3 "Speak a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "Put on the pot , put it on and also pour water in it; 4 Put in it the pieces , Every good piece , the thigh and the shoulder ; Fill it with choice bones . 5 "Take the choicest of the flock , And also pile wood under the pot. Make it boil vigorously . Also seethe its bones in it."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 24:3-5
Commentary on Ezekiel 24:1-14
(Read Ezekiel 24:1-14)
The pot on the fire represented Jerusalem besieged by the Chaldeans: all orders and ranks were within the walls, prepared as a prey for the enemy. They ought to have put away their transgressions, as the scum, which rises by the heat of the fire, is taken from the top of the pot. But they grew worse, and their miseries increased. Jerusalem was to be levelled with the ground. The time appointed for the punishment of wicked men may seem to come slowly, but it will come surely. It is sad to think how many there are, on whom ordinances and providences are all lost.