Evil in High Places
1Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of Yahweh that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people. 2And Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked counsel in this city. 3They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’ 4Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man!”
- EZK 11:3[NOTE]MEAT IN THE POT. The leaders said the city was a pot and they were the meat, safe inside the walls. God turns it around: the only meat left will be the people they killed, 11:7.
5And the Spirit of Yahweh fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what Yahweh says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds. 6You have multiplied those you killed in this city and filled its streets with the dead.
7Therefore this is what the Lord Yahweh says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it. 8You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you, declares the Lord Yahweh. 9I will bring you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners, and I will execute judgments against you. 10You will fall by the sword, and I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.
11The city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat within it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. 12Then you will know that I am Yahweh. For you have neither followed My statutes nor practiced My ordinances, but you have conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.”
A Promise of Restoration// Jeremiah 32:36–44
13Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, Lord Yahweh, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?”
14Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 15“Son of man, your brothers—your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel—are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far away from Yahweh; this land has been given to us as a possession.’
16Therefore declare that this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’
- EZK 11:16[NOTE]A LITTLE SANCTUARY. The Hebrew can mean for a little while or a little sanctuary. Far from the temple, God Himself would be a sanctuary for the exiles. Jewish teachers later saw synagogues in this verse. God can be found far from home.
17Therefore declare that this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries to which you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel.’
18When they return to it, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh, 20so that they may follow My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God.
- EZK 11:18[DEMONIC]Returning exiles will remove all the detestable things
- EZK 11:19[HEART]God promises to take out a heart of stone and give a heart of flesh, one heart that can feel and obey.
21But as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord Yahweh.”
- EZK 11:21[DEMONIC]Judgment on hearts that chase detestable idols
God’s Glory Leaves Jerusalem
22Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23And the glory of Yahweh rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city.
- EZK 11:23[NOTE]THE MOUNTAIN EAST OF THE CITY. The Mount of Olives. Jesus went up to heaven from there, Acts 1:9 to 12, and Zechariah 14:4 says the Lord's feet will stand on it.
24And the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea, to the exiles in the vision given by the Spirit of God. After the vision had gone up from me, 25I told the exiles everything Yahweh had shown me.