Ezekiel 11: Who Is The True Israel?

Ezekiel 11 points to a serious rift that was developing between the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the exiled community in Babylon.

Those in Jerusalem felt that they were safe and secure in the city, protected like meat in a pot (vs. 3).  But God warns them that this is not so, and that they will be dragged to the borders of Israel for judgment (vs. 11).  The ones who had remained in Judah falsely believe the exiles had been rejected by God and that the "good guys" (the true Israel) were they who had been left to live in the Promised Land.  God reveals to Ezekiel: "Mortal, your kinsfolk, your own kin, your fellow exiles, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'They have gone far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.'" (vs. 15).

Who is the true Israel?  To hear Ezekiel tell it, it is the exiles in Babylon!  Whereas God has a message of ferocious judgment to be delivered upon the idolaters living in Jerusalem, His words for those living in captivity are much more tender and promising.  The Lord has abided with His people in exile and helped them through their trial.  "Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone" (vs. 16).

Here is the new promise that God gives to those driven from their land: "Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.  When they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.  I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God" (vs. 17-20).  A promised restoration is coming!

As we shall see, this is precisely what happens when the exiles are allowed to return to Judah.  It is those who have been taken captive to foreign lands who are the "true Israel" keeping the flame of faith burning until the day it could be returned to Jerusalem.  Another lesson implicit here is that the identity of the true Israel is not always readily apparent and may not be the obvious answer you could have guessed.