Ezekiel is once again taken by the Spirit to witness the true condition of Jerusalem—not as the people imagine it to be, but as God sees it. At the eastern gate of the temple, the prophet was shown twenty-five influential men, those entrusted with guiding the city. Yet these leaders were not anchors of righteousness rather they became architects of corruption. They plotted evil under the guise of stability, reassuring the people with the false confidence that Jerusalem was secure, “a pot” that will protect the “meat” within. Their words sounded reassuring, but their counsel lead the people further away from God. It is to this group that God commanded Ezekiel to speak and expose their hidden schemes. He was to confront a leadership that has misrepresented outward prosperity as alignment with God.
Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man.
Ezekiel 11:4 (NIV)
Going Against the Tide
How difficult is it to go against the leaders when they are misleading the people? In Ezekiel’s day, the Lord commanded him to speak directly against the leaders of Israel who were plotting evil and misleading the nation. Ezekiel obeyed. He did not soften the message, nor did he ignore God’s prompting. He confronted their sin because God desired His people to be corrected and brought back from their destructive ways.
Today, we face a similar struggle. Expressing our concerns—especially in matters of faith—has become increasingly difficult. Religion, ironically, has become one of the least open spaces for honest listening. In many cases, even corporate environments are more welcoming of feedback than some of our churches. This creates a culture of silence, where people feel unable to question, challenge, or call attention to spiritual drift.
When we find ourselves in situations where leaders are misleading others, the fear of being shunned by our community or labelled as rebellious often overwhelms us. Instead of courageously calling people back to the standard of God’s Word, we either remain silent or we make it about our version of righteousness rather than God’s corrective truth. Our corrective words must flow from the heart of God, not from personal offence or pride. True courage is not confronting for the sake of confrontation, but speaking because God Himself calls us to uphold His ways for the sake of His people.
Through Ezekiel, God exposed the violent acts of these leaders, reminding the people that they had filled the city with the dead. He declared that the city would not protect them as they falsely prophesied; instead, He would drive them out, hand them over to foreigners, and bring the sword they feared upon them. They would face judgement at Israel’s borders, and through this they would know that He was the LORD, for they had rejected His decrees and followed the practices of the surrounding nations.
As Ezekiel was in the midst of prophesying God’s judgement, Pelatiah son of Benaiah—one of the prominent leaders standing at the east gate—suddenly died. Pelatiah’s sudden death served as a visible, real-time confirmation that God’s warnings of judgement were not symbolic—they were already unfolding. Pelatiah’s name meant “the LORD delivers,” and he was the son of Benaiah, whose name meant “the LORD builds.” The death of a man whose very name represented deliverance—born of one whose name represented God’s building work underscored how far the people had fallen and how certain God’s judgement had become.
Redirecting All Glory to God
Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?
Ezekiel 11:13 (NIV)
Shocked by this immediate and dramatic fulfilment of the prophetic message, Ezekiel fell facedown and cried out loudly to God, pleading, “Will You completely destroy the remnant of Israel?” His reaction showed his fear that this judgement might signal the total end of the people left in Jerusalem. Ezekiel’s lament showed that, despite the corruption of the leaders, he still interceded for Israel and feared the destruction of the small remnant that might remain faithful. He is not gloating that his prophecy was fulfilled.
Ezekiel was shocked and distraught when God fulfilled what he had prophesied about the leaders but how do we respond when God brings to fruition the words He has given us to speak? Often, our first reaction is to feel overwhelmed that God has worked through us at all. Once the initial weight settles, we may find ourselves thanking Him and praising Him for His faithfulness and for confirming His word. But if our hearts are truly aligned with Him, we will not remain overwhelmed; instead, we will recognise that being used by God is an act of grace, not a mark of personal righteousness.
When God uses us to deliver a message, it does not elevate us above those who hear it. The word He gives us is not only for others—it must be applied to our own lives first. God’s aim is not to glorify the speaker, but to refine both the speaker and the people through His truth. In the end, our response should be humility: acknowledging that God has spoken, recognising that He has chosen to work through us, and submitting ourselves to the very same correction that He brings to others.
The Assurance from God
At the time when the people from the northern territories had been taken into exile, the people in Jerusalem boasted about their righteousness given that they were still living in their hometowns. They claimed that the exiles were taken captive for having grown far from God and that the land now belonged solely to them.
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.
Ezekiel 11:16 (NIV)
God responded to these self-righteous inhabitants of Jerusalem by declaring through His prophet Ezekiel that, although He had scattered the exiles among the nations, He Himself had been a sanctuary for them in the places where they lived. He assured them that He would gather the exiles, bring them back to the land of Israel, and restore it to them. When they returned, they—not the proud people in Jerusalem—would remove all idols and corrupt images. God would give them an undivided heart and a new spirit, taking away their heart of stone and giving them a heart of flesh so that they would walk in His ways. They would be His people, and He would be their God. But those who continued to cling to their idols and religion would bear the consequences of their own actions.
Why do we assume that those whom God has separated for His purpose as people who have drifted away from Him? It is because we judge by appearances instead of recognising the unseen work of God. When someone is removed from their familiar surroundings, goes through hardship, or enters a period of isolation, we often misread it as their spiritual descent. We forget that God’s purposes frequently unfold in in such moments in our lives.
Part of the problem is that many have turned their religious structures and church gatherings into an idol. They treat their own practices as the ultimate standard of holiness, and anything outside that framework is viewed with suspicion. When the church culture itself becomes an idol, the ways of God does not fit its expectations and are dismissed as rebellion or backsliding.
We have also adopted the belief that God would never separate people from familiar fellowship, as though the blessing of community is the only indicator that all is well. So when someone steps away—whether through God’s calling we conclude they must be spiritually off course. But Scripture shows repeatedly that God often works through separation. He took Abraham away from his land, Joseph into Egypt, Moses into the desert, David into caves, Elijah to a distant brook, and the exiles into Babylon. Separation is not always punishment; sometimes it is preparation.
Instead of assuming failure, we should step back and acknowledge that God’s ways are higher than our perceptions. What looks like distance to us may actually be the very space where God is shaping, refining, and aligning someone with His purpose.
Then the cherubim lifted their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel rose and moved to the mountain east of the city. The Spirit then lifted Ezekiel and brought him in a vision back to the exiles in Babylonia. The vision ended, and Ezekiel reported to the exiles everything the LORD had shown him.
What should we learn from the misconceptions held by the people of Jerusalem?
Just as the people of Jerusalem misread the exile as punishment rather than protection, we too can mistake God’s refining process for rejection. We forget that God sometimes separates people to prune, to prepare, or to position them for what He intends to accomplish through them. Our assumptions often come from our own pride, limited perspective, or discomfort with what we cannot understand.
Just as God promised the exiles an undivided heart and a new spirit, He continues to do the same for us today. He takes away the heart of stone that once made us unresponsive to His voice and replaces it with a heart of flesh—soft, teachable, and willing to obey. This inner transformation enables us to walk in His ways, not by force, but by desire. The exiles were restored not merely to their land, but to a renewed relationship with God; in the same way, He restores us from within, shaping us into people who belong to Him and reflect His will having an undivided heart and a new spirit.
The Jordan Valley 
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