Cream of the crop is probably how we would say it. Maybe. Jerusalem’s leaders were saying to the people, ‘Judgment isn’t coming, it’s time to build. We are the most important part of this city.”

But Ezekiel has a different message, the one that is from the Lord.

The Lord says he knows that the city’s leaders have filled the streets with the dead. He says these dead are actually the pinnacle of the city and the “meat” of the pot, not them. And he is going to remove these leaders and the wickedness from the city. They will die by the sword.

As Ezekiel is prophesying to them, one of the leaders died. Ezekiel cries out and asks God if he will at least leave a remnant.

In the meantime Ezekiel’s own relatives are telling him to leave as the land belongs to the people. Certainly there isn’t a judgment coming.

The LORD says there indeed will be a judgment and the people will be scattered to the nations. Then the LORD promises that Israel will be restored. He would gather them again.

He would also do a new work in their hearts. Their hearts of stone would be turned to hearts of flesh and they would put away all their detestable practices. But some would still persist in deception and immorality and for those, the LORD would bring their actions down upon their own heads.

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It took judgment for Israel to wake up. And when they did they would repent and turn to the Lord. and the LORD would be with them and bring soft hearts towards Him again. Sometime when we cease to be pliable before the LORD, we become so hard that the only thing He can do is to break and rebuild.

It is both humbling and encouraging. Sometimes we harden our hearts with sin. Other times our hearts harden when we don’t trust Him in our hurt and suffering. But God is for us. His desire is for our hearts to be turned soft once again. Sometimes he has to take dramatic measures to do so. But hopefully we will yield ourselves to him before we have to get there.