Ezekiel 24:11
Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
Ezekiel 24:11 stands within that portion of the book made up of prophetic warnings spoken before Jerusalem was destroyed. More particularly, it belongs to the sorrowful episode recorded in chapter 24, which comes immediately after chapter 23 lays bare the dreadful sins of Judah and Israel. In that setting the prophet himself was made a sign to the people, portraying in his own sufferings and deprivations something of the terrible sufferings about to fall upon Israel. Famine was portrayed by his living for a time on a famine diet, captivity and bonds by his lying in one posture as if bound, and the loss of the city and temple that were the pride of life and joy of heart by his enduring the crushing blow of losing his wife without sighing or crying or wailing aloud.
The verse itself presents an empty cooking pot placed upon the coals and heated until its metal glows and burns, so that the filthiness inside it melts and its scum is consumed. That prophecy was not for ancient Israel alone, but holds a lesson for later generations as well.