Introduction Chapter 8-11

This section of Ezekiel is a sad era in the history of Israel. The Glory of the Lord led Israel out of Egypt. The Glory of the Lord appeared to Moses, in the burning bush on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 3:3-4).  He appeared to them in a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, the very presence of God, He nurtured Israel in the wilderness providing food and water. 

            Four hundred years after Israel took possession of the land, they were instructed to build a House for the presence of God in Jerusalem.   Solomon completed this Temple in 960 B.C., the presence of God, the Glory of the Lord, affirmed and blessed the House, by filling it with His presence.   

10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. I Kings 8:10-11   

Here in Ezekiel chapters eight to eleven reveals how the presence of God, leaves His Temple, Solomon’s Temple, because of the sins taking place.  Before He leaves, Ezekiel is brought to the Temple to witness why God’s presence is leaving the Temple.  Ezekiel testified to what the nation’s leaders are doing in secret, thinking God did not know.  He witnesses the idolatry taking place in secret how the nation’s leaders worshipped abominations in the Temple.  God asks Ezekiel, “Have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness” (Ezekiel 8:12).

God then allows Ezekiel to see the events in the spiritual realms; God calls His angelic “Guards” to slay the idolaters in the city (Ezekiel 9).  This action is later fulfilled when the armies of Babylon destroy the city and slay its inhabitants in 586 B.C. 

After witnessing the slaughter and judgment in the spiritual realms, Ezekiel cries out asking God, "Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?" (Ezekiel 11:12). God responds by promising a day of restoration, even though they are judged, they will be restored, God will bring them back to the land and put a “New Spirit in them”, they will be given a “heart of flesh”, they will then be “my people”.  Even though the events seem bleak for the nation, God is not done with Israel, they will be restored.

This restoration of obedience will take place in the last days, the end-times, when Israel comes to know their Messiah.  Ezekiel 36 to 48 deals with these progression of events.

Chapter 8

The date is September 17^th 592 B.C., more then one year after Ezekiel is called in the 5^th year of his captivity. Ezekiel is taken back to the Temple in Jerusalem to witnesses what is taking place in the darkness.  The Spirit (Holy Spirit) allows Ezekiel to testify against those in Jerusalem, as he reveals how the leading men and women of have turned away from God.  He shows how they have turned the God’s House, into a house of idolatry.

            The leaders put idol images of abominations on the walls; they have turned their backs to the Holy of Holies[1], worshipping the Sun.  Woman are weeping for the Babylonian/Assyrian god Tammuz, God declares no mercy on these habitants.

The Glory of the Lord takes Ezekiel to the Temple

 1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there. 2 Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire—from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber. 3 He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain. Ezekiel 8:1-3

Sixth year....Sixth Month:  Ezekiel was called on the fifth day of the fourth month in the 5^th year of his captivity.  This revelation is now taking place about 390-days after he was first called.  Therefore at this time Ezekiel is still lying on his side bearing the sins of Israel and Judah (Ezekiel chapter 4). This is taking place One year and two month or 420-days after his call.

Elders: These are the leaders of Judah; they like Ezekiel were taken into captivity to Babylon in 597 B.C.  This vision is taking place in his house, while the leaders of Judah had come to see him.

His waist:  Ezekiel is taken away in the spiritual realm by the “The Spirit”, the description given could very well be the description of the “Likeness” of the Holy Spirit or an angelic being which takes Ezekiel to Jerusalem to witness the events taking place there. In verse 4, he identifies the Glory of the Lord, while he the described being is called the “Spirit”.  This is the same “Spirit” which allows Ezekiel to stand in the presence of the Glory of the Lord. (Ezekiel 2:2, 3;14,24)

The Spirit: The term is used for angelic beings, as well as the Holy Spirit.  Every person has a spirit; the identity of this Spirit seems to be the Holy Spirit of God.

To Jerusalem: Ezekiel’s was taken to Jerusalem from Babylon, about 750-miles if you went as the crow flies.

