Ezekiel 5:5-6

The Lord explained that the center of the drama was Jerusalem that He had set at the center of many nations and lands. Some in Ezekiel’s audience undoubtedly hoped that the city under symbolic destruction was Babylon, but it was indeed Jerusalem. It was at the center of civilization geographically and theologically. Some rabbinic writers, early church fathers, and medieval cartographers concluded from this passage that Jerusalem was the "navel of the earth" (cf. Ezekiel 38:12). [Note: See Taylor, p. 86, n. 1.]

"God intended for Israel to be the great monotheistic missionary to the nations of the ancient world . . ." [Note: Feinberg, p. 37.]

But this blessed city had rebelled against Yahweh by being unfaithful to the Mosaic Covenant.

"Although others could freely interchange the name of Zion with Jerusalem, this is impossible for Ezekiel, who avoids the theologically charged designation altogether. As chs. 8-11 demonstrate, for this prophet Jerusalem has ceased to be the residence of God; Zion was no more. The city’s privileged status among the nations had been forfeited." [Note: Block, The Book . . ., p. 198.]