Eze 11:15 | KingComments | STEP | The LORD responds to Ezekiel’s complaint ( ). The prophet made intercession, first for the inhabitants of Jerusalem ( ) and then for the leaders ( ). He asked God if He would destroy all the remnant of Israel. God now answers ( ) that his brethren, in whom he has so much interest, are not these inhabitants of Jerusalem and these leaders, but the Israelites who have been led into exile. The exiles are considered by these inhabitants of Jerusalem to be cut off from the people of God. The repetition of “your brothers” [“your relatives” is literally also “your brothers”] serves to assure Ezekiel that they are his real, true brothers, as opposed to the Israelites, who only have the name of Israel and boast of it, but do not live up to it. His brethren have the right of redemption ( ; ). “Your fellow exiles” is in Hebrew “the men of your redemption” by which the LORD refers to the right of redemption, which means that these “brothers” have the inalienable right to the land from which they were taken. This already contains a promise of restoration. The core of the people are the exiles, to whom new exiles will soon join. God recognizes them as His people. From them He will form a remnant that will again possess the land according to the law. They have not lost it forever, which is what the inhabitants of Jerusalem in their haughtiness think and say of them. Also, the words “whole” and “all” in the phrase “the whole house of Israel, all of them” emphasize the totality of what God sees as His people. With this totality, “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” form a contrast. For the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who claim the right to the land, the reverse is true. Them God no longer sees as His people. They look with contempt upon the expelled exiles of whom they think are far from God. For these people in Jerusalem, the expulsion from the land means the removal from God’s presence. In their unbelieving posturing, they believe that the exiles are away from the God of Israel, Who after all dwells in Jerusalem. Thus, after the custom of idolatry around them, they make God a local god. At the same time, they claim the land of the exiles for themselves. They are blind to the fact that the glory of God is about to leave them.

‏ Ezekiel 11:15

The Brothers of the Prophet

The LORD responds to Ezekiel’s complaint (Eze 11:14). The prophet made intercession, first for the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Eze 9:8b) and then for the leaders (Eze 11:13b). He asked God if He would destroy all the remnant of Israel. God now answers (Eze 11:15) that his brethren, in whom he has so much interest, are not these inhabitants of Jerusalem and these leaders, but the Israelites who have been led into exile.

The exiles are considered by these inhabitants of Jerusalem to be cut off from the people of God. The repetition of “your brothers” [“your relatives” is literally also “your brothers”] serves to assure Ezekiel that they are his real, true brothers, as opposed to the Israelites, who only have the name of Israel and boast of it, but do not live up to it. His brethren have the right of redemption (Lev 25:25; Rth 2:20b).

“Your fellow exiles” is in Hebrew “the men of your redemption” by which the LORD refers to the right of redemption, which means that these “brothers” have the inalienable right to the land from which they were taken. This already contains a promise of restoration. The core of the people are the exiles, to whom new exiles will soon join. God recognizes them as His people. From them He will form a remnant that will again possess the land according to the law. They have not lost it forever, which is what the inhabitants of Jerusalem in their haughtiness think and say of them.

Also, the words “whole” and “all” in the phrase “the whole house of Israel, all of them” emphasize the totality of what God sees as His people. With this totality, “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” form a contrast. For the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who claim the right to the land, the reverse is true. Them God no longer sees as His people. They look with contempt upon the expelled exiles of whom they think are far from God. For these people in Jerusalem, the expulsion from the land means the removal from God’s presence.

In their unbelieving posturing, they believe that the exiles are away from the God of Israel, Who after all dwells in Jerusalem. Thus, after the custom of idolatry around them, they make God a local god. At the same time, they claim the land of the exiles for themselves. They are blind to the fact that the glory of God is about to leave them.