Was the biggest problem the people, having a stubborn heart like stone and not pliable flesh? Let’s look at Ezekiel 11.
Who was chiefly responsible for Jerusalem’s apostasy? Who are the instigators of our nation’s sins?
The Lord's Spirit lifted me up and took me to the east gate of the temple, where I saw 25 men, including the two leaders, Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah. The Lord said, “Ezekiel, son of man, these men are making evil plans and giving dangerous advice to the people of Jerusalem. They say things like, ‘Let's build more houses. This city is like a cooking pot over a fire, and we are the meat, but at least the pot keeps us from being burned in the fire.’ So, Ezekiel, condemn them!” (Ezek 11:1-4 CEV)
Had deaths increased under this bad leadership? What would God do?
And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat, and this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. (Ezek 11:5-9 ESV)
Why were these weak leaders being punished? Do we also have similar leaders?
You will fall by the sword, and I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am Yahweh. The city will not be a pot for you, and you will not be the meat within it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, so you will know that I am Yahweh, whose statutes you have not followed and whose ordinances you have not practiced. Instead, you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.” (Ezek 11:10-12 HCSB)
When one of the leaders died, did Ezekiel hope that was the end of God’s punishment? What did God point out to him?
While I was prophesying, Benaiah’s son Pelatiah died, so I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice. “Ah, Lord God,” I said, “are you going to put an end to the survivors within Israel?” Then this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of Man, your brothers, your other relatives, your fellow exiles, and the entire house of Israel are the people to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They’ve abandoned the Lord. This land was given to us for an inheritance.’” (Ezek 11:13-15 ISV)
Would God be present in some form of little sanctuaries for the exiles? Is this the origin of the synagogue?
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. (Ezek 11:16 KJV)
Would people eventually return to the land with new hearts?
Therefore say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it. And I will give them one heart and give within them a new spirit. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God. But as for those whose hearts walk after their detestable things and abominations, I will give what is due for their way on their heads,” declares Lord Yahweh. (Ezek 11:17-20 LSB)
Where did the glory of the Lord first go after leaving the temple?
Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. The glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city. And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me. (Ezek 11:22-25 NASB)
Finding fault with the people, would God give them a new heart and a new covenant?
But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:
“The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Heb 8:6-10 NIV)
Was the biggest problem the people, having a stubborn heart like stone and not pliable flesh? You decide!
