Ezekiel 11:14-21

EZEKIEL—NOTE ON Ezekiel 11:14 Ezekiel’s outcry in v. Ezekiel 11:13 apparently prompts one of the most important statements of hope in the book, one closely connected to the “new heart” passage in Ezekiel 36:22. In Ezekiel 11:15 the voice of those left in Judah taunts the exiles. God’s response in v. Ezekiel 11:16 shows that God’s own action brought about the exile (I removed... I scattered); it also redefines the relationship between God and the remnant remaining in Judah: the real sanctuary is not the temple but God himself. That new relationship is marked by a new spirit and a heart of flesh (v. Ezekiel 11:19) provided by God himself. This enables faithful living, which was impossible with a heart of stone. Ezekiel stresses both God’s provision (here and in Ezekiel 36:26) and the importance of a correct human response (“make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit,” Ezekiel 18:31).