Chapter xi.

This chapter concludes the visions concerning the doom of Jerusalem. At the close of the previous chapter we saw the Glory of the Lord getting ready to leave the doomed city. The complete withdrawal is recorded now. However, before we reach this we find a prophecy uttered against the leaders of the people. Then the Prophet received a comforting message about the future restoration and blessing of the nation. This is the first restoration promise in this book. It is repeated and enlarged in the great predictions after the fall of Jerusalem.

I. The Prophecy against the Leaders.

Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah, the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city; which say, It is not near; let us build houses; this city is the cauldron, and we be the flesh.

Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon men, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord, Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Your slain, whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the cauldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God. And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. Ye shall fall by the sword: I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. This city shall not be your cauldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgements, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.

And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah, Lord God! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel? (verses 1-13).

The Prophet had watched the movements of the cherubim and the glory of the Lord, and now he is again suddenly transported to the east gate of the Lord's house. At the door of the gate he beholds twenty-five men. He recognized among them Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. In the eighth chapter he had also seen, between the porch and the altar, twenty-five men with their backs towards the temple (viii:16). In that chapter Jaazaniah is mentioned. The question then arises, is this the same company Ezekiel sees once more and against which he utters his denunciatory message? They cannot be identical with the men in the previous chapter, for they belonged evidently to the priestly class, while the twenty-five men in this chapter are leaders, or princes, of the people. Nor is the Jaazaniah the same as in the eighth chapter. Here is a Jaazaniah who was the son of Azur, while the other Jaazaniah was the son of Shaphan. These princes here may be the same of whom we read in Jeremiah xxxviii:4.

It shows the complete corruption of Jerusalem. The priesthood and the leaders of the nation were steeped in wickedness and defied God and the judgment He had announced through Jeremiah, and now also through Ezekiel. Interesting are the names of those mentioned, Jaazaniah ("He will be heard of the Lord"); Azur ("Helper"); Pelatiah ("Delivered of the Lord"); Benaiah ("Built up of the Lord"). Their names indicate that they knew the Lord and His truth and yet they had turned deliberately from Him and from His Word. They devised mischief (or iniquity) and gave wicked counsel. Their wicked counsel consisted in disobedience against Jehovah and His Word. In regard to the judgment they said, "It is not the time to build houses; this is the cauldron and we are the flesh." They knew of Jeremiah's letter which he had sent to the elders which were carried away captives. In that letter, Jeremiah, believing God's Word concerning the long duration of the captivity, gave the advice, "Build ye houses and dwell in them" (Jere. xxix). They ridiculed that divinely given advice. They still thought themselves safe in Jerusalem. The phrase "this is the cauldron" means the city of Jerusalem; and we are the "flesh" themselves. As the flesh in the cauldron is preserved from the fire by the cauldron itself, so they felt themselves secure in the doomed city. That these wicked leaders were still in the city shows that the judgment in chapter ix was not a complete judgment. It began at the sanctuary, and the wicked worshippers Ezekiel saw in his vision were smitten first of all, while the man with the inkhorn marked the entire remnant for preservation. Then the Spirit fell upon Ezekiel and he uttered Jehovah's message. Their proverb about the cauldron and the flesh is used to announce their own doom. Those whom they had slain were the flesh, not they the living ones; the slain ones had the city for a cauldron. But the defiant leaders, who cast the judgment predictions to the winds, would be brought forth out of the city, the place of their supposed security. They feared the sword and it would come upon them. Solemnly the Lord declared, "This city shall not be your cauldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; I will judge you in the border of Israel." And thus it came true. Nebuchadnezzar received his prisoners on the borders, the territory of the kingdom of Israel, at Riblah (2 Kings xxv:18-21; Jer. lii:24-27).

All this finds a repetition in the present age. God has spoken. Long ago He has in His Word announced the judgment upon this present age. Men, religious men, leaders among the people, like these twenty-five, reject His Word and do not believe in the threatened judgments. "Peace and safety" is their false hope. But the day is coming and not far off when all who reject the Word of God will find out, to their eternal shame and loss, that His Word is true.

And while the Prophet delivered faithfully his message, the Lord touched one of the men; Pelatiah suddenly died. He may have stood there with sneering lips, defying the Lord's mouthpiece, when sudden death was meted out to him. It was a divine seal upon the words they had heard. This act of judgment greatly impressed the Prophet and he prayed for the preservation of the remnant of Israel. Knowing the sad condition of the people he loved so well, he feared that they all would be taken away. May we also, in the days of impending judgments make use of the prayer of intercession. The next paragraph contains the answer Ezekiel received.

II. The Message of Restoration and Blessing.

Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel, wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord: unto us is this land given in possession. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God: Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God (verses 14-21).

It is the first message of comfort Ezekiel received. They were to be scattered among the nations, yet Jehovah promises, "I will be to them a little[12] sanctuary in the countries where they shall come." This refers to the remnant who still clings to Him and hopes in the fulfilment of His promises. Then follows the great outlook into their future. Blessed promises! They are the hope of Israel. Their regathering, their return from exile is here definitely predicted by Ezekiel. Moses before had announced the same future restoration. So did Isaiah and Jeremiah as well as the earlier prophets. The denial of the literal regathering of Israel means the denial of the Word of the Lord. They will receive the land of Israel. But greater things are promised to the people. The stony heart is to be taken away; they are to receive a heart of flesh. This is the result of the new Spirit, His Spirit, which they will receive. It means the new birth of that nation to enter into the promised kingdom. Then the result will be an obedient people. "They shall be my people and I will be their God." Has this been fulfilled in the return of the feeble remnant from Babylon? Many believe that Ezekiel's message found then its accomplishment. It is not so. The nation was not put into possession of the great blessings which are everywhere linked with their literal restoration and possession of the land. Ezekiel's great visions of the national restoration of Israel and the greater spiritual blessings are still unfulfilled. They will be fulfilled when the Glory of the Lord, that is the Lord of Glory, their rejected King, the Son of David, the King of Israel, returns.

[12] Or, "for a little while."

III. The Glory Departs.

Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

Afterwards the Spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shewed me (verses 22-25).

After this comforting message of future blessing for the nation and restoration to the land, the Glory of the Lord holds its departure. We saw how it gradually withdrew from the temple, where it had dwelt. Now the complete departure from the city has come. But it is a blessed thought, before that takes place, Jehovah gave His Word that He would return and be again with His people. "The Glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city." That mountain is the Mount of Olives. Significant place where the Shekinah, the Glory of the Lord with its cherubim and wheels was seen for the last time. Upon that mountain He stood, who is the Glory Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ. From there He went back to the Father. And in a coming day "His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives." And when He comes back in visible glory, Israel and Jerusalem will behold the return of the Glory of the Lord, Ezekiel saw departing from temple and city. Then that will happen what has never been in Israel's past history: "All the earth will be filled with His Glory."

MESSAGES AND PARABLES.