Ezekiel 11:7

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. THIS CITY IS THE CALDRON: BUT I WILL BRING YOU FORTH OUT OF THE MIDST OF IT. The city is a caldron to them, but it shall not be so to you. Ye shall meet your doom on the frontier. YOUR SLAIN, WHOM YE HAVE LAID - (note, )....

1-13 Where Satan cannot persuade men to look upon the judgment to come as uncertain, he gains his point by persuading them to look upon it as at a distance. These wretched rulers dare to say, We are as safe in this city as flesh in a boiling pot; the walls of the city shall be to us as walls of brass, we shall receive no more damage from the besiegers than the caldron does from the fire. When sinners flatter themselves to their own ruin, it is time to tell them they shall have no peace if they go on. None shall remain in possession of the city but those who are buried in it. Those are least safe who are most secure. God is often pleased to single out some sinners for warning to others. Whether Pelatiah died at that time in Jerusalem, or when the fulfilment of the prophecy drew near, is uncertain. Like Ezekiel, we ought to be much affected with the sudden death of others, and we should st...

Verse Ezekiel 11:7. _YOUR SLAIN - THEY_ ARE _THE FLESH_] Jerusalem is the _caldron_, and those who have been slain in it, they are the flesh; and though ye purpose to stay and share its fate, ye shall not be permitted to do so, ye shall be carried into captivity....

All that shall remain in the city are the buried dead. Bloodshed and murder were at this time rife in Jerusalem, and these were among the chief crimes that were bringing down judgment upon the city. All the inhabitants that should yet survive were destined to be carried away into exile....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 11:1 MOREOVER THE SPIRIT LIFTED ME UP, etc. It is noticeable that the position to which Ezekiel was thus transported in his vision from his place in the inner court (Ezekiel 8:14), was identical with that which he had just seen occupied by the cherub chariot before its departure (Ezekiel 10:19). What he is about to see will throw light on the significance of their departure. The gate is probably, here as there, that of the court of the temple. FIVE AND TWENTY MEN. The number at first reminds us of the worshippers of the sun, in Ezekiel 8:16; but tha

THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD,.... Applying the parabolical expressions they had derided, and explaining them, in a different sense from what they had put upon them: YOUR SLAIN WHOM YE HAVE LAID IN THE MIDST OF IT, THEY [ARE] THE FLESH; the prophets they had killed; the persons, who had died innocently for crimes laid to their charge they had not been guilty of; and such who had fallen by one judgment or another since the siege, they were the persons intended by "the flesh", and not such as were alive; and therefore could promise themselves nothing from this proverb they had taken up, and scoffed at: AND THIS [CITY IS] THE CAULDRON; that holds the slain, and in which they will lie and continue, and not the living: BUT I WILL BRING YOU FORTH OUT OF THE MIDST OF IT: where they promised themselves safety, and a long continuance; yet should not abide, but be carried captive....

Ezekiel 11:1. The priests and the leaders of the nation were steeped in wickedness, defied God and the judgments His prophets had announced. 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 who 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” Jeremiah 29:1. 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

EZEKIEL 11. THE DEPARTURE OF YAHWEH. Ezekiel 11:1. Another Guilty Group. The doom has been executed with grim thoroughness, the guilty are all slain (Ezekiel 11:9); it is therefore surprising to come here upon another guilty group. Clearly this passage presupposes a slightly different time, but it admirably serves to strengthen the reasons for Yahweh's departure from the city. Besides the idolatry already described (Ezekiel 11:8), another type of guilt is illustrated by this group of twenty-five (probably twenty-four and a president) who give wicked counsel in the city. Apparently these were statesmen who favoured the policy (condemned by Jeremiah) of revolt from Babylon. In proverbial language they compare the city

THE LORD GOD. Hebrew. _Adonai Jehovah_. See note on Ezekiel 2:4. BUT. WILL BRING YOU FORTH. A special various reading called Sevir (App-34), with some codices and two early printed editions (one Rabbinic), read "when. take you"....

Those slain in the midst of Jerusalem will be the only "flesh" that will remain in the pot. The living conspirators who think they shall be safe shall be dragged forth and judged far away from the protecting city, on the borders of Israel. The figure of the pot and flesh is used differently in ch. 24. (The Heb. is probably to be spelled so as to give the meaning "I will bring you forth.")...