Ezekiel 11

I actually got a lot out of this chapter (imagine that) so I wanted to make it it's own separate entry.

Chapter 11 - More Judgement and a Little Ray of Hope
Vs 1-13. It's interesting to me that God actually singles out 25 prominent leaders for judgement, and names 2 in particular. The death of Pelatiah at the end of the section echoes a later verse in 12:25 "There will be no more delays, you rebels of Israel. I will fulfill my threat of destruction in your own lifetime. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” Someone's going to have to explain to me the significance of the iron pot the Lord keeps speaking of; was this a typical utensil or is there some kind of symbolic significance behind it being iron?

Vs 14-20. Again we find a little hope in the total destruction of Israel and its people. But this message is to those in exile, which is interesting because it's a future hope for people who have survived and are taken from their land by God's will. I am struck by vs 16 & 17, particularly the part saying "I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile." It's interesting to note that synagogues (local jewish places of worship) didn't exist until the exile because God always wanted them to worship at his central location, the Temple. However,k the people needed to worship, bind together as a community, and read and review the law when there was no temple to worship in. Thus the synagogue was born to meet this need. I guess you could interpret the above scripture as prophecy saying that God would provide for them a place of worship even when his temple was destroyed. Another interpretation would be that God would never leave them completely alone, that he wouldn't forget his covenants with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, etc. He will be their place of refuge in a foreign land, He will be their help in times of trouble. This speaks not only to the people but the prophets in exile too such as Daniel.
This also speaks to us because God is always with us, even in our times of exile. This exile is usually self-imposed, an exile borne out of sin and rebellion or a lack of true communion with with the body, but can also be imposed on a person through hurt from others and the Church. It is hard to remind oneself that God is with us even during our exiles, but I think a lot of this has to do with our emotional state rather than our spiritual state or logical mind. Americans tend to over-emphasize emotion when it comes to our spiritual state: if we don't feel like God is close, He must not be. But God is faithful, He is our sanctuary regardless if we feel it or not. He is bigger than our emotions, and bigger than our sins; His grace extends to us throughout the Earth, no matter where our exile takes us! Praise be to God!

Vs 22-24. The creepy looking seraphim and their technicolor flying machine are back, this time to escort God's presence from Jerusalem. At first I thought this may foreshadow God's eventual leaving of the temple after the death of Christ, but now that I think about it, this over-interprets and over-extends the original purpose of this scripture. After Christ died, His presence didn't leave Jerusalem; it actually finally came to Jerusalem! His presence now filled the hearts of the people, the temple of humanity's soul, in the most intimate means possible. No longer confined to a building made of brick and mortar, but that of the very intentions and will of man. It's so awe inspiring and humbling at the same time.