Commentary - Ezekiel 11:22-25

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but momentous passage, we witness the final stage of the departure of God's glory from Jerusalem. This is not a quiet slipping away in the night; it is a formal, liturgical, and terrible withdrawal. Having judged the wicked counselors of the city and promised a future restoration for the faithful remnant (Ezekiel 11:1-21), the Lord now removes the visible manifestation of His presence from the midst of His covenant people. This event is the spiritual reality behind the physical destruction that is to come. The city is not destroyed and then God leaves; God leaves, and so the city is given over to destruction. Ezekiel, having been shown all this in a vision, is then returned to the exiles in Chaldea to perform his prophetic duty: to tell them what he has seen. This is a message of profound judgment, but embedded within the larger context of Ezekiel's prophecy, it is also a necessary precursor to the promised eucatastrophe of restoration and the eventual return of that same glory, not to a temple made with hands, but to a temple made of living stones.

The movement of the glory is precise. It goes from the temple, to the threshold, to the east gate, and now, finally, up from the midst of the city to the Mount of Olives. This is a slow, deliberate departure, showing God's reluctance to abandon His people, but also the certainty of His judgment against their idolatry. The vision mechanism, with the Spirit lifting Ezekiel, underscores that this is a divine revelation, not a human observation. The prophet is then tasked with the difficult job of communicating this devastating news to a people already in exile, a people who likely still held out hope that the Temple and the city would be spared.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

This passage is the climax of a major section in Ezekiel (chapters 8-11) that details the abominations occurring within the Jerusalem Temple and the subsequent departure of the Shekinah glory. In chapter 8, Ezekiel is transported in a vision from Babylon to Jerusalem and is shown four categories of idolatry that have thoroughly polluted the house of God. In chapter 9, he sees the execution of the guilty inhabitants of Jerusalem, with a mark of protection placed only on those who grieve over the city's sins. Chapter 10 describes the cherubim and the wheels, the very "throne-chariot" of God, preparing to leave the sanctuary. Chapter 11 begins with a judgment against the city's corrupt leaders, followed by a glorious promise of a new heart and a new spirit for the exiles. Our text, verses 22-25, provides the solemn conclusion to this entire visionary sequence. The glory is now well and truly gone. This sets the stage for the prophecies of Jerusalem's destruction that follow, while also providing the necessary backdrop for the later promises of restoration and the return of God's presence in chapters 36-48.

Key Issues

Beginning: The Glory of God

The glory of God (kavod Yahweh) in the Old Testament is the visible manifestation of His presence and majesty. It is weighty, substantial, and holy. It filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35) and the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11). It is what Moses asked to see (Exodus 33:18). For this glory to depart from the temple is, therefore, an unspeakable catastrophe. It signifies the removal of God's unique favor, protection, and fellowship. It is a divine "un-housing" of Himself from the dwelling place He had established among His people.

However, the God of glory cannot ultimately be contained in any man-made structure. His presence is mobile, as Ezekiel's vision of the throne-chariot dramatically illustrates. This mobility is a terror to the unfaithful, but it is a promise to the faithful exiles. God is not stuck in Jerusalem. He can be present with His people in Babylon. This departure, then, is not the end of God's relationship with His people, but rather a radical re-centering of it, away from a physical building and toward a remnant community defined by faith, which will ultimately find its fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the true temple and the very glory of God incarnate (John 1:14).

Verse by Verse Commentary

22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.

The action is initiated by the heavenly beings. The cherubim, these awesome throne-guardians of God, lift their wings. This is the sign of imminent departure, like a great bird preparing for flight. The wheels, this intricate and mysterious machinery of divine providence, are right there with them. Everything is coordinated, part of one majestic and mobile throne. And above it all, the central reality: "the glory of the God of Israel." It hovers, suspended. This is not a frantic escape. It is a deliberate, royal procession. God is leaving the home His people have defiled, and He is doing so on His own terms, in His own time, and with all the majesty befitting the King of the universe. The name used here, "the God of Israel," is poignant. It is the covenant God, the God who chose Israel, who is now being forced to depart by Israel's own sin.