Seat of the image of jealousy was: Ezekiel is taken to the door of the North Gate of the inner court where the leaders of Israel had set up an image, to provoke God to jealousy. This is an idol of Babylonian variety, Isaiah describes it as the “Eastern ways” (Isaiah 2:6).  

The Glory of the Lord: Ezekiel again sees the Glory of Lord, as he saw in the plain, Ezekiel chapter 3.

Ezekiel witnesses the sin in the Temple

5 Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.
6 Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.” 7 So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.
9 And He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.” 10 So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls. 11 And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’”  Ezekiel 8:5-9

Toward the North:  Ezekiel is given a guided tour of the sin of Israel.  In the Temple court yard, at the inner court.  Through out the area the leaders of Jerusalem have turned to idolatry as their hope abandoning the God of Israel for the gods and goddesses of Babylon. 

The altar gate

image of jealousy: This was an idol image, its exact nature is not specified,

Seventy men: These were what became known as the Sanhedrin. The group of 70 was established in the days of Moses (Exodus 24:1,9)

The Lord does not see:  There view of the God of Israel was little, His mercy was perceived as weakness.

The Women weep for Tammuz

13 And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.” 14 So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.  Ezekiel 8:13-14

Women were sitting: The woman according to “Babylonian” rites would weep for the death of Tammuz.  The whole of Judah’s people had fallen away, including men, woman and children in apostasy.  The families of Judah had been corrupted, the walls of the family unit were broken down, God would salvage what could be saved through the destruction of Jerusalem.

Weeping for Tammuz: The woman as well as the men of Jerusalem had fallen into idolatry.  Jeremiah who lived in Jerusalem during this period confirms the apostasy of whole families.

17 "Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 "The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.  Jeremiah 7:17-18

Worshipping the Sun

15 Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” 16 So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
17 And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.” Ezekiel 8:15-18

Inner court of the Lord’s house: God shows Ezekiel the extent of the apostasy, as he sees the 25-men, the political leaders, called in chapter 11:1 the “princes of the people”

Worshipping the sun: Their back to the Temple’s eastern gate, they people faced the sun. King Josiah, years earlier had tried to rid the land of these pagan gods, which are explicitly condemned in the Deuteronomy 4:19,17:3. Ezekiel is the watchman, witnessing the sins of the land to testify to God’s righteous judgment against their sins.

5 Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.

6 And he brought out the wooden image from the house of the Lord, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, and threw its ashes on the graves of the common people.   2 Kings 23:5

I will not hear them: God would close His hearing to their pleas when the judgment begins, because of the extent of their sin.

Chapter 9

The Glory of the Lord, then calls the angels, who have “charge” over the city with their deadly weapons.   We are seeing events take place in the spiritual realm; angels who were keeping track of the events taking place in the city.  Two groups of people were identified in the city, one group marked for destruction and the other marked for survival. 

      An angel with an inkhorn goes throughout the city marking those who “sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it”.  God is aware of the attitudes and actions taking place in the darkness, he has angels, which keep track of our actions.

The Glory of the Lord assembles the angels

 1 Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.” 2 And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple.^[a] And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; 4 and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” Ezekiel 9:1-3

He called: Now that Ezekiel has witnessed the cause for the judgment, God allows Ezekiel to see then events take place.

Six men came:  These six men are angels in the spiritual realm, who are the have “charge over the city” the are called to come forward. One man will mark the people in the city worth saving, those who mourn over the sins of Jerusalem.  They will be saved, everybody else will be killed when the armies of Babylon come to conquer the city

The angles are commanded to kill

5 To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple. 7 Then He said to them, “Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city. Ezekiel 9:5-7

Go after: These angels kill the people in the spiritual realm, when the armies of Babylon come they will be killed physically.

Defile the Temple: The people of Judah have defiled the Temple, now God will fill the Temple with their bodies. The Babylonians will burn and destroy the Temple in 586 B.C.

