11:3 Who say, {a} [It is] not near; let us build houses: this [city is] the {b} caldron, and we [are] the flesh.
(a) Thus the wicked derided the prophets as though they preached only errors, and therefore gave themselves still to their pleasures.
(b) We will not be pulled out of Jerusalem, till the hour of our death comes, as the flesh is not taken out of the caldron until it is boiled.
11:3 It - The threatened danger and ruin by the Chaldeans. The caldron - This is an impious scoff, yet mixt with some fear of the prophet, Jer 1:13.
11:1-13 Where Satan cannot persuade men to look upon the judgment to come as uncertain, he gains his point by persuading them to look upon it as at a distance. These wretched rulers dare to say, We are as safe in this city as flesh in a boiling pot; the walls of the city shall be to us as walls of brass, we shall receive no more damage from the besiegers than the caldron does from the fire. When sinners flatter themselves to their own ruin, it is time to tell them they shall have no peace if they go on. None shall remain in possession of the city but those who are buried in it. Those are least safe who are most secure. God is often pleased to single out some sinners for warning to others. Whether Pelatiah died at that time in Jerusalem, or when the fulfilment of the prophecy drew near, is uncertain. Like Ezekiel, we ought to be much affected with the sudden death of others, and we should still plead with the Lord to have mercy on those who remain.
