Ezekiel 11:14-21

B. The Jewish Exiles Encouraged 11:14-21

TRANSLATION

(14) And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, (15) Son of man, your brethren, your kinsmen, and all the house of Israel all of these are they of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Go far away from the LORD; the land has been given to us for a possession. (16) Therefore say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Although I have removed them far among the nations, and although I have scattered them among lands, yet I shall be a sanctuary for a little while for them in the lands where they have come. (17) Therefore say, Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples, yes I will assemble you from the lands where you have been scattered, and I will give to you the land of Israel. (18) And they shall come there and they shall remove all her horrible things and all her abominations from her. (19) And I will give to them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them, and I will take away the heart of stone from their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh, (20) in order that they will walk in My statutes, and keep MY ordinances, and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. (21) But as for those whose heart goes after horrible things and abominations, I will recompense their way upon their head (oracle of the Lord GOD).

COMMENTS

In response to the desperate prayer-question of Ezekiel concerning the future of Israel, God granted to the prophet a special revelation of comfort (Ezekiel 11:14). Ezekiel was first reminded that the remnant of Israel about which he was concerned embraced others besides those who still inhabited Jerusalem. The exiled Israelites were also his brethren and kinsmen. Indeed, all the house of Israel included the exiles of the Northern Kingdom as well as those of Judah. All the exiles were looked down on and despised by those who remained in Jerusalem. The fact that they were left in possession of the land and Temple was interpreted as being an evidence of God's blessing on them. Conversely, they regarded those who had been carried away to foreign lands as being cursed of God because they were far from the land, i.e., His domain and presence (Ezekiel 11:15).

The Lord speaking through Ezekiel rebuked the haughty attitude of the Jerusalemites. The proof that the exiles were God's people is seen in what He had done already for them, and what He promised yet to do for them. While it was true that the exiles had been scattered among the nations by the Lord, yet this in no way implied that He had cast off these people. Though they were separated by miles from Mt. Zion and God's house, yet God Himself would serve as their sanctuary during the little while[261] they were in captivity (Ezekiel 11:16). Those exiles were really nearer to the presence of God than those who worshiped in the Jerusalem Temple from which the Lord had now departed. He was their protection and source of strength. The phrase little while suggests that the captivity was transient and provisional. For Ezekiel, as for Jeremiah, the people in exile were the good figs (cf. Jeremiah 24:1), and those in Jerusalem the rotten figs. They were the remnant for whom there was a hope of better things.

[261] The charming translation little sanctuary (KJV) is not accurate. Even today Jews call their synagogues a little sanctuary in allusion to this verse.

A major theological thought emerges here. It is the presence of the Lord that makes the sanctuary, not the sanctuary that secures the presence of God. The physical Temple was not absolutely essential to the relationship between God and His people. Although the exiles had lost the Temple, they had not lost the presence of God.

For those despised exiles God had something wonderful in store. God would gather and assemble His people from among the nations where they had been driven. Furthermore, to these presently despised and disheartened exiles He would give the land of Israel (Ezekiel 11:17). This prophecy began to be fulfilled in the work of restoration achieved by Zerubabbel, Ezra and Nehemiah. But the work of gathering God's people goes on today wherever and whenever the Gospel is preached. Men and women baptized into Christ become part of the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16) and inherit the Jerusalem which is from above (Galatians 4:26).

Those exiles brought home by God would be spiritual persons. Immediately upon returning they would remove all horrible things and abominations, i.e., idols, and the paraphernalia of idolatry (Ezekiel 11:18). Repentance must precede God's work in the heart of men. God can do nothing for the man who will not recognize his sins and turn from them.

In the new Israel God would give His people one heart (Ezekiel 11:19). Here Ezekiel is introducing the great prophetic theme of unity among the people of God, a theme which he will later amplify by a symbolic action (Ezekiel 37:15-22). The long-standing cleavage between north and south, Israel and Judah, would disappear. Oneness of purpose and of action would characterize the new Israel of God. The unity in Christ of Jew and Gentile, male and female, bond and free is a grand theological fact which, unfortunately, in practice God's people do not display before the world.

The means of achieving this grand unity of God's people is the divine gift of a new spirit (Ezekiel 11:19). The prophet speaks here of the spirit of loyalty, obedience and unselfishness.[262] Thus God not only sets up His covenant, He also provides all the qualifications for living under the covenant. The new spirit is God's spirit. The New Israel of God would be infused with new divine energy. Such a prediction can only be fully understood in the light of the gift of the Holy Spirit to God's people on Pentecost.

[262] In this prophecy of the new spirit Ezekiel echoes the thoughts and even the words of Jeremiah 31:31-33; Jeremiah 32:37-39 and Deuteronomy 30:11-16.

A new heart as well as a new spirit would be given to the individual members of the New Israel (Ezekiel 11:19). The stony heart is that which is hardened (Ezekiel 3:7) against inducements to repentance, to all spiritual aspirations.[263] The heart to the Hebrews was the center of the will and the mind, the intellectual basis for emotion and action.

[263] Zechariah 7:12 speaks of those who made their hearts harder than an adamant stone.

The new spirit and new heart manifest themselves in a new life a life of righteousness. In sincere obedience the members of New Israel would live by the statutes and ordinances of God (Ezekiel 11:20). In acts of formal worship and in their daily dealings they would act in accordance with God's revealed will.

The new spirit, new heart and new life make possible a new or perhaps more accurately, a renewed relationship with God. They will be His people; He will be their God (Ezekiel 11:20). Ultimately this theme reaches its fulfillment in the blessed state of eternity (Revelation 21:3-5).

The glorious promises of this oracle come to an end with a stern warning to those Israelites who may be hardened in unbelief. Certainly the inhabitants of Jerusalem are in view in Ezekiel 11:21; but the warning is not limited to them. Those who continued to walk after idolatry would face the judgment of God. He would bring their way upon their own heads, i.e., He would give them their just deserts (Ezekiel 11:21). In the economy of God, every set of promises has a corresponding set of punishments which fall upon those who do not through faith and obedience appropriate those promises (cf. Deuteronomy 11:26; Matthew 7:13 f).