John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 11:5

"And the Spirit of Jehovah fell upon me, and he said unto me, Speak, Thus saith Jehovah: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind." — Ezekiel 11:5 (ASV)

Here the Prophet turns the wicked mockery of the people to another meaning, for they had corrupted what Jeremiah had said. They knew what he meant by the pot and the flesh, but they thought they could avert God’s wrath by their cleverness. Here the Prophet brings forward another meaning—not that of Jeremiah, nor that of the people, but a third.

In the twenty-fourth chapter, he will again denounce them as like flesh, since God will cast them into a pot to be cooked, so that even their bones would be consumed. But here the Prophet only considers how he will refute their wicked saying, by which they think to catch Jeremiah in a snare, as they did not agree sufficiently with his prophecy.

What does he say, then? First, that the Spirit had fallen upon him, so that he might gain a hearing for his prophecy; for if he had spoken from his own mind, he might be rejected with impunity. For the speakers ought to utter God’s word and be the organ of his Spirit.

The Pope boasts this to his followers, but the true and faithful servants of God ought to do this in reality: namely, not to utter their own comments, but to receive from God’s hands what they deliver to the people, and thus to discharge their duty faithfully. To this end, the Prophet says that the Spirit fell upon him. For although he had been previously endowed with the gift of prophecy, yet as often as he exercised it, this grace ought to be renewed; because it is not sufficient for us to be imbued once with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, unless God works in us daily.

Therefore, since God sustains his gifts in his servants while he uses their assistance, it is not in vain that Ezekiel says, the Spirit was still given to him, because this gift was necessary for every act. Afterward, he expresses more clearly what he had said, namely, that the Spirit had spoken; for it signifies that what he shortly adds had been dictated to him.

Here, therefore, he admonishes the Jews that they should not foolishly promise themselves impunity when they despised his prophecies, since he does not speak from himself but only relates what the Spirit suggested and dictated. Thus have ye spoken, O house of Israel, he said, and I have known the risings of your heart. God here precisely urges the Jews that they should not hope to obtain anything by turning their backs, for we know how carelessly and boldly hypocrites reject all teaching and do not hesitate to strive with God, since they find many pretexts by which they excuse themselves.

Hence, there would be no end unless the Lord should check them and, with the supreme command and power of a judge, show them that subterfuges were vain and make all their excuses idle and of no importance. This then is the Prophet’s meaning when he says, that whatever rose up in their heart was known to God. But by these words he implies that they sought in vain a theater in the world, as if they would succeed if they proved their cause before men: he says that it is vain, because they must come into the court of heaven, where God will be the only Judge.

Now, when our thoughts are known to God, it is futile for us to resort to this or that, because God will not accept our subterfuges, nor will he allow himself to be deluded by our smartness and cunning.

Now, therefore, we see what the Prophet means by saying that God knows what sprang up in the heart of the Jews, because, indeed, they had never stopped contending and quarreling with their fallacies, so as to undermine all confidence in his prophecies.

Hence, we see the usefulness of this teaching: that we deceive ourselves in vain by our acuteness, trying to escape through our devious imaginations, because God sees people’s cunning. While they desire to be ingenious, he seizes them and shows the vanity of what they consider the greatest wisdom.

So let us desire to prove ourselves acceptable to God, and not evaluate our deeds and plans according to our own perception and judgment.