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Judgment on Wicked Counselors:
The city gate was where merchants and politicians conducted business, so the 25 men may have represented the nation’s rulers. "Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the Lord’s house, which faces eastward; and there at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw 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 give wicked counsel in this city, who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this city is the caldron, and we are the meat.’ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”Ezekiel 11:1-4 (NKJV). Because of their leadership positions, they were responsible for leading the people astray. They had wrongly said they were secure from another attack by the Babylonians. They believed that they were the elite, the influential, the ones who would be protected from all harm. Without God our situation is always precarious. The wicked politicians did not believe judgment was near. The best interpretation is they were urging the people not to build houses but rather prepare for war with Babylon. Ezekiel would consider this an evil act for he had warned the city was doomed. Jeremiah had also been telling the people to surrender to Babylon for this was God’s will.
God knew everything about the Israelites, even their thoughts (v. 5). He also knows everything about us, even the sins we try to hide. Instead of worrying about people noticing how we look or what we do , we should care about what God thinks, for He sees everything. Trying to hide our thoughts and actions from God is futile. “Secret” sins are never secret from God. The only effective way to deal with sin is to confess it and ask God to help us overcome it. The “meat,” the bodies that were thrown in the streets,( v. 6) of this city, the “pot.” Though the elders felt secure within the “pot” of Jerusalem, God would drive them out and give them over to foreigners. Instead of the city being a place of safety with the people in it being “safe,” the city would be smashed and the people dragged away. God’s judgment by the sword would be executed at the borders of Israel (vv. 10-11). This was fulfilled literally when the captives of Jerusalem were deported to Riblah in Syria and killed. (Ezekiel 11:5-12).
God promises to bring the Jews back from exile, destroying their idolatry and replacing their heart of stone with a heart of flesh. God says that the Jews in captivity are the faithful ones, and those in Jerusalem are the sinful and wicked ones. This was the opposite of the people’s perception. God provided a sanctuary for this idolatrous remnant, even though they worshiped in the Jerusalem temple. However in reality they would find no true sanctuary, but the faithful exiles, even though they were far from home, would be protected by God (v. 16). In other words, our external circumstances do not truly indicate our standing with God. Those who appear safe and secure may be far from Him, while those going through difficult times may be safely under God’ spiritual protection.
“One heart” indicates a unanimous singleness of purpose (v. 19). This new life can only be the work of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s work, but we must recognize and turn from sin. When we do, God will give us new motives, new guidelines, and new purpose (Ezekiel 11:14-21).
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