Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

Put on the pot; put it on
    and pour water into it.
Put into it the pieces of meat,
    all the choice pieces—the leg and the shoulder.
Fill it with the best of these bones;
    take the pick of the flock.
Pile wood beneath it for the bones;
    bring it to a boil
    and cook the bones in it.

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
    Woe to the city of bloodshed,
    to the pot now encrusted,
    whose deposit will not go away!

— Ezekiel 24:3-6 (NIV)

Ezekiel delivered this parable on the day Nebuchadnezzar began his siege of Jerusalem. The pot represents Jerusalem, and its contents symbolize the people facing judgment for their corruption and violence.

Sin's Effects

Divine Cleansing

Warning Signs

Parable of the Boiling Pot

"Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:
'Who can be compared with you in majesty?
Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
its top above the thick foliage.

The waters nourished it,
deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
all around its base
and sent their channels
to all the trees of the field.

So it towered higher
than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
and its branches grew long,
spreading because of abundant waters...

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered high, lifting its top above the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside...'"

— Ezekiel 31:2-5, 10-11 (NIV)

Ezekiel delivered this parable as a warning to Egypt, using Assyria's fall as an object lesson. It was given two months before Jerusalem's fall, warning Egypt about the dangers of pride and the certainty of divine judgment.

Pride's Danger

Divine Sovereignty

Historical Lessons

Parable of the Cedar Tree

> The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
>
> "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."
>
> — 2 Samuel 12:1-4 (NIV)

Nathan delivered this parable to King David after David's sin with Bathsheba and the arranged death of her husband Uriah. The parable was designed to help David see his own actions through a different lens.

Nathan's Parable of the Ewe Lamb

"Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel and say:

'What a lioness was your mother
    among the lions!
She lay down among them
    and reared her cubs.
She brought up one of her cubs,
    and he became a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
    and he became a man-eater.
The nations heard about him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.

When she saw her hope unfulfilled,
    her expectation gone,
she took another of her cubs
    and made him a strong lion.
He prowled among the lions,
    for he was now a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
    and he became a man-eater.
He broke down their strongholds
    and devastated their towns.
The land and all who were in it
    were terrified by his roaring.
Then the nations came against him,
    those from regions round about.
They spread their net for him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.'"

— Ezekiel 19:1-8 (NIV)

This lament-parable describes the fate of two of Judah's last kings: Jehoahaz (taken to Egypt) and Jehoiachin (taken to Babylon). The lioness represents the nation of Judah, and her cubs are the royal sons who became kings.

Leadership Responsibility

Pride's Downfall

National Consequences

Parable of the Lion's Cubs

The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on?

And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord."

— Ezekiel 15:1-7 (NIV)

Ezekiel delivered this parable during the Babylonian exile to illustrate Jerusalem's uselessness when failing its divine purpose. The vine represents Israel, traditionally God's chosen vineyard, now failing to produce fruit.

Divine Purpose

Spiritual Productivity

Judgment Warning

Parable of the Productive and Unproductive Vine

I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.

"Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?

Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled.
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds not to rain on it."

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

— Isaiah 5:1-7 (NIV)

Isaiah delivered this love song turned lament during a time of relative prosperity in Judah, warning of coming judgment due to their failure to produce the fruit of righteousness despite God's careful cultivation.

Biblical Parables

What is a Parable?

Why Study Parables?

Ancient Wisdom

Deeper Understanding

Spiritual Growth

Featured Parables

Parable of the Boiling Pot

Parable of the Cedar Tree

Nathan's Parable of the Ewe Lamb

Parable of the Lion's Cubs

Parable of the Productive and Unproductive Vine

Song of the Vineyard

Get Weekly Encouragement & Insights Via Parables

Biblical Parables

What is a Parable?

Why Study Parables?

Ancient Wisdom

Deeper Understanding

Spiritual Growth

Featured Parables

Parable of the Boiling Pot

Parable of the Cedar Tree

Nathan's Parable of the Ewe Lamb

Parable of the Lion's Cubs

Parable of the Productive and Unproductive Vine

Song of the Vineyard

Get Weekly Encouragement & Insights Via Parables

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