23 The glory of Yahweh went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city.

Here is the final step in the departure from Jerusalem. The glory ascends "from the midst of the city." It is a public act, rising above the whole polluted metropolis. And where does it go? It "stood over the mountain which is east of the city." This is the Mount of Olives. This location is pregnant with biblical significance. It is from this mountain that David, when he was fleeing his rebellious son Absalom, looked back and worshipped God (2 Samuel 15:30-32). And it is from this very mountain that Jesus, the ultimate glory of God in human flesh, would later ascend into heaven (Acts 1:9-12). And it is to this mountain He will return (Zechariah 14:4). The glory of Yahweh pauses here, looking back over the city He once filled with His presence. It is a final, lingering look of judgment mixed with sorrow. The departure is complete. The city is now spiritually empty, a hollow shell awaiting its physical demise. The light has gone out.

24 Now the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea. So the vision that I had seen went up and away from me.

The focus now shifts from the content of the vision to the prophet's experience. The same "Spirit" that lifted him up and took him to Jerusalem now brings him back. The text is emphatic, repeating the agent: "the Spirit lifted me up... by the Spirit of God." This is a supernatural transport, a work of God from beginning to end. Ezekiel is not a tourist; he is a man under divine orders, carried along by a power not his own. He is brought back "to the exiles in Chaldea," back to his flock, back to the mission field. As soon as he arrives, the vision concludes. It "went up and away from me." The curtain falls. The divine revelation for this season is over. The experience was vivid, real, and overwhelming, but now it is a memory, a message to be delivered.

25 Then I told the exiles all the things that Yahweh had shown me.

And here we have the very heart of the prophetic task. "Then I told the exiles." Ezekiel's response is simple obedience. He does not editorialize. He does not soften the blow. He does not withhold the hard parts. He reports "all the things that Yahweh had shown me." This is the integrity of a true prophet. The message is not his own. He is a messenger, a steward of the divine word. Imagine the weight of this task, telling his fellow captives that the very thing they thought was their security, the Temple of God in Jerusalem, was now spiritually desolate, abandoned by the God whose name it bore. This was a message that would crush all false hope and political maneuvering. It was a message designed to bring them to rock bottom, because only from rock bottom could they begin to look for the true hope held out in the promise of a new heart and a new spirit.

Key Words

Kavod, "Glory"

Kavod is the Hebrew word for glory, honor, and abundance. It literally means "weight" or "heaviness." When applied to God, it refers to the sheer weightiness of His being, the external manifestation of His intrinsic worth and majesty. In Ezekiel, this is a visible, brilliant, and mobile phenomenon. Its departure is the ultimate judgment, for when God's glory leaves, all that is left is emptiness and vulnerability.

Ruach, "Spirit"

The Hebrew word ruach can mean wind, breath, or spirit. In this passage, it clearly refers to the Spirit of God as a personal and powerful agent. It is the Ruach who seizes Ezekiel, transports him, enables him to see the vision, and returns him. The Spirit is the power behind all true prophecy and revelation. He is the one who bridges the gap between heaven and earth, bringing the word of God to the people of God.

Application

The departure of God's glory is a terrifying prospect. It teaches us, first, that God's presence is not to be taken for granted. We cannot presume upon His grace. Worship is not a game, and the house of God is not a place for going through religious motions while our hearts are full of idols (Ezekiel 14:3). When a church, a nation, or an individual persists in high-handed sin and refuses to repent, the day can come when the Spirit of God is so grieved that His manifest presence is withdrawn. The lights go out, even if the meetings continue for a time.

Second, we see that God's judgment is always righteous and, in a sense, reluctant. The glory leaves in stages, a slow and sorrowful retreat, giving every opportunity for repentance. God does not delight in judgment, but His holiness demands it.

But third, and most importantly, we must see this passage through the lens of the gospel. The glory that departed over the Mount of Olives has returned. It returned in the person of Jesus Christ, who "dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father" (John 1:14). He is Immanuel, God with us. And after His work was finished, He ascended from that same Mount of Olives, and sent His Holy Spirit to fill not a building of stone, but a temple of living people. By the Spirit, the glory of God now dwells in the Church, and in every individual believer (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). Our task, like Ezekiel's, is to faithfully declare what God has shown us. We are to tell the exiles of this world that true hope is not found in buildings or institutions, but in the glorious person of Jesus Christ, and that through Him, God has made His home with us once more.