Ezekiel has seen a second vision of the whirling wheels. Now his vision focuses on happenings in Jerusalem and the temple.
Ezekiel 11:1-4, Speak against Jaazaniah's twenty-five men
Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. There at the entrance to the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
The LORD said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city. They say, `Will it not soon be time to build houses? This city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat.' Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man."
A man named Jaazaniah is identified, along with a man named Pelatiah and 25 men. These people are accused of plotting evil. Here Jaazaniah is the son of Azur; there is an earlier Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan (8:7-13) who was with 70 elders worshiping idols. The name Jaazaniah ("YHWH hears") seems to have been a relatively common name and this Wikipedia page identifies four occurrences of the name in the Old Testament.
The twenty-five leaders think that they are the "meat" of Jerusalem, the important people, protected by the "pot", the city fortress. These leaders claim that all is well -- soon the people will return to building houses, as if there were no threats to their lives.
Ezekiel 11:5-12, Not a pot for you
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say: "This is what the LORD says: That is what you are saying, O house of Israel, but I know what is going through your mind. You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead.
"Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, but I will drive you out of it. You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will drive you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners and inflict punishment on you. You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. And you will know that I am the LORD, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you."
Ezekiel is told that these special leaders have killed many people and those people are the "meat" of the city. These leaders will be driven from the city and killed.
Ezekiel 11:13-16, Death of Pelatiah
Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?"
The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, your brothers--your brothers who are your blood relatives and the whole house of Israel--are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, `They are far away from the LORD; this land was given to us as our possession.'
"Therefore say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.'
Pelatiah was a collaborator of Jaazaniah in his evil (verse 1.) Now Pelatiah dies. This seems to upset Ezekiel, who seems to associate this with destroying the "remnant" of Israel. (Ezekiel's reaction is similar to that earlier in 9:8.)
This death presumably validates Ezekiel's prophecies. YHWH's answer to Ezekiel's question by pointing out that Ezekiel's blood relatives are far from the coming disaster in Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem appear to have viewed these exiles as far from God, yet in reality they have been moved to Babylon for their safety. It is the people of Jerusalem who are far from God and the Jews in Babylon who have sanctuary.
Ezekiel 11:17-21, A return
"Therefore say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.'
"They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."
Sovereign YHWH promises to gather the people of Israel back from their scattering among the nations. And as He does so, He will put a new spirit in them. (The "heart of flesh" is explained more fully in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:24-28.) Mackie calls this a reversal of Eden (session 10), in which the temple in Jerusalem -- intended to represent Eden -- has been infested with violence and idols (and snakes!) but will eventually be cleansed. This will be expanded on in the rest of the book.
Ezekiel 11:22-25, Glory moves out
Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. The glory of the LORD went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it.
The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen went up from me, and I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.
The presence of YHWH moves up from the city to a mountain east of it. (Both Alexander and Duguid write that this is the Mount of Olives.) God is leaving Jerusalem! And Ezekiel is transported back to Babylon.
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