seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ezekiel 11:1
Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the Lord that faces east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. 2 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city. 3 They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man.”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and he told me to say: “This is what the Lord says: That is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I know what is going through your mind. 6 You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead.
7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, but I will drive you out of it. 8 You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and inflict punishment on you. 10 You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. 12 And you will know that I am the Lord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.”
13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?”
14 The word of the Lord came to me: 15 “Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, ‘They are far away from the Lord; this land was given to us as our possession.’
16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord 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 where they have gone.’
17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’
18 “They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. 19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23 The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. 24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia[a] in the vision given by the Spirit of God.
Then the vision I had seen went up from me, 25 and I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.
a. Ezekiel 11:24 Or Chaldea
OK.... so I thought the statement about the pot and meat..... was supposed to mean something like "our goose is cooked"...... but actually.... according to bible-studys.org...... it meant they were safe in their walled city..... oh come on.....
"Caldron" meant a boiling pot, or pan. This meant they thought they were protected, because they were in this walled city.
Now this is from the easy English site.
Ezekiel watched the glory of the Lord move to the east gate of the temple. Then the Spirit took him there. He saw 25 men who met by that gate. They were leaders of the people in Judah.
They are not the same men that he had seen before. He recognised two of them, Jaazaniah and Pelatiah. In the other group, there was a man with the name of Jaazaniah. That man was the son of Shaphan but this one was the son of Azzur.
He saw 25 men who met by that gate. They were leaders of the people in Judah.
They are not the same men that he had seen before. He recognised two of them, Jaazaniah and Pelatiah. In the other group, there was a man with the name of Jaazaniah. That man was the son of Shaphan but this one was the son of Azzur.
These leaders had lied to the people. The prophets warned the people that God would destroy Jerusalem. These leaders told them that this was not true. This shows their false security and how proud the leaders were. They said that the city was safe. No injury would come so the people should build houses. They wanted to obtain as much profit as they could from such actions. And they plotted evil things against God and the people.
The meat inside the pot is safe from the fire. These men said that the people are safe like meat in the pot. They did not believe that God would allow the Babylonians to destroy the temple or the city. The people would be safe in the city.
The Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy against these men. God had a message for them. Ezekiel must tell them that God will punish them.
The people put the best meat in the pot. The leaders had used this as a picture in words of safety for them. The city of Jerusalem was the pot and they were safe in it. God would not destroy his temple and city. But the Lord changed the picture in words. The ‘best meat’ meant the people whom they had killed. These dead bodies will remain in the city. Those who remain alive will not stay there. The Lord will force them out of the city.
The Lord will hand over those people who remain alive to their enemy (the Babylonian army). The enemy as the agent of God will punish them. There will be no escape. They may try to run but they will not reach the borders of Israel. Then they will know that God is the Lord.
The city will not be a safe place for them. They will not be like the best meat in the pot. They will not be able to stay there. The Lord will force them out of Jerusalem. They will have no escape because the Lord will punish them. Then they will know that God is the *ord.
One of the 25 men that Ezekiel had seen at the east gate was Pelatiah. As Ezekiel was speaking t his message, Pelatiah died. The name Pelatiah means ‘God provides escape.’ There would be no escape.
The death of Pelatiah was an awful shock to Ezekiel. He cried out aloud to the *Lord. He was afraid that God would *destroy all the *Israelites.
The people who were still in Jerusalem spoke about the *exiles. They thought that the *exiles had gone away from the Lord. Their God was the God of the country called Israel. But the Lord had sent the exiles away from Israel. So, the people in Jerusalem said that the exiles must have been bad people. The exiles had left the country. There could be no hope for the exiles. The exiles had gone and they would not return.
So, the people in Jerusalem thought that they were better people than the exiles. And the people in Jerusalem said that the country now belonged to them. They said that because they remained there. They were God’s people and they were safe in the country. That is what they thought. But of course, they were wrong.
The truth was that God sent the exiles away. However, he did it so that he might save them. He sent them to live in other countries for a period of time. The Lord would take care of them in those countries.
I keep saying.... "meat in a pot.... safe?.... that can't be right" and I keep looking for the right commentary that explains it. But that is the point... the stupidity of the statement is the point. The point of this chapter is those leaders.... the ones in the first verse.... they are telling people that they will be safe in Jerusalem because the Temple is there and God loves His Temple.
The problem is..... yes it was indeed God's Temple.... but it had been perverted into an idol dome..... a place for shiny objects.... a place where laying a baby on a glowing hot statue to burn alive while singing to cover the babies cries of agony.... was acceptable. Stupid humans... with idol hardened hearts will buy anything that lets them continue in their ignorant bliss.
Those stupid humans thought they were better than the exiles. The leaders led them to believe that only those who stayed in Jerusalem would be protected..... but God told Ezekiel to correct that message.... That guy dressed in linen back in chapter 9 had marked those "who grieved and lamented" the horrible things these stupid humans were doing.
And on top of all that..... these stupid humans were so sure they were right..... they thought the meat in a skillet over high heat wouldn't even get warm.... now I have to ask.... how stupid are these people???? Here's a hint.... one of them tried to get out of the "pot".... trying to prove the lie..... and died right there.
IMHO..... more churches should be reading these chapters..... some of the stuff being preached in the churches today is just as stupid as meat being safe in a frying pan over a high heat. Some preach that having all the riches you deserve is what God wants for you...... it's a nice thought.... but it's a lie.....
God wants us to worship Him. God wants long walks in the garden.... talking and enjoying the company..... God created the smile.... He wants to see us use our smiles for Him!
Meat in a pot..... safe.... oh brother.... people will buy anything.
