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. 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, gIt 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?
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Eze 11:1–13.
In this series “Fullness: Judgment and Recompense,” we are on a branch defining judgment and bringing also Biblical balance. It is very important because rarely is this issue taught, which in itself is a great weakness on the part of Church leadership. In this section we are bringing Scriptural occasions of God’s judgment.
In this section we are in Ezekiel 11, which is a prophetic overview of the Captivity, where the reasons for it, from heaven’s perspective, and what God’s purpose will be throughout the 70 years stipulated in Jeremiah’s letter of chapter 29 of Jeremiah.
Many years ago I was at Downside Abbey, when I was drawn to the book of Ezekiel, and chapter 1, verse 1. I did not depart from that verse envisaging the river, seeing the heavens open, and the Word of God spoken. I began to meditate on the context, half way through the 70 year captivity, Ezekiel a prophet, but also a high priest, who was without sanctuary, without experience in the Glory of God symbolised by the Ark of the Covenant.
Here Ezekiel is to embrace a “prophetic” sanctuary, God Himself. And heavens open. He hears the Lord, and from here Ezekiel finds God etch out a niche for him for the people. Here from chapter 10 we see God withdraw His Glory, from the Temple in readiness for its demolishing at the hands of the Babylonians. And then in Chapter 11 we see exposed the attitudes of the elites and leaders of Israel.
Could it be we are seeing today the withdrawing of God’s glory because He is about to expose and pour out His judgment?
- They Devise Mischief
Here is the Hebrew definition of Mischief:
אָוֶֶן ˒âven, aw-ven’; from an unused root perh. mean. prop. to pant (hence, to exert oneself, usually in vain; to come to naught); strictly nothingness; also trouble, vanity, wickedness; spec. an idol:— affliction, evil, false, idol, iniquity, mischief, mourners (-ing), naught, sorrow, unjust, unrighteous, vain ,vanity, wicked (-ness). comp. 369.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996).
They were in a attitude of vanity, and you can see this attitude through what Jeremiah explains in his book, they rejected the Word of the Lord, were living in a false sense of security with vanity, believing that what Jeremiah proposed was not to happen. They could live how they saw fit. They were idolatrous. (Does this not describe some attitudes in some Church ecclesiastical structures today?
2. Give wicked Counsel in the city
God was exposing here in Ezekiel 11, the things they were doing and saying as leaders. Beyond devising mischief they were giving wicked counsel. This counsel is inspired by vanity, disobedience, idolatry.
עֵצָה ˓êtsâh, ay-tsaw’; from 3289; advice; by impl. plan; also prudence:— advice, advisement, counsel ([-lor]), purpose.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996).
Their advice was not based upon God’s Word but their own selfish ends, their own devices. A counsel based upon a human understanding which would lead the people astray, and not exercise the spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, seeking discernment.
I compare some ways of God’s leadings with some people of God in the Word, and if they were alive today I am sure leaders today would say their way of life, their commitment to God is foolishness. (Is this not familiar with much Church leadership today?) The Counsel of Isaiah 11 is born out of the Holy Spirit, contrasting the counsel of Ezekiel 11 is striking. Our counsel born out of the Holy Spirit reveals God’s purposes and His ways to bring them to pass in our lives if we walk in a certain way. The wicked counsel would advise based on idolatry to false gods, idolatry to their own self.
3. Which say it is not near
They denied the prophetic warnings of the true prophets, who warned of impending judgment. Why was judgment coming? For one reason: breaking the Covenant. When we have lack of the prophetic warnings, fear of God, we have no sense of what is impending. There is a denial and there is a sense of taking the advantage of the false peace of the moment, even though the Babylonian armies were near. They counseled the people to continue their lives as normal.
4. Let us build
Many years ago David Wilkerson wrote many books of warning, one called the “Vision” which warned about this tendency of “Let us build” and how many leaders fleeced their congregations to build giant sanctuaries, instead of building them in prayer and seeking God in troubled times. He wrote in the early 70s when many crises occured that threatened the world. He attributed this drive to build as vanity based in a forsaking of prayer and true disciplines of ministry. In times of impending judgment building is a distraction to the real dangers of the enemy in siege. In building all are distracted to the danger at their door. I believe today where many families are suffering financially, we need to revisit the whole issue of finances and promises from God and not add yokes on congregations. It is not a time to build.
5. This city is a cauldron
This phrase is about the ministry seeing its community as a cauldron by which their sustenance should come. How much the fundraising goes on in times of great crisis, in which ministry and ministers serve to use the people as a source of financial gain. When you compare with the sons of Eli who provoked the Lord who misused and abused the offering, taking out the best part of the offering for themselves. Then leaving the left overs for the sacrifice. All of Israel knew and saw the abuse the priests did with their sacrificial offerings. God soon killed off those priests. How much more today with those who have misused the gift of God for godly gain.
God used Ezekiel to prophesy against these five things in the leaders. And the same 5 things are evident today. And if the whole of Israel suffered captivity, in contrast these leaders were killed off, and were not carried off to Babylon.
When we see leaders manipulate, give human counsel, want to build, want to abuse and use, we know that judgment is at the door. And we also know God will have mercy on those who were faithful.
Ezekiel 44 tells us clearly what God did with the Levites, those who abandoned their call for lack of sanctuary instead making God their sanctuary, were thrust away when the restoration came. Those who were faithful were brought near to God. In hard times, when we continue our seeking of God, however long it takes, will mean God will draw us close to Him!
God judges leaders, and judges those who blindly follow them. May we be prudent, may we be discerning. If we find ourselves displaced, with enemies within our walls, God will take us through and restore us.
May we recognise these 5 characteristics in false leaders, and seek God for His Mercy, as the “Babylonians are outside the walls”.
Maranatha!
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