[5] 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. [6] You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. [7] 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. [8] You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord GOD. [9] And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. [10] You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD. [11] This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, [12] and you shall know that I am the LORD. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”
[13] And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”
(Ezekiel 11:1-13 ESV)
There Ezekiel was told, stand men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city. These men do not speak truth. They say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.
So Ezekiel is given the charge to prophesy against them. Repeatedly Ezekiel is called the son of man..
One of the things I appreciated about the Lord is that when he calls people to be prophets he doesn't leave it up to the individual to decide what to say. He gives them the words to say.
“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. You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD. This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”
And so Ezekiel spoke, in fact, as he spoke the prophecy came true. Pelatiah died. God's charge against them? They acted like the nations around them, and so he will give them into their hands.
But Ezekiel ended up feeling distressed. He's seen so much destruction of his people. He fears that even the remnant left will be destroyed. So he fell down on his face before the Lord crying out “Ah, Lord GOD! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”.
Oh, such a burden Ezekiel bore. Seeing his people destroyed, knowing he was God's mouthpiece to the people. Countless people died. Why? Because they didn't act like God's people. They acted instead like everyone around them.
Makes me think... God could so judge us today. Look at how the church is and how like the world she is becoming. What makes us different? For the most part when I see the church I see the world's influence. Women leading men, same-gender relationships, divorce, theft, children hurt.... this is not the way the CHURCH is supposed to be...and there it is. Staring us right in the face. It's not good, nor is it okay.
Should the Lord Judge us as he did the peoples of Israel? I see the pain in Ezekiel, I see the pain in the eyes of conservative believers as they fight against the tide. What should we do people? How can we turn our hearts more securely to the Lord?