Ezekiel 11:22 - Meaning and Application

Here is, first, the departure of God’s presence from the city and temple. When the message was given to the prophet, and he was fully instructed how to tell the difference between what is precious and what is worthless, then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels beside them (Ezekiel 11:22), as before in (Ezekiel 10:19). Angels, once they have finished God’s work in this world, are quick to move on, for they waste no time.

We left the glory of the Lord last at the east gate of the temple (Ezekiel 10:19), and here it is said to be in the middle of the city. Now we are told that, seeing there was no one to plead, no one to support, and no one to call it back, it moved to the mountain east of the city (Ezekiel 11:23). That was the Mount of Olives. People had set up their idols there, in open challenge to God in his temple, when he still lived there (1 Kings 11:7). For that reason, it was called the Mount of Corruption (2 Kings 23:13). There God, in a sense, sets up his own throne and court, facing those who thought they could keep the temple for themselves after he had left.

From that mountain there was a full view of the city. God moved there to carry out what he had said, “I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be” (Deuteronomy 32:20). It was from this mountain that Christ later looked over the city and wept, seeing ahead of time its final destruction by the Romans. The glory of the Lord moved there, as if still within reach, ready to return if, even then, they would understand the things that belonged to their peace.

God is slow to depart. He seems to say goodbye many times before he leaves. By going away so slowly and by degrees, he showed that he left with reluctance, and would not have gone if they had not fully driven him away. In effect, he was saying, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?” But though he is patient for a long time, he will not be patient forever. In the end, he will leave and reject those who have first left and rejected him.

Second, there is the departure of this vision from the prophet. At last it went up from him (Ezekiel 11:24). He watched it rise until it disappeared, which would strengthen his faith that this was a vision from heaven. It had come down from above, and so it returned upward. The visions that God’s people have of his glory do not stay with them all the time. They catch glimpses of that glory, and then lose it again. They taste divine joy, but they do not yet have a full, lasting feast.

It was from the Mount of Olives that the vision went up, which pointed ahead to Christ’s ascension into heaven from that same mountain. Those who had seen him in the flesh would see him no more after that. It was foretold that his feet would stand on the Mount of Olives last of all (Zechariah 14:4).

Third, the prophet returned to the people in captivity. The same Spirit that had carried him away in a trance to Jerusalem brought him back to Chaldea, because that was the place God had appointed for him to live and serve for now. The Spirit came to him, not to set him free from captivity, but to sustain and comfort him in it. That was just as good.

Fourth, he told his hearers everything he had seen and heard (Ezekiel 11:25). He had received from God so that he could pass it on, and he was faithful to the one who sent him. He gave the message honestly. He spoke all that God had shown him, and only what God had shown him.

He told them about the great evil he had seen in Jerusalem, and about the ruin coming quickly on that city. He did this so they would not regret surrendering to the king of Babylon, as Jeremiah had advised them, and then blame themselves for it. He also wanted them not to envy those who stayed behind and mocked them for leaving, or wish they were back there again. They should be content in captivity. Who would want to live in a city so full of sin and so close to destruction? It is better to be in Babylon under God’s favor than in Jerusalem under his anger and curse.

This message was spoken directly to those in captivity, but we may also suppose they sent its contents to the people in Jerusalem, since they kept in touch with them. Jerusalem would have been well served if she had taken the warning.