalf.
• The Offerings, Sacrifices, and Feasts were efforts to guide them.
• They were given a Tabernacle and a Temple.
“You would not listen. You would not heed My voice!”
2 Peter 2:22 KJV But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Isaiah 1:5 KJV Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Jeremiah 6:28-30 KJV They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters. [29] The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. [30] Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.
-That is what sometimes happens even in a Church. God does the very best. . .
• He sends revivals our way.
• He sends a spirit of prayer that catches us on Saturday nights.
• He sends preachers in our direction.
• He sends anointed singing and singers with songs that strike our souls.
• He sends us programs to get us more involved.
• He sends us people who try to speak gently and sometimes not so gently to our wayward hearts.
-All to no avail. . . Everything is sent to try to get us to listen. . . all to no avail! The scum climbs higher and higher.
-As a matter of fact, there are times that judgment is delayed and delayed and delayed. It seems that the interval for repentance will go on almost forever but the delay does not mean that it will be absent. Unrepentant sin will ultimately be judged!
-If I could plead with you tonight, what would it be?
2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
James 1:21-22 KJV Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. [22] But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
-Far too many think that they will capitalize on the grace of God and get off free. However, just as sin has its penalties, grace also has its demands (which is much forgotten in our age).
Romans 6:1-3 KJV What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? [2] God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? [3] Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
-The judgment will come with such precision and such power. . . Note the words of Ezekiel. . .
Ezekiel 24:2 KJV Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.
-In judgment, God has no respect of persons. It did not matter to Him. . . The choice cuts. . . . the King, the princes, the nobles, the rich, the poor, and the middle class. . . all were coming under the judgment of God.
I wonder if in this generation where hospice assists those who are dying if we have lost the very voices of the greatest preachers in our generation. It was in the days before the advances of medicine that people on their death-beds become some of the most ardent preachers who have ever preached. There were those who described the beauty of heaven and there were others who cried out over the agonies and horrors of hell! We have sterilized death and the crying voices have been silenced by the stupor of narcotics. I realize that this is a thought that most of us do not want to entertain and find great offense that I would even resort to using this analogy. But we must be saved!
-Paul literally pleads with us to judge ourselves. . .
1 Corinthians 10:6-12 KJV [6] Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. [7] Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. [8] Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. [9] Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. [10] Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. [11] Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. [12] Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
-And again. . . .
1 Corinthians 11:28-31 KJV [28] But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. [29] For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. [30] For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. [31] For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
III. A LESSON FOR TODAY
-If Ezekiel’s words and Paul’s exhortations seem so long ago and so far away, then let me make the application of the types of things that will spoil our lives. There is a very real scum of the soul that will rust and ruin it if we do not carefully judge it and allow God to remove it.
• A rebellious house is one that will sacrifice her children on the altars of the world.
• A rebellious house is one that will live in open rebellion to the Word of God and to the servants that preach it.
• A rebellious house is one that will live half-hearted in pursuit of God.
• A rebellious house is one that is prayer-less.
• A rebellious house is one that becomes complacent and apathetic with the times.
• A rebellious house is one that allows the spirit of the age to dictate their hunger for God.
• A rebellious house is one that lives in immodesty of spirit and expression.
• A rebellious house is one that is choked with materialism.
• A rebellious house is one that lives its life in the grip of Hollywood’s definitions.
• A rebellious house is one that has very little burden for reaching the lost.
• A rebellious house is one that is disinterested in trying to repair a broken marriage.
• A rebellious house is one that has little concern for the path and direction of her children.
• A rebellious house is one that will abort spiritual things that will cost their time and effort.
• A rebellious house is one that is more interested in the opinion of the culture than the statutes of Scripture.
• A rebellious house is one that would rather live by the standard of self-justification that says, “I don’t have a conviction against that.”
• A rebellious house is one that is focused on entertainment instead of self-sacrifice.
-We need to pray. . . We need to repent. . . We need to use this first Sunday of the year to set some things up in our lives. . .
IV. CONCLUSION
I distinctly remember a revival in 1977 or 1978 when a man named Aubrey Jackson came through here and preached a revival. I was in the sixth grade and this was when revivals went on Sunday to Sunday. After the second week, we would take Monday night off as a rest night and then go back at it again for the rest of the week (usually would last several weeks).
Brother Jackson preached an extended revival here and we had seen a lot of good things happen during that revival. So on the last Sunday night when we were closing the revival down, we all came to church expecting a typical Sunday night runaway. However, on this night, even though I was only sixth grader, I could tell that something was up. We labored through the praying, through the singing, through the preaching, and even through the altar service.
As we closed out that night, Brother Patterson was concluding the service. Brother Jackson had already preached and was in the process of leaving and going on to the next place down the road. As Brother Patterson was finishing up, Brother Jackson stepped up to the pulpit and told Brother Patterson that he had a word for the Lord for someone in the building.
He begin by saying that we all had noticed a heaviness in the service on that night and that he felt the heaviness of death and that someone in the service would be involved in a terrible situation in the coming days if they did not get their heart right with God. When he said those horrible words a great hush fell over the entire congregation and it was not long before the altars filled up and another prayer meeting began. It had a much stronger intensity than anything the entire service and it went on for some time.
I can remember getting in the car and it was strangely very quiet in our car as we traveled home that night. A hundred un-asked questions filled my mind about what Brother Jackson had to say to the church on that night. I will say that there was much fear that was in my own heart that night.
Time passed and I may have lingered over the thought for a couple of days that following week but soon, I put it into the far recesses on my mind and forgot about it. But the Lord did not forget what He had told Brother Jackson to say to us on that night. Because in that service were some young men who basically spent their lives swiping at God and rebelling against their parents. On that particular night, they had sat on the back row with very smug, contented smirks on their face when Brother Jackson gave us this warning. Too cool for God. . . in fact, way too cool for God!
Six weeks later on a Monday morning, we were riding a bus from Rehobeth to Madrid and at the intersection on 231, a sudden quietness came over the whole bus. When we all looked in the south-bound lane, three of my classmates were laying out in the road. Another one was hand-cuffed and was walking with a Houston County deputy toward an awaiting sheriff’s car. One of the classmates was literally covered in blood. Another was lying face down in the road and not moving at all. Most of us thought that he was dead. The other classmate was lying down but was moving as if in much pain.
The kid who was not moving in the middle of the road, was one of the young men who was sitting smugly on that Sunday night in the back pew when Brother Jackson spoke as he did. He spent a lengthy time in the hospital with several fractures in his back.
All in all, it was but for the literal mercy of God that he managed to survive being thrown from the van that he had been riding in. To this day, he has never turned around toward God.
-I suppose that there are some who would want to say that we don’t need that kind of operation of the Spirit in our churches these days, but that is where you would certainly be wrong.
Brother Jackson also from the pulpit that night publicly addressed some very talented young people and told them that if they would keep their heart right with God that in time much success would come. For a little while, their hearts were in the right place. But something about time sometimes will weary even the hardiest runner and this is what happened. Talent became paramount instead of prayer. Ability replaced consecration. Charisma replaced anointing and it was like a house of cards that was blown over by the faintest breath of wind.
-We live in a time that doesn’t handle this kind of preaching very well because we want to assert our rights. . . What you never realize is that you are asserting your rights, you are raising a rebellious voice toward God and it cannot last. . . Furthermore, it will not last. . .
-I think it is time for all of us to do some soul-searching about the direction of our lives over the last year and repent.
Philip Harrelson
January 5, 2008
