Ezekiel 24 - "Then You Will Know that I am the Lord"

LINK: Ezekiel 24

BACKGROUND

This is the last chapter in the first section of Ezekiel that deals with the destruction of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4-24). The first part of this chapter is about a boiling pot (24:1-14), and the second part is about the death of the prophet's wife (24:15-27).

January 15, 588 B.C. marked the siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 39:1; 52:4). The rebellious house of Judah was sieged by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon because they had broken God's laws and had violated the terms of the covenant. This message was given to the exiles in captivity on the beginning day of Jerusalem's siege. This would last for two years before its total destruction in 586 B.C.

The parable of the cooking pot is similar to what Ezekiel had told them in Ezekiel 11 where leaders assured the people that they were like safe meat inside the pot (Jerusalem), but Ezekiel prophesied that they were dead meat. The "rust" of their impurities would float to the surface during God's judgment. Since the meal was ruined by this, the contents of the pot would be thrown away. Since Jerusalem had blatantly shed the blood of others, God would openly shed her blood on the bare rocks.

The second part of this chapter deals with the death of Ezekiel's wife. He was told to "groan silently" over her death (24:17) and not follow normal mourning procedures. He did this, and the people wanted an explanation. Ezekiel explained that this was symbolic of the relationship between God and His wayward people. The death of his wife symbolized the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem which were "the stronghold of their pride, the delight of their eyes, and the object of their affection." They were to follow his example in mourning. The Babylonians set the temple in Jerusalem on fire on August 14, 586 B.C., but news of its destruction did not reach them by messenger until January 8, 585 B.C. (33:21-22). On that day, Ezekiel would be mute no longer, and the exiles would know that God is the LORD (24:27)!

REFLECTION

". . . and they will know that I am the LORD." 
(24: 27)

When God wants to get a point across, He repeats it over and over again. Check out how many times he repeats this phrase throughout the book of Ezekiel:

	5:13: "Thus My anger will be spent and I will satisfy My wrath on them, and I will be appeased; then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in My zeal when I have spent My wrath upon them."
	6:10 “Then they will know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them.”
	6:13: “Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their slain are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every green tree and under every leafy oak—the places where they offered soothing aroma to all their idols."
	6:14: “So throughout all their habitations I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; thus they will know that I am the Lord.”
	7:27: "The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. According to their conduct, I will deal with them, and by their judgments, I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.”
	12:15: “So they will know that I am the Lord when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries."
	12:16: “But I will spare a few of them from the sword, the famine and the pestilence that they may tell all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the Lord.”
	13:9: “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord God."
	13:21: “I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands to be hunted, and you will know that I am the Lord."
	14:23: “Then they will comfort you when you see their conduct and actions, for you will know that I have not done in vain whatever I did to it,” declares the Lord God.
	15:7: ". . . and I set My face against them. Though they have come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them."
	20:38: ". . . and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the Lord."
	24:27: "On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
	25:11: “Thus I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
	25:14: “I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath; thus they will know My vengeance,” declares the Lord God.
	25:17: “I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will know that I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance on them.”
	26:6: "Also her daughters who are on the mainland will be slain by the sword, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
	28:22: Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, And I will be glorified in your midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments in her, And I will manifest My holiness in her."
	28:23: “For I will send pestilence to her and blood to her streets, and the wounded will fall in her midst By the sword upon her on every side; then they will know that I am the Lord."
	28:24: “And there will be no more for the house of Israel a prickling brier or a painful thorn from any round about them who scorned them; then they will know that I am the Lord God.”
	28:26: “They will live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”
	29:6: “Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord, Because they have been only a staff made of reed to the house of Israel."
	29:9: “The land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,'"
	29:16: “And it will never again be the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing to mind the iniquity of their having turned to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”
	29:21: “On that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
	30:8: “And they will know that I am the Lord, When I set a fire in Egypt And all her helpers are broken.
	30:19: “Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt, And they will know that I am the Lord.”
	30:25: "Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt."
	30:26: "When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.”
	33:29: “Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.”
	34:27: “Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them."
	34:30: “Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God.
	35:12: “Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all your revilings which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel saying, ‘They are laid desolate; they are given to us for food.’"
	35:15: “As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will do to you. You will be a desolation, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
	36:11: "I will multiply on you man and beast; and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were formerly and will treat you better than at the first. Thus you will know that I am the Lord."
	36:38: “Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
	38:23: “I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.”
	39:6: “And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the Lord."
	39:28: “Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer."

APPLICATION - Breath Prayer

Take the phrase, "They will know that I am the Lord," and make it into a breath prayer. Still your body and your mind. Rest in the presence of God. Center on Him. Then breathe slowly saying:

They will know (inhale)

That I am the Lord (exhale)

You might even like to personalize it:

I will know (inhale)

That You are the Lord (exhale)

There is no set rule about how many times you breathe in and out. Let God be your guide.

You might like to carry this breath prayer with you throughout the day. I am leading a Silent Prayer time and a Renovare Spiritual Formation Book Club today, and I might start our time with this breath prayer. 

God wants us to know Him deeply and intimately. How can You know Him more deeply and intimately today? Perhaps, you could carry this Breath Prayer throughout your day. 

This was my application from 2012:

“In order to know Him more deeply, I will go and spend a half day of prayer outside with my friend, Elizabeth, who is visiting from India this month.” 

Update: It was really glorious! We went to a property overlooking our Crescent Valley. God met me there. 

PRAYER

Let this song by Michael Card bring you into His presence:

Lord, we want to know You. Lead us into a deeper understanding of Your heart and ways. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.