Several days ago, I went camping with my two sons (ages eight and

seven). We hiked to the top of a waterfall and followed the running water

into the mouth of a cave. The deeper we walked into the cave, the darker

it became. Thankfully, we had a few headlamps and a lantern to see the

way. We explored and, because of the light, avoided tripping over rocks

and stubbing our toes. The light exposed what was dangerous and helped

us walk safely.

n every parable, there are lessons to be learned. In this parable, God tells

Ezekiel to fill a pot with water, collect the choice cuts of meat from the

best of the flock, burn the bones under the pot, and then bring it to a boil.

Once this is complete, pile wood under the pot, dump out the meat and

broth, then put it back on the fire and burn the scum out of it.

One of the meanings of the parable is that the only hope for God’s people

is cleansing through the fires of judgment. The fire would burn away

everything that displeases God. This is not the kind of sermon that is

going to get a preacher invited back for another speaking engagement!

In Ezekiel 24, God visualizes and explains their problem with a parable. In

his classic work, "All the Parables of the Bible," Herbert Lockyer claims that

there are more than 250 parables in the Bible. Lockyer says that the most

common word for parable in the New Testament is parabole, which means

“likeness,” or “resemblance.”

Our Lord told many parables. There are estimates that he told anywhere

from thirty to forty-four during His three-year ministry.

By the time we arrive at Ezekiel 23, we learn that the people of God had a

problem. As is always the case when people are away from God, the

problem was a heart problem.

Jesus spoke often of the importance of our hearts. “‘Where your treasure

is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21, ESV). “This people

honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8,

ESV). He told us that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart,

soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).

Throughout Scripture, servants of God have been commanded by their Maker to

proclaim His Message in what we might consider to be odd circumstances.

Jeremiah was told to go to the potter and obtain a clay pot, to take that pot and

break it before the people of God as an illustration of their brokenness. God told

Jeremiah not to get married or have children.

Peter was given a dream about a sheet with all kinds of animals in