Ezekiel 11:16, commentary and pictures

Although God himself cast his people far off among the heathen and scattered them among the countries for disobedience, he promised to be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they came. The sanctuary here is not the tabernacle, the temple at Jerusalem, or the temple in heaven where atonement is made, but a figurative description of God himself. As their sanctuary he is their sacred refuge, defense, dwelling and place of safety from enemies, standing in place of the desolate sanctuary at Jerusalem while they pray toward it. The promise belongs with the promised gathering and restoration after captivity, when those who turn to the Lord wholeheartedly receive a new heart and spirit to walk in his statutes and be his people, while blessings remain conditional on obedience and those persisting in idolatry face judgment. In the present dispensation, while the sanctuary and priesthood are in heaven, that same presence goes with his scattered people wherever they are, so the believer's heart and home may become his dwelling and even two or three gathered without a house of worship may have his communion, forgiveness and grace with angels to bear their prayers to heaven.

Words and Historical Setting

Although God himself cast his people far off among the heathen and scattered them among the countries, he promised to be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they would come. While Israel was scattered among other nations far from the homeland, God would remain a sanctuary to them there in the land of their captivity. The promise belonged with the promised gathering and restoration offered to literal Israel after the seventy years of captivity, when they would return, turn from iniquities, walk in God's statutes and ordinances and be his people, while those persisting in idolatry would face judgment, so the blessings were conditional on obedience. Fulfillment of the connected promise begins in this life when people turn to the Lord wholeheartedly and receive a new heart and new spirit to keep his statutes, and this work will be complete in the last generation when God takes his children home. The promise applies to God's people today, so a believer's heart may become God's dwelling and sanctuary and the home can be his sanctuary only if the heart is, and gospel messengers amid demands and hardships can be close to God and receive his presence, communion, forgiveness, and grace.

The word sanctuary in the verse is a figurative description of God himself and is an exception to the usual meaning of sanctuary. It does not mean the tabernacle erected by Moses or the temple built by Solomon or the temple of God in heaven, though the name derives from the Lord's sanctuary. This is one of the very few uses of the word that does not mean the earthly and heavenly tabernacles where atonement is accomplished, and this exceptional use does not change the real meaning of sanctuary. It is an exception to the statement that sanctuary refers to a particular place where God dwells, for here sanctuary means a sacred or consecrated place, not the term used for the sanctuary of worship.

As a sanctuary the verse means God is a sacred place, refuge, defense, dwelling, and holy place for his scattered people even far from their homeland. The sanctuary was a place of safety from the avenger of blood and from enemies, and so God himself becomes that safety to his people when they are scattered among foreign countries. When in foreign lands they prayed with their faces toward the temple at Jerusalem, and God's providence over them in captivity was for them and instead of their sanctuary.

The scattering was the Lord's own judgment for disobedience to his commandments, for the Lord himself scattered Israel among the nations but did not abandon them. It began with the Babylonian destruction and captivity and may not have been completed until Jerusalem's later destruction by the Romans. While God's people were thus scattered among other nations, their sanctuary lay desolate and the sanctuary in Jerusalem lay in ruins.

Promise and Present Application

Although scattered among other nations, the people were promised gathering and restoration, to return and walk in divine statutes and ordinances and be owned as God's own people. That restoration was offered to literal Israel after the seventy years of captivity and was conditional on turning from iniquities and obeying, while those persisting in idolatry would face judgment. Fulfillment of the connected promise begins in this life, when those who turn to the Lord wholeheartedly receive a new heart and a new spirit to walk in His statutes and keep His ordinances. That work will be complete in the last generation, when God takes His children home.

The promise belongs to God's people today, for He remains a holy place and refuge even far from homeland. He may dwell in a believer's heart and make it His dwelling and sanctuary, and the home can be His sanctuary only if the heart is. Gospel messengers amid the demands and hardships of their work can in this way be close to God and receive His presence, communion, forgiveness, and grace.

In the present dispensation, while the sanctuary and priesthood are in heaven, the divine presence goes with scattered people wherever they go and remains with them wherever they are. He is not confined to a large assembly within walls, but is with them away from the earthly sanctuary whether scattered over the mountains or in the valleys, even without a house of worship and with only two or three gathered. There He hears their prayers. Guardian angels watch over them, ready to bear their petitions to heaven with the velocity of thought.