The Approach of the Elders of Israel.
‘And so it was in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of Yahweh, and sat before me.'
The date given is in August 591/0 BC. Like the majority of the dates in Ezekiel it is related to the date of Jehoiachin's captivity (Ezekiel 1:2). On that day some of the elders of Israel with him in captivity in Babylonia came to Ezekiel, and sat before him. Their purpose was to ‘enquire of Yahweh'.
Ezekiel was divided up into major sections by these datings. Ezekiel 1:2 is dated July 592 BC, Ezekiel 8:1 is dated September 592/1 BC, Ezekiel 20:1 is dated August 591/0 BC, Ezekiel 24:1 is dated January 588 BC, Ezekiel 33:21 is dated January 586/5 BC and Ezekiel 40:1 is dated April 573 BC, which are in chonological order. (The oracles against nations were also dated (Ezekiel 26:1 to Ezekiel 32:32), but not in chronological order).
No other reason is given for their enquiry, and no information about the content of their enquiry. It may simply mean that they wanted to know whether God had any message for them. But elsewhere ‘enquiring of Yahweh' meant securing a divine revelation concerning a particular event (see 1Ki 14:5-18; 1 Kings 22:7-28; 2 Kings 8:8-15; 2 Kings 22:13-20; Jeremiah 21:2-14; Jeremiah 37:7-10). So it may be that they were enquiring about the situation in Jerusalem and as to how long their exile would continue, especially having regard to Zedekiah's attempted alliance with Egypt.
As we have seen there was a huge amount of intrigue between Jerusalem and Egypt. Who made the first contact we do not know, probably Egypt under Pharaoh Hophra, seeking to foment trouble among the smaller states for their own benefit, and seeking assistance in their own plans against Assyria. But Zedekiah saw his chance to break for freedom and ‘rebelled against the king of Babylon' (2 Kings 24:20). This was contrary to Yahweh's words through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 27:12-15). He sent to Egypt for assistance in the form of soldiers and horses (see Jeremiah 37:5), but the assistance would be shortlived.
We have independent confirmation of such intrigues in the Lachish letters, a collection of twenty one ostraca found in the ruins of Lachish. ‘Konyahu, the son of Elnathan, commander of the army, has gone down on his way to Egypt'.
Or it may be that they were seeking confirmation of the acceptability of an attempt to syncretise their worship of Yahweh with the worship of the gods of the land where they found themselves (see Ezekiel 20:32, and note the words ‘that which comes into your mind').