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Judgment on Wicked Counselors
11 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the LORD, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”
And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the LORD: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat, and this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord GOD. And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD. This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”
And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”
Israel’s New Heart and Spirit
And the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the LORD; to us this land is given for a possession.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”
Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me.
(ESV)
Ezekiel 11 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Although it was written thousands of years ago, Ezekiel 11 has a lot of application for our current society.
God said to me, “Mortal man, these men make evil plans and give bad advice in this city. 3 They say, ‘We will soon be building houses again. The city is like a cooking pot, and we are like the meat in it, but at least it protects us from the fire.’
Ezekiel 11:2-3 GNB
What did God have against these men? There are several possibilities.
First, we know that the prophet Jeremiah had warned the people to surrender to Babylon in order to save their lives. Here, it seems as if these men are suggesting that they are “about to be cooked like meat in a pot under a fire,” and should not currently be “building houses.” This advice would indicate the people should be comfortable and relaxed. They also sound like they are recommending that the people enjoy every last moment instead of being proactive in their surrender.
A second possibility is that the text could be read “Is it not now time to build houses?” If this is the case, the men are encouraging people to go about business as usual during this time. Either way you slice it, the advice is opposite of what God intended. He asked them to come forward and accept their punishment. He even guaranteed their survival if they did! But they wanted their ears tickled.
This reminds me of our current culture so much. There are so many new age and mystical philosophers that attempt to help guide people to being happy and productive. Instead of holiness, we want self-help. Instead of sanctification, we want personal happiness. Many Christians are deceived by the world’s flattering advice because they never compare it directly to Scripture.
Let’s face it, the real rebels in our society are legit Christians who seek to live a completely counter-cultural lifestyle compared to the world. That advice is not accepted by the mainstream. The world sees it as boring and dated. Meanwhile, the majority of this generation continues to ingest pseudo-Christian nonsense while the blazing fire warms their cooking pot. And as Christians yell “SURRENDER!” the so-called enlightened continue to encourage the building of houses and accumulation of knowledge and power.
Yes, Ezekiel 11 describes our western culture quite accurately. The need to repent and surrender is as great today as it was back then.