Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 11

Verse 1

Eze 11:1. The vision was continued and Ezekiel saw the same men who were mentioned in chapter 8: 16. with one other named specifically. They were all leading men of Judah who were engaged in the worship of the sun which was one form of idolatry.

Verse 2

Eze 11:2. The men not only practiced that which was wrong, hut planned and advised others in it and thus were guilty of conspiracy.

Verse 3

Eze 11:3. The main idea these evil men advocated was one of opposition to the warnings of the Lord. They were making light of the predictions that Jerusalem was to be overthrown, and expressed themselves by the figurative language of the last clause of the verse. It means as if they had said, '‘There is nothing in the threatening the prophet has given us. This city is all the caldron we will need to fear."

Verse 4

Eze 11:4, Ezekiel was told to prophesy against these evil men and tlieir claims.

Verse 5

Eze 11:5. Spirit , . . fell upon me means the prophet was inspired to make his prediction against the men. The passage was introduced with the assertion that, the Lord knew what was in tlieir minds.

Verse 6

Eze 11:6. These evil men had been guilty of murder and caused men’s dead bodies to be laid in the streets. But they had caused these deaths in their wicked contention against the others who wished to pay respect to the word of the Lord,

Verse 7

Eze 11:7. A caldron is a large kettle or boiler that is used for cooking the flesh of animats. The language was used figuratively and compared the city to the caldron and the citizens to the fiesh to be boiled therein. The Lord admitted that these men had really made such use of the city and its unfortunate citizens, but denied that such a fact was the fulfillment of the divine predictions. It was warned that He would bring the citizens out of this "caldron" and thus disprove t.he rebellious declarations that Jerusalem was the only one they would need to fear.

Verse 8

Eze 11:8. Their fear of the sword of the enemy was used as an excuse for trying to hide behind the walls of Jerusalem. God warned them that the city would not save them from the sword for they were to be exposed to it through the divine decree.

Verse 9

Eze 11:9. The strongest walls that man can buiid would be no surety against the judgments of God. Bands of strangers means those outside of their own country, and in this case it referred to the Babylonians.

Verse 10

Eze 11:10, The judgments to be brought upon Israel would be started within their own border, which means they would be made to suffer even before leaving their land.

Verse 11

Eze 11:11. Jerusalem was only a city in the border or territory extending beyond the city. The experiences which these evil men said would be confined within the city were destined to include many outside of the city. In fact, the whole territory of Judah was to suffer. In that sense the Lord affirmed, this city shall not be your caldron. (See the comments on verse 3.)

Verse 12

Eze 11:12. Over and over the motive, "shall know that I am the Lord,.." was stated to the people of Judah. That was especially fitting among a people who had been led off into the worship of strange and false gods.

Verse 13

Eze 11:13. A partial demonstration of the predictions Ezekiel bad been hearing and which he delivered, was made by the sudden death of one of the leading men. The human side of the prophet showed itself by his com-plaint to the Lord of what looked to him like a threat of complete destruction of Israel.

Verse 14

Eze 11:14. This action or remark of the prophet, brought another message from God.

Verse 15

Eze 11:15. The justice of what God was doing against the imhabitants of Jerusalem was indicated in this message to Ezekiel. They had assumed sole connection with (he Lord and had virtually disfeitowshiped all the other people of the country. For this reason they deserved the special Judgments.

Verse 16

Eze 11:16. Them is a pronoun that stands for the people in general who had been imposd upon by the leaders in Jerusalem. At Ihe very time Ezekiel was seeing this vision, be and the bulk of the nation were already in the land of Babylon, and that by the decree of the Lord. But He was not going to forsake them entirely while in the heathen land. Sanctuary means a place or means of security. Among those who had to go into captivity were many who were personally righteous and who were assured of the care of the Lord. It is appropriate the reader again see the note at 2Ki 22:17.

Verse 17

Eze 11:17. From this verse through 20 the subject is the return from captivity. with special mention of certain results to be accomplished by the exile. The same people for whom the Lord promised to be a "sanctuary" in the preceding verse were to be brought back to their own country. The great Babylonian Empire was composed of various countries of the civilised world, and the captives were scattered more of less over those sections. That is the reason for the pre-diction that the Lord would assemble them out of the countries.

Verse 18

Eze 11:18. Take away all the detestable things is a prediction of the complete cure from Idolatry. For the historical fulfillment of this prediction see the quotation in connection with Isa 1:25, volume three of this Commentary.

Verse 19

Eze 11:19. A complete change of heart Is the meaning of this verse. We know that the human heart as to the body is literally flesh, therefore we must understand this language to be figurative. It means their heart (mind) had become hardened in sin and the captivity would humble them and make them become yielding to the law of God.

Verse 20

Eze 11:20. The difference between a statute and an ordinance as defined in the lexicon is so slight that we may well consider them in the same sense. A statute may be regarded as the more fixed and formal of the two, but when they come from God they both mean the rule of life which He expects his servants to follow. Shall be my people. These Israelites were always the Lord's as far as being a race or nationality according to blood, but now they are to become his people again in the sense of forming a nation or government, something they had not been for 70 years.

Verse 21

Eze 11:21. There were some of the Jews who would not give up their love of sin and they were destined to be given over to the ravages of the exile. That, is why the period of the captivity was to reduce the nation to a remnant. {See Ezr 2:64.)

Verse 22

Eze 11:22. These cherubims and wheels are the same that were mentioned in Eze 10:14-15, and they represent the four world empires. The glory of the God of Israel was over them because He is interested in the procedure oE the governments of the world.

Verse 23

Eze 11:23. The story included in the vision was about finished, so the spirit of the Lord's glory departed and occupied an exalted place near the city.

Verse 24

Eze 11:24. Notice the passage says Ezekiel was brought in a vision into Chaldea (or Babylon). In reality or bodily he had been there all the time. This verse means that the vision was ended and Ezekiel was to act literally in communicating his message to the people or captives among whom he was then living.

Verse 25

Eze 11:25. Them of the captivity means the Jews who were literally in captivity along with the prophet who had been taken there at the 2nd stage of the captivity