Ezekiel pleads for Israel

8 So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?”
9 Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see!’ 10 And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.”
11 Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, “I have done as You commanded me.” Ezekiel 9:8-11

I fell on my face: Ezekiel in the role of priest pleads for mercy on the remnant.  God answers Ezekiel, showing the justice in the judgment that takes place.  God in chapter 11, promises a day of restoration for the people, even though things seem bleak with no hope now.

The land is full of bloodshed....perversity: The land of Judah is completely corrupted; only some are worth saving. Even the children have been corrupted by the actions of their parents.  The indoctrination of bloodshed and perversity could pretty much describe our world today.  Video, games and the internet make bloodshed and perversity available at the click of a button.

Chapter 10

            Again, Ezekiel sees the vision of the Cherubim, which he saw in chapter 1, when he was first called by the Glory of the Lord to serve as a prophet to Israel.  Ezekiel is in Jerusalem, in the spiritual realms, God along with Cherubim appear at the Temple, where the idolatry is taking place. Ezekiel again describes the beings, calling them Cherubim, which he did not say in chapter one.  The cherubim is plural in Hebrew for Cherub

The one difference being the four faces of the Cherubim, now include the face of a Cherub and do not include the ox (vs. 14). Showing the appearance of the Cherubim can change from time to time, or the face of the ox is like face of a Cherub.

The Glory of the Lord is about to enter the Eastern Gate[2], the gate which the only the priest were allowed to enter, this same gate was sealed in the 16^th century to prevent the coming of Messiah, and a Muslim cemetery was placed there to prevent the return of Elijah.  The Eastern Gate plays a very prominent role, since in the Millennium only the Glory of the Lord will be allowed to use this gate as entrance into His throne room, in the Temple. (See Ezekiel 43:1-10)

The Glory of the Lord appears

 1 And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 2 Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched.
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple^[a] when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’s glory.  Ezekiel 10:1-3

I looked: Ezekiel again sees the vision of the Glory of the Lord and the Cherubim.  He is not dreaming but seeing with his eyes this vision.  Ezekiel is describing what he sees to reader in terms he understands.

Above the Cherubim: The Sapphire stone throne of the Glory of the Lord was above the cherub angels.  From there the Glory of the Lord communicates to the man clothed in linen another angel.  Ezekiel records the conversation for us.

A throne: This is the throne of Almighty God who is appearing in Human form to Ezekiel the priest.  We must remember this is exactly what is represented in the Tabernacle and in the Temple.  There the priest would appear before the throne of God, the Mercy Seat, the cover to the Arc of the Covenant.  Ezekiel the priest is seeing the reality of what was represented.

Then the glory of the Lord: The Glory of the Lord is the central person in Ezekiel from Chapter 1 to 48.  The Glory of the Lord is the presence of Almighty God in the Old Testament.  He appears in Human form as He did when he walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden.  Jesus is the incarnation of the Glory of the Lord, who comes to His Temple. In Ezekiel’s day, Ezekiel was witnesses to the Glory of the Lord appearing at the Temple. In the New Testament period, a.k.a. the Second Temple time, the Apostles and Church were witnesses to the Glory of the Lord appearing at His Temple in the person of Jesus Christ.  Interesting note here, is that before the destruction of the First and Second Temple, the Glory of Lord made appearances at His Temple.

The Cherubim

5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.
6 Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” that he went in and stood beside the wheels. 7 And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.
9 And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone. 10 As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 11 When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. 12 And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, “Wheel.”
14 Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 And the cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar. 16 When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them. 17 When the cherubim^[b] stood still, the wheels stood still, and when one^[c] was lifted up, the other^[d] lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them. Ezekiel 10:5-17

Wings of the Cherubim: Ezekiel again describes a second time the Cherubim. 

