Ezekiel 11:13 – Don’t take God’s love for granted.

In the vision that Ezekiel saw at the east gate, chapter 11:1 says he saw 25 men at the entrance. They were civil leaders of Judah. Ezekiel 11:2-3 said they were those that devised iniquity and gave wicked counsel in the city of Jerusalem. They were contradicting the counsel of Jeremiah who had urged the people not to resist but to yield to God's plan and submit to the Babylonians. He was telling the people that it was God’s plan for them to be taken into captivity and stay there for a while.

But contradicting Jeremiah’s counsel, these wicked leaders were telling the people that Jerusalem like a cauldron would protect them from the fire outside of it. They were telling the people that the time for them to be building houses in a foreign land had not come yet. Meaning that they would not be taken into captivity for now despite the looming threat of Babylon. Those were wicked counsel as far as God was concerned. They did not just give false confidence to the people but were opposing God's plan and counsel. 

 

Among the 25 wicked leaders, whom Ezekiel saw in that vision were Jaazaniah and Pelatiah. The name Jaazaniah means God hears, and Pelatiah means God delivers. Here in the vision, Ezekiel 11:13 says the prophet saw Pelatiah die. However, from verses 7-8, we learned that those wayward leaders, including Pelatiah, would be driven from Jerusalem and executed outside the border of Israel. We can safely surmise that Ezekiel's vision of the death of Pelatiah was not an indication of the time of his death but judgment of his wicked counsel. He probably died in Babylon.

The vision of the death of Pelatiah, which means God delivers, caused Ezekiel to fall face down before the Lord.  Did he suppose from his death that hope for the deliverance of God is gone? So, the vision of Pelatiah’s death precipitated the prophet’s question. Distraughtly he asked, “Ah, Lord God! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?” He just simply couldn’t imagine a Jerusalem or Israel without people.

It is true that God’s love is warmer than the warmest sunshine and softer than a sigh. It certainly is deeper than the deepest ocean and wider than the sky. It is also brighter than the brightest star that shines every night above. And there is nothing in this world that can change His love. While these descriptions of His love are certainly true, yet we cannot afford to soft-pedal His just and holy nature. What Ezekeil saw in His vision and what happened to our Lord Jesus at Calvary remind us of the depth and breadth of God’s judgment. Let’s never spurn His love by living a compromising life for us.