Ezekiel 11 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Ezekiel 11

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11:1 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. 2 And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3 who say, ‘The time is not near¹ to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

5 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. 6 You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. 7 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. 8 You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord GOD. 9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. 10 You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD. 11 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, 12 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.”

13 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

14 And the word of the LORD came to me: 15 “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,² 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.’ 16 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 while³ in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 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.’ 18 And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 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, 20 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. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will⁴ bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 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. 24 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. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me.

Footnotes

[1] 11:3 Or Is not the time near . . . ?
[2] 11:15 Hebrew the men of your redemption
[3] 11:16 Or in small measure
[4] 11:21 Hebrew To the heart of their detestable things and their abominations their heart goes; I will

Commentary

v1-2: The princes among the people;

guilty as those who devise iniquity;
guilty as those who give wicked counsel;
probably respected as leaders;
identified by name;
bringing an evil influence upon the people.

v3: They describe themselves as the meat, the chosen ones, the holy part of the offering. They announce imminent freedom from the advancing Babylonians, claiming that the people could soon build again; they gave false hope. There is neither humility, nor willingness to repentance.

v4-5: Ezekiel the messenger, commanded and anointed by God, not just at the beginning of his ministry, but repeatedly. Our anointing by God for ministry may vary, as He directs and redirects, as He strengthens and restrengthens, etc. Our confidence is in the God who equips.

God sees the heart, particularly of those who are hypocrites, whose hypocrisy has to be exposed.

v6: The princes of Judah; guilty of murder.

v7-11: The clear answers to the princes; claims. There are not the meat, the slain are the meat, and the city the cauldron; the leaders would be taken away, and die by the sword. They are no better than the dead; and would soon join them in death.

v12: The Lord reveals Himself in judgment, criticising the leaders who follow the ways of the nations, neglecting the way of truth.

v13: Judgment begins, as Pelatiah dies. In response, Ezekiel, like Jeremiah full of concern for his people, prays for them. His prayer does not claim any goodness in the people, but relies on God's mercy.

v14-15: There was a claim that only those left in Jerusalem loved the Lord; the true Israel was rejected by those in Jerusalem. Those left in Jerusalem claimed to be ‘the meat,’ as in v3.

There is a sifting of the people, as the Lord judges them at the borders of Israel (v10); see 1 Cor 11.19; there are divisions among the people so that the true will be recognised.

v16: No temple for the Jews in the foreign lands. The Lord became for them a little sanctuary, as Daniel found. Such is His faithfulness. This is also part of the answer to the accusation that the Lord had forsaken those who had been exiled.

We may find ourselves alone, under pressure, neglected, feeling forgotten by God. But His promise is clear. He is our sanctuary, our dwelling place, until the day when we enjoy His unbroken presence. (In fact God is never absent, although we are not always conscious of His presence.)

v17-21: Ezekiel's first promise of restoration; in contrast to the judgment poured out on the people.

v17: Regathered from many nations, and returned to their land.

v18: Idolatry rejected; this occurred on their return from Babylon. The later books, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and the gospels, make no mention of idolatry.

v19: A new heart, undivided, a heart of flesh, a new spirit; a changed people.

v20: A new life of obedience, and a restored relationship with God.

v21: Judgment on the rebellious, those who persist in rejecting God's ways.

v22-23: The Mount of Olives, Zech 14.4, a key place in prophecy in relation to Christ's second coming, and the restoration of Israel.

v24-25: Ezekiel reported his vision (chapters 8 to 11) to the exiles, bringing encouragement to them.