Ezekiel 11:16

Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. ALTHOUGH I HAVE CAST THEM FAR OFF AMONG THE HEATHEN ... YET WILL I BE TO THEM AS A LITTLE SANCTUARY - anticipating the objection of the priests at Jerusalem, that the exiles were 'cast far off.' Though this be so, and they are far from the outer temple at Jerusalem, I will be their asylum or sanctuary instead (Psalms 90:1; Psalms 91:9; Isaiah 8:14). My shrine is the humble heart: a preparation for Gospel catholicity, when the local and material templ...

14-21 The pious captives in Babylon were insulted by the Jews who continued in Jerusalem; but God made gracious promises to them. It is promised, that God will give them one heart; a heart firmly fixed for God, and not wavering. All who are made holy have a new spirit, a new temper and dispositions; they act from new principles, walk by new rules, and aim at new ends. A new name, or a new face, will not serve without a new spirit. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. The carnal heart, like a stone, cannot be made to feel. Men live among the dead and dying, and are neither concerned nor humbled. He will make their hearts tender and fit to receive impressions: this is God's work, it is his gift by promise; and a wonderful and happy change is wrought by it, from death to life. Their practices shall be agreeable to those principles. These two must and will go together. When the si...

Verse Ezekiel 11:16. _YET WILL I BE TO THEM AS A LITTLE SANCTUARY_] Though thus exiled from their own land, yet not forgotten by their God. While in their captivity, I will dispense many blessings to them; and I will restore them to their own land, Ezekiel 11:17, from which they shall put away all idolatry, Ezekiel 11:18....

AS A LITTLE SANCTUARY - Rather, I will be to them for a little while a sanctuary. The blessing was provisional, they were to look forward to a blessing more complete. For a little while they were to be satisfied with God’s special presence in a foreign land, but they were to look forward to a renewal of His presence in the restored temple of Jerusalem. “sanctuary” means here strictly the holy place, the tabernacle of the Most High: Yahweh will Himself be to the exiles in the place of the local sanctuary, in which the Jews of Jerusalem so much prided themselves (compare the margin reference). Here is the germ from which is developed Ezek. 40–48, the picture of the kingdom of God in its new form....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 11:1 MOREOVER THE SPIRIT LIFTED ME UP, etc. It is noticeable that the position to which Ezekiel was thus transported in his vision from his place in the inner court (Ezekiel 8:14), was identical with that which he had just seen occupied by the cherub chariot before its departure (Ezekiel 10:19). What he is about to see will throw light on the significance of their departure. The gate is probably, here as there, that of the court of the temple. FIVE AND TWENTY MEN. The number at first reminds us of the worshippers of the sun, in Ezekiel 8:16; but tha

THEREFORE SAY, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD,.... Since they were so insulted and ill treated by their brethren the Jews: ALTHOUGH I HAVE CAST THEM AFAR OFF AMONG THE HEATHEN; both the ten tribes, even all the house of Israel, who were carried into Assyria, and placed in the cities of the Medes, in Halath and Habor, by the river Gozan, 2 Kings 17:6; and those of the Jews in Jeconiah's captivity, among whom were Ezekiel, and his brethren, and his kindred: AND ALTHOUGH I HAVE SCATTERED THEM AMONG THE COUNTRIES; and therefore, what with the distance of the place where they were, and the dispersion of them among the people where they resided, their case might seem to be desperate; and that there was no probability, and scarce any possibility, of their being preserved as a people, and of their restoration to their own land: yet will I be to them a

SCATTERED (_ See Scofield) - (Jeremiah 15:21). _...

Ezekiel 11:1. The priests and the leaders of the nation were steeped in wickedness, defied God and the judgments His prophets had announced. They devised mischief (or iniquity) and gave wicked counsel. Their wicked counsel consisted in disobedience against Jehovah and His Word. In regard to the judgment they said, “It is not the time to build houses; this is the cauldron and we are the flesh.” They knew of Jeremiah's letter which he had sent to the elders who were carried away captives. In that letter, Jeremiah, believing God's Word concerning the long duration of the captivity, gave the advice, “Build ye houses and dwell in them” Jeremiah 29:1. They ridiculed that divinely given advice. They still thought themselves safe in Jerusalem. The phrase “this is the cauldron” means the city of Jerusalem; and we are

A GLIMMER OF HOPE. The people who, at the first deportation (597 B.C.), were allowed to remain in the land, clearly thought themselves superior to those who, like Ezekiel, had been taken to Babylon far from Yahweh's land and therefore far from Yahweh (Ezekiel 11:15, read _they are far)._ Ezekiel undeceives them: the future lies with the exiles, not with them. True, Yahweh had been (see _mg._) to the exiles but little of a sanctuary_ i.e._ their religious privileges had been inevitably curtailed but some day they would come back to the land, and establish upon it the true worship of Yahweh. First they would sweep it clean of every idolatrous thing, and then for their callous obstinate hearts God would give them soft impressionable hearts on which His laws would be easily written (Ezekiel 36

I HAVE SCATTERED, &c. Compare Jeremiah 30:11; Jeremiah 31:10, &c. WILL. BE. will become. AS. LITTLE SANCTUARY. a sanctuary for. little while. SANCTUARY. as. holy place, or asylum, as in Isaiah 8:14....