The glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD….Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim….And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. Ezek 10:4, 18; Ezek 11:23
These chapters tell us of the shocking departure of God’s presence from the temple and Jerusalem. His protective presence over the people is lifted, even while the leaders of the city tell everyone they are still safe and protected.
Ezekiel lives in a time when most of God’s people have been sent into exile to Babylon for their sins—they have lost everything of value, save their own lives. The rest remain in Jerusalem. But those who remain do not repent of the sins that caused the exile, but continue in worldly idolatry with stubborn indifference. But because they are still in Jerusalem, they think they are still living under God’s favour, and that it is the exiles who are the ones “lost” to God.
In Ezek chapters 8-11 what we find, instead, is that God’s presence leaves the temple (and Jerusalem) and goes to dwell among the exiles! (Ezek 11:16)
Ian Duguid in his excellent commentary on Ezekiel suggests the following application for our day:
“We assume that things are as they appear and that we can easily identify those on whom God’s favour rests. We may place our trust in numbers: if many people attend a particular church or type of church, then surely God’s blessing rests on it and we should model our church after that style. But God’s presence is not so easily discerned. God’s presence can be removed from a church, just as it abandoned the temple. Outwardly, everything may still seem to be in place, but without the internal reality of God’s presence it is merely a matter of time before the whole edifice collapses…It is the presence of Christ that constitutes the church”. Ian Duguid, NIV Application Commentary on Ezekiel, chp 10-11