Ezekiel 11:13-25

content/bible_journal/ezekiel_11:13-25.md

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+title = "Ezekiel 11:13–25"
+date = "2023-03-27"
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+
+### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel11.13-25)
+
+While Ezekiel was prophesying against the wicked princes of the people, one of
+them fell down dead. This is dramatic and causes Ezekiel to plead again for the
+remnant of Israel. It also raises some questions. For the most part, we have
+assumed these prophetic visions are like dreams while the prophet is awake.
+Everything happens in their mind's eye, and the Lord shows him things that are
+yet to happen, or symbolic imagery as a metaphor for the message He wishes to
+convey to the people. So then, is the death of Pelatiah also a vision, or did
+these twenty-five men really get a visitation from the prophet Ezekiel at the
+gate to the temple and one of them died while he was speaking? The name
+Pelatiah means "Yahweh provides escape", so it is a terrible omen that he dies
+while the prophet speaks of the judgements that are going to happen to his
+compatriots. Ultimately, while the question of the mechanics of this vision are
+interesting, they are not actually important. God did what He said He would do
+to the wicked people of Jerusalem, and His message was delivered to its
+intended recipients: the exiles in Chaldea.
+
+This time, when Ezekiel asks about the remnant, the Lord answers with hope and
+assurance. The people left in Jerusalem had boasted to the exiles that they
+were the possessors of the Promised Land, but the Lord would restore the exiles
+to the land in due time. Though they were scattered among many nations, He has
+protected them there and He will bring them back together again. Their hearts
+will be renewed with a softness for the Lord, energizing them to follow His
+commands and remove the "detestable things" and "abominations" (_v. 18_) that
+are in the land.
+
+With the message complete, the Lord on His throne departs from the city and
+travels to the mountain east of the city. (The Mount of Olives, maybe?) Ezekiel
+in his turn is transported back to where he had been when the vision started.
+He then tells the exiles all the things he had seen and heard from the Lord.
+
+* * *
+
+You punish the wicked and spare the righteous, according to Your justice and
+mercy.