11/15/2025 – Week 3 of 13 – Ezekiel study – Chapters 8 – 11 – “The Glory Has Departed” – Chapter Three / Nov 1st thru Jan 24th / Introduction – See 10/14/2025 post / Post 1 of 2 – Commentary
I will share some excerpts From Warren Wiersbe’s book:
” “If your Presence does not go with us,” said Moses to the Lord, “do not bring us up from here”. (Exodus 33:15 NKJV) The people of God are identified by the presence of God.” (pg 49)
The glory of God was revealed (vv. 1-2)
“It is likely that this awesome being was Jesus Christ in a reincarnate appearance, and the ‘glory of God in 8:4 was undoubtedly the spectacular vision of the wheels, cherubim, firmament, and throne that accompanied his prophetic call. God’s servants may think that their greatest need is to see new visions and hear voices, but the Lord doesn’t always work that way. Instead, He often meets the need by giving us a fresh experience of the original call. The Lord reminded His servant that He was still on the throne and that His providential care for him and his people had never ceased. What more did Ezekiel need to know?” (pg 50)
The idolatry of the people was exposed (vv. 3-16).
“… Israel’s ‘religious prostitution’ aroused the Lord’s holy jealousy, just as a husband or wife would be jealous if a ‘lover’ invaded their marriage (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 32:16)
“… The fourth sight that would grieve Ezekiel’s heart was that of twenty-five men at the door of the temple, between the porch and the(entry) and the brazen altar, openly bowing down to the sun (vv. 15-16). The idolatry of the seventy elders was hidden in the temple, but these men practiced their idolatry openly!”
The remnant spared (9;1 -4) – (pg. 55 – pg. 56)
“… But with the six angels was a seventh person beating the equipment of a crime, clothed in linen as though he were a priest. On the basis of his garment (Daniel 10:5; Revelation 1:13), some students have identified this man as the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to preserve His faithful remnant, but this is only conjecture…. These seven angels congregated at the altar of burnt offering, the place were the fire of God’s holy judgment consumed the sacrifices. The fire declared the holiness of God, but the blood sacrifice on the altar declared the glory of God…”
“The scribe angel was commanded to to through the city and mark the people who lamented and grieved because of the sins of the city. No matter who dark the day, God has always had His faithful remnant who obeyed His will and trusted Him for deliverance, and Ezekiel was among them (Ezekiel 6:11; 21:6; See Psalm 12:5; 119.53; 136; Isaiah 66:2; Jeremiah 13:17; Amos 6:6; Malachi 3:16). The markings of the people will also be a feature of the end times (Revelation 7:3; 9:4; 13:16-17; 20:4). Believers today are ‘marked by the Spirit of God (Ephesians 1:13-140 and should be “marked” by holy lives that glorify Christ.”
“Ezekiel was learning that the most important part of the nation’s life was to magnify the glory of God. The presence of God in the sanctuary was a great privilege for the people of Israel, but it was also a great responsibility. The glory of God cannot dwell with the sins of God’s people, so it was necessary for the glory to leave, and the sanctuary and the people to be judged.”
“THE LEADERS ARE DECEIVED (11: 1-25). (pgs 59 – 62)
“… By publicly wearing a yoke, Jeremiah had made it clear that the only way to spare the city and the temple from destruction was for the Jewish leasers to surrender to the Babylonians (Jeremiah 27)
The City is like a cauldron (vv 1 – 13).
“… Not only were these leaders idolaters and wicked counselors, but they cultivated a philosophy that gave them and the other leaders a false confidence in their dangerous situation…
The Lord told Ezekiel to prophecy against those evil leaders and point out that they weren’t the meat — they were the butchers! They had killed innocent people in Jerusalem and stolen their possessions, and even if the leaders weren’t slain in Jerusalem, they would not escape judgment. They might flee the city, but the Babylonians would catch them at the border, pass sentence on them, and kill them; and that is exactly what happened. (2 Kings 25: 18-21; Jeremiah 39: 1-7; 52: 1-11, 24-27). The the Jewish officials would learn too late that Jehovah alone is Lord of heaven and earth.