Fire among the wheels:

The Glory of the Lord departs

18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. 19 And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
20 This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22 And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.              Ezekiel 10:18-22

The glory of the LORD departed: The presence of God was invisible to the people of Jerusalem, while Ezekiel was witness to both the human and spiritual realms.  He saw the people commit their sins and records their actions.  With the sins and corruption of the leaders, men, woman and children God will now proceed to unleash His wrath through the armies of Babylon.

Chapter 11

Ezekiel is now taken to the Eastern Gate, where he witnesses the leaders in Israel, the twenty-five men who are causing the people to reject God’s words.  God proclaims judgment; the Babylonians will execute them when they arrive. Ezekiel then witnesses the death of Pelatiah, while he speaks; this caused Ezekiel to lament the destruction.  God seemed like He was making a “complete end” to the nation of Israel, the judgment seemed so severe.  God responds to Ezekiel promising a day of restoration, when Israel would be restored to the land and to Him.

Ezekiel taken to the Eastern Gate

 1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the LORD’s house, which faces eastward; and there at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city, 3 who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this city is the caldron, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!” Ezekiel 11:1-4

The Spirit:  Through the Holy Spirit, Ezekiel see what God sees, he sees the corruption of the leaders of the Jerusalem.  They are secretly plotting to use the events to their benefit.  

East Gate: This area before the Temple appears to be the grounds where the leadership of Jerusalem “twenty-five men”, hatched their plans to divide Jerusalem up between themselves. 

These are the men:  These men thought Egypt would rescue Jerusalem from the Babylonian threat, then they would benefit by acquiring the property and lands of others.  So Ezekiel is eye-witness to their actions.

Ezekiel prophesies against the leaders of Israel

5 Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the LORD: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind. 6 You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.” 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; but I shall bring you out of the midst of it. 8 You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord GOD. 9 “And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments on you. 10 You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. 11 This city shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel. 12 And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.”’”
13 Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?” Ezekiel 11:5-13

The Spirit of the Lord: Ezekiel testifies to God’s righteous anger against the leaders of the land. The Holy Spirit speaks through Ezekiel judging the sins in the land.  The Spirit of the Lord is the force behind the words in Ezekiel.

I will bring a sword upon you: The sword of judgment is the armies of Babylon.  God will return the cruel violence of the leaders with the violence of Babylon.

Complete end of...Israel? Ezekiel at this point intercedes for Israel. The judgment seemed so violent; Ezekiel questioned whether Israel could survive.  This is the miracle of the nation of Israel. God is behind the restoration of the nation from the ashes of judgment.  Ezekiel is interceding as the priest for the sins of the lands.   

God Will Restore Israel

One oIf the major themes in Ezekiel is restoration, From Ezekiel chapter 33 until 48, we see God restoring the nation to a place of blessing.  Here is one of the first hints at restoration in Ezekiel, this is followed by additional verses in the prophets, all which look forward to an eventual obedience of the nation.   This will be completed when the nation comes to know the Messiah in the last-days.

Ezekiel 28:25 34:13 36:24 37:21-28 39:27-29 Isaiah 11:11-16; Jeremiah 3:12,18 Jeremiah 24:5; 30:10,11,18 31:8-10 32:37-41 Hosea 1:10,11; Amos 9:14,15

Israel promised to be restored

14 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 15 “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.”’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ 18 And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.

Ezekiel 11:14-18

Son of man: Ezekiel is being addressed by the Glory of Lord, people in their flesh misunderstand God’s judgment.  Those taken to the land of Babylon would be the seed of the future nation, while those left would be destroyed.   The wicked men, thought their being left was for their financial and personal gain.  They were left to be judged, this is a point we should all note, sometimes bad things happen in our lives so we might be protected from even worse events.

I shall be a little sanctuary :  Even though the Temple was about to be destroyed by the armies of Babylon, God Himself would be a “little sanctuary” to the captives in Babylon. 

