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.