Ezekiel 24:1-5 - Put on the cooking pot

24:1,2

We now come to the culmination of the words given from about chapter 12 onwards. These have all been addressing the belief of the people of Israel, in particular those in exile, that God would not allow His city, Jerusalem, and especially His temple to be overrun by the heathen hordes of Babylon. Ezekiel has been explaining that God will certainly do this, and is utterly determined to do this, that it is entirely just for Him to do this, and that the problem lies with the people of Jerusalem, namely their utter sinfulness. This verse gives a clear date, normally taken to be 588 BC. It is the date that Jerusalem fell.There are those who cannot see how Ezekiel in Babylon could possibly know this, but such people do not seem to think that God is capable of communicating with people!

24:3-5

Ezekiel is commanded to give another of his dramatic presentations. He is to put on a cooking pot and put pieces of meat into the pot, along with the water. This is to be the best meat and bones. Careful preparations are to be made. What God is saying is that the fall of Jerusalem was an event carefully planned by Him. It was not an accident, not something that took God by surprise. It was an event orchestrated by the Lord.