1 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, the princes of the people. |
2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city: |
3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. |
4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. |
5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, 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. |
6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. |
7 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 caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. |
8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD. |
9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. |
10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. |
11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: |
12 And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. |
13 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? |
14 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
15 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. |
16 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. |
17 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. |
18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. |
19 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: |
20 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. |
21 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. |
22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. |
23 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. |
24 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. |
25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me. |
Those who for some reason decided to compare Jerusalem to a cauldron and themselves to meat failed to consider that meat cooking in it has already ceased to be part of living flesh. Very little time will pass before it is cooked and taken out of the cauldron. Deep down, those who speak this way must understand that they are doomed to exile, like their compatriots already in captivity. But they have not yet grasped the essential point: merely being in the city intended to be the dwelling place of God's house does not in itself bring anyone closer to God if their deeds and hearts are far from Him.
The exiles must surely have felt greatly encouraged when they heard the prophetic words that the Lord does not abandon them even in distant lands. Yet how tempting it is to replace an inward striving towards God and following Him with religious tourism and timely visits to holy places. Pilgrimage is a wonderful custom, and by touching shrines reached only after a long journey, we receive much. But a life in harmony with God's will must be built wherever we are, for He is near everywhere.
1 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, the princes of the people. |
2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city: |
3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. |
4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. |
5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, 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. |
6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. |
7 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 caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. |
8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD. |
9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. |
10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. |
11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: |
12 And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. |
13 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? |
14 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
15 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. |
16 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. |
17 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. |
18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. |
19 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: |
20 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. |
21 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. |
22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. |
23 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. |
24 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. |
25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me. |
Those who for some reason decided to compare Jerusalem to a cooking pot and themselves to meat failed to take into account that meat cooking in a pot has already ceased to be part of living flesh. Only a little time will pass before it is cooked and taken out of the pot. Deep down, those who speak this way must understand that they are doomed to exile, like their compatriots who are already in captivity. But what they have not yet understood is that being in the city intended to be the dwelling place of God’s house brings no one closer to God if their deeds and hearts are far from Him.
The exiles surely felt immense encouragement on hearing the prophetic words that the Lord does not abandon them even in distant lands. But how tempting it is to substitute religious tourism and timely visits to holy places for an inward striving toward God and following Him! Making pilgrimages is a wonderful custom: by touching holy things that require a long journey to reach, we receive much. But a life in accordance with God’s will must be built in every place. For He is near everywhere.
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