I will gather you: Israel would be gathered again in preparation of the coming of the Glory of the Lord, Jesus Christ,  who would die for the sins of the world at His First Coming (Isaiah 53).  Israel will also be gathered again before the Second Coming, when the Glory of the Lord returns in power and glory (Zechariah 12:9-10, Matthew 24:30-31).

A new Spirit given to the restored people

19 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them,^[a] and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.  Ezekiel 11:19-21

I will put a new spirit: The promise of the Spirit of God being in the hearts of Israel will be fulfilled at the Second Coming; it was made available when the Glory of the Lord came the First Time, when God took upon Himself human flesh as recorded in the New Testament.  When the nation comes to know Messiah, at that time the Spirit of God will be upon the people and they will have a “new spirit” as recorded in Zechariah 12:10.

give them a heart of flesh:  With the Spirit of God dwelling in the people their stony heart will melt, they will then have a heart of flesh.  They will then be an obedient and blessed people, this is the focus of Ezekiel 40 to 48 following the “return of the Glory of The Lord”, who then sets up an eternal kingdom.

The Glory of the Lord leaves Jerusalem

22 So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. 23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.  Ezekiel 11:22-23

The glory of the LORD went... The Mount east of Jerusalem is the Mount of Olives, which is outside the Eastern Gate.  This mountain which is the focus of the Lord ascension and return. In Acts Chapter one, the angels declared this “same Jesus” who went up on the clouds shall return in like manner.

Ezekiel returns to Babylon (Chaldea)

24 Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea,^[b] to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the LORD had shown me.   Ezekiel 11:24

The Spirit took me: The Holy Spirit which took Ezekiel from the captives in the spiritual realms now returns him to the captivity.

Into Chaldea: Physically Ezekiel was present among the captives from chapter 8 to 11, but spiritually he was in Jerusalem witnessing the events taking place in the spiritual realms. 

Tammuz and the Babylonian idolatry of Israel

                [1] Ritual mourning.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammuz_(deity)In Babylonia, the month Tammuz was established in honor of the eponymous god Tammuz, who originated as a Sumerian shepherd-god, Dumuzid or Dumuzi, the consort of Inanna and, in his Akkadian form, the parallel consort of Ishtar. The Levantine Adonis ("lord"), who was drawn into the Greek pantheon, was considered by Joseph Campbell among others to be another counterpart of Tammuz,^[1] son and consort. The Aramaic name "Tammuz" seems to have been derived from the Akkadian form Tammuzi, based on early Sumerian Damu-zid. The later standard Sumerian form, Dumu-zid, in turn became Dumuzi in Akkadian.                                                                                                Beginning with the summer solstice came a time of mourning in the Ancient Near East as in the Aegean: the Babylonians marked the decline in daylight hours and the onset of killing summer heat and drought with a six-day "funeral" for the god. Readers in four-season temperate cultures may doubt shepherd-god as a vegetation god: "He was no dying and resurrecting vegetation demon, as James George Frazer wanted him to be (for one thing no vegetation demon dies in the spring, in April)," Miroslav Marcovich observed.^[2] though recent discoveries reconfirm him as an annual life-death-rebirth deity: tablets discovered in 1963 show that Dumuzi was in fact consigned to the Underworld himself, in order to secure Inanna's release,^[3] though the recovered final line reveals that he is to revive for six months of each year (see below).                 

                In cult practice, the dead Tammuz was widely mourned in the Ancient Near East. A Sumerian tablet from Nippur (Ni 4486) reads

She can make the lament for you, my Dumuzid, the lament for you, the lament, the lamentation, reach the desert — she can make it reach the house Arali; she can make it reach Bad-tibira; she can make it reach Dul-šuba; she can make it reach the shepherding country, the sheepfold of Dumuzid

"O Dumuzid of the fair-spoken mouth, of the ever kind eyes," she sobs tearfully, "O you of the fair-spoken mouth, of the ever kind eyes," she sobs tearfully. "Lad, husband, lord, sweet as the date, [...] O Dumuzid!" she sobs, she sobs tearfully.^[4]