In his vision, Ezekiel preached this message and Petaliah fell down dead. The Lord gave the sun worshippers a vivid proof that their evil thoughts and plans could only lead to disaster. Once again, Ezekiel revealed his shepherd’s heart as he fell on his face before the Lord and prayed for the people. As in Ezekiel 9:8, he prayed that the Lord would spare a remnant of the people so Israel would have a future.”
“Jehovah, the sanctuary of His people (vv. 14 – 21).
“But the Lord made it clear that He had not forsaken the Jews in Babylon, for the ‘I will statements in Ezekiel 11: 16:20 declare His promises to the exiles. First, God Himself would be to them ‘a sanctuary for a little while during their captivity.. ‘Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations’ (Psalm 90:1. NKJV)….
The second promise is “I will gather you” (Ezekiel 11:17. A remnant of Jews would one day return to the land and rebuild the temple. No mater where the Jews had been scattered, the Lord would find them and bring them home. The promise goes far beyond the restoration after the captivity, for the Lord has promised that in the end times He will gather His people back to the land (28: 25-26; 34: 11-16; 36: 24-38; 37: 11-28; Isaiah 11: 11-16; Jeremiah 24: 4-7)
The third promise is, “I will give you the land of Israel (Ezekiel 11:17).Since God had already given this land to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 12:7; 13: 14-17; 15-7), nobody else would successfully lay claim to it. When the exiles returned to their land, they were cured of idolatry and would remove all the pagan worship.
“the promises in Ezekiel 11: 19-21 go beyond the return of the Jewish exiles after the Babylonian captivity, for Scripture records no evidence of this kind of spiritual renewal in the post-exilic period. In fact, the account given in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Malachi is just the opposite. The promises apply to the end times when Gods people Israel will be regathered to their land, will repent of their sins and trust their Messiah (Zechariah 12-14) and welcome Him as their King. They will experience a spiritual regeneration, a new birth. However, those who will not believe will be judged (Ezekiel 11:21). Later in this book, Ezekiel will describe in greater detail the glorious blessings God has prepared for the Jewish nation (chapters 33 – 48). Jeremiah had also announced a ‘new covenant’ for the people of Israel (Jeremiah 31;33; 32: 38-39), a covenant not written on stones but engraved on the human mind and heart; and Christian believers today share in the covenant (2 Corinthians 3; Hebrews 9 – 10).”
“The glory departs (vv. 22-25).
The chariot throne had been lingering at the threshold of the east gate of the temple, with the glory of God above it (Ezekiel 10: 18-19). Now the glory of God departed and rested over the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. Ezekiel could have written ‘ Ichabod’ over the east gate, for indeed ‘the glory has departed’ (1 Samuel 4: 19-22). However, Ezekiel saw the glory return, this time to the new temple that will stand during the reign of Christ in His kingdom (Ezekiel 43: 1-5).
After the temple was destroyed in 586 B.C. the glory of God disappears from the earth and didn’t return until the birth of Christ in Bethlehem (Luke 2:9, 32; John 1:14). Wicked men crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8), but He arose again and ascended back to heaven from Bethany (Luke 24: 50-51; Acts 1: 9-12), which is on the eastern slope of Mount Oliver. One day Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) to deliver His people and establish His kingdom. The glory will have returned!
When the vision ended, Ezekiel found himself back in his own house in Babylon, and he told the Jewish elders and the other exiles what the Lord had shown him. Some no doubt believed and prayed for the peace of Jerusalem, while others preferred to listen to the deadly, soothing words of the false prophets. But four years later (Ezekiel 24: 1-2), Ezekiel would get the message that the siege of Jerusalem had begun. The date was January 15, 588 B.C. Three years later (January 8, 585 BC), a fugitive would arrive in Babylon with the news that the city had fallen (32:21).
God’s Word never fails.”
Wow!
Soli Deo Gloria!