The vision shifts from the religious to the civic.
Starting in verse 1 The Spirit of the Lord lifts up Ezekiel and transports him to the east gate facing east where he sees 25 men, including the leaders of the people. The Lord explains to Ezekiel that these are the men who "devise iniquity and give evil advice in this city." With Nebuchadnezzar pounding at their door, these leaders are encouraging the people to build houses around the city as extra protection. Notice they aren't doing the building or the protecting.
God knows who is responsible for governing and guiding the people.
The Spirit tells Ezekiel to prophesy against these men. Then the Spirit fell upon Ezekiel with the words to say to these men. The Lord knows their thoughts and the Lord holds them responsible for multiplying the slain in the city. These people are the flesh in the pot because of their leaders. These men feared the sword, so God will bring judgment by the sword to them outside of their city and at the hands of strangers.
You will fall by the sword and be judged by the Lord so that you will know that He is the Lord, because you have not walked in His statues or executed His ordinances. But you executed ordinances like those of the nations around you.
What a brutal prophesy to have spoken to you by the Lord. They thought they were fine. They thought their wicked plans were going well. They congregated in public at the prestigious gate, showing off the power and respect they felt they had earned. Meanwhile a hardened enemy is at the gate and they are doing nothing to reach out to God to save the people or even themselves.
I know I repeat this quite often in this book, but it can get lost in all of the action that these prophesies by this prophet about the people in Jerusalem aren't meant for the people of Jerusalem—they are meant as warnings for the captives in Babylon. If they can get their minds around just how bad it's gotten in Jerusalem, maybe they will seek the Lord while He can still be found in their captivity.
In verse 13, Ezekiel prophesied of the death of someone named Pelatiah, son of Benaiah. This left Ezekiel particularly distraught and concerned for the survival of the remnant. This one verse is it's own paragraph. The Ryrie footnote states that this death was a preview of the coming judgment.
Verse 14 starts a new word from the Lord. I think verse 15 is the Lord telling Ezekiel that the Jews still in Jerusalem think that the land of Israel fully belongs to them, and that Ezekiel, his brothers, all of the captives, and the Jews from the northern tribes have all been removed from the nation and have lost their portion of the inheritance. But God refutes this in verse 16 when He explains that, though He did remove those other Jews from the land, and scatter them, He remained a sanctuary for them in the new lands.
Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “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. Ezekiel 11:17
In encourage everyone to meditate on that passage. That has so many encouraging implications for us today and on the future.
Even if God takes you off His land and you are scatter everywhere...He is you Sanctuary. He's got you. And He can keep you intact for the future when all things will be made right.
It's a flat-out miracle that there are Jews that will be brought back from the corners of the world for the End Times. It's actually an incredible miracle that there were Jews to repopulate the nation of Israel after WWII. God sustains us, protects us, and has a perfect plans for us that culminates in our perfect healing. Unearned, undeserved, and still, totally promised by the only One who has proven that He can follow through.
This would be even more miraculous for the people at the time, as many of the ancient cultures felt that their gods were enthroned over physical areas of land. Even the Jews remaining in Israel had become infected with this misconception. Sure, enemies had hauled off most of their countrymen, but they were going to be okay because they were still on the land that their God ruled. WRONG. their God ruled all lands, and they should have known that from the many lessons He taught them in the past.
Back to the text. In verse 18, the Lord goes on to explain that when He does bring all of His scattered children home, the detestable abominations will be removed. This Holy Land would be clean and holy.
And here it is...the famous, beautiful, and glorious promise from God about life on this coming age:
And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. 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 ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God. Ezekiel 11:19-20
That's us, folks. We received that new Spirit. And we are one body with one heart. And we are His bride. At the wedding, it will be completed; but we are beneficiaries of this incredible promise. Grafted in with the other scattered children.
There are no words to sufficiently express how overwhelmed I am by this Promise. This hope. This gift. Grateful. Amazed.
Verse 21 closes out this paragraph with the counter-promise that those who chose the detestable abominations will also certainly receive God's promised judgement.
This vision ends with the cherubim chariot and the Glory of the Lord lifting up from the city and over to the mountains east of the city.
Then Ezekiel is lifted up and returned to the exiles in Chaldea, where he tells them of all that the Lord had shown him.
The Glory of God had left the Temple and the city and move east, where He will return one day and make all of these promises complete.
Hallelujah and may God have mercy on us all.