11:1-11 Having given Ezekiel a glimpse of the divine perspective on Jerusalem, the Spirit brought him back to overhear the words of the city’s inhabitants. The wicked counselors asserted that though the assault by the Babylonians (the fire) was troublesome (hot), the defenses of the city (the iron pot) were sufficient to protect them (the meat). These counselors were telling people to build houses—on stolen land (see 11:15, 17)—in which they could live safely. God, however, was determined to judge the wicked.

11:15-16 Those who remained in the land regarded the exiles as far away from the Lord, with no one to protect their interests in their family land holdings. Relatives (literally men of your redemption) would normally have redeemed Ezekiel’s family property if he fell into debt or other trouble. Since the exiles had been transported as family groups, there was no one left in Judah to guard their inherited properties. • he has given their land to us! Those remaining in the land considered the exiles to be under God’s judgment and their ancestral lands to have been forfeited. The very opposite was true. The future of Israel lay with the far-off exiles, as the Lord had gone into exile with them and would be a sanctuary to them during their time in exile (see 11:22-23).