God's Glory Above All
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Text: Ezekiel 20
The Westminster Larger Catechism begins very aptly with the following question and answer:
The Westminster Larger Catechism Question 1
What is the chief and highest end of man?
Man’ s chief and highest end is to glorify God, (Rom. 11:36, Cor. 10:31) and fully to enjoy him forever. (Ps. 73:24–28, John 17:21–23)
This succinct statement sums up the entire purpose of the Christian walk, the aim of Scripture, and the reason for which we were created—to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Everything that we do is supposed to flow from this spring of truth.
In fact, the glory of God runs all through the Westminster Catechism.
It is the purpose and aim of our prayers:
The Westminster Larger Catechism Question 184
For what things are we to pray?
We are to pray for all things tending to the glory of God, (Matt. 6:9) the welfare of the church, (Ps. 51:18, Ps. 122:6) our own (Matt. 7:11) or others, good; (Ps. 125:4) but not for any thing that is unlawful. (1 John 5:14)
The glory of God is said to be one of the primary aims of our preaching (The Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 159)
And we could go on and on.
But beyond the chief end of man, we might ask, “What is the chief end of God?” Or, another way of phrasing that same question is this: “What is the reason behind everything God does, the purpose for everything he has ordained?” or “Why does God do what he does? What is his overarching motivation?”
While the Westminster Catechism doesn’t directly ask or answer this question, it seems pretty clear that the chief end of God, or the primary purpose behind everything God does, is to glorify himself.
Again, the catechism points out that God, in his providence, orders all things to his own glory, an assertion that the catechism repeats in several places including here:
The Westminster Larger Catechism (Question 18)
What are God’ s works of providence?
God’ s works of providence are his most holy, (Ps. 145:17) wise, (Ps. 104:24, Isa. 28:29) and powerful preserving (Heb. 1:3) and governing (Ps. 103:19) all his creatures; ordering them, and all their actions, (Matt. 10:29–31, Gen. 45:7) to his own glory. (Rom. 11:36, Isa. 63:14)
This raises some questions. Is this really the ultimate aim of God—to glorify himself? Is that right? Is God egomaniacal?
So, today, we’re going to take a look at Ezekiel chapter 20, where God gives us a rare glimpse into the ‘why’ behind his actions and dealings with his people Israel. And to help you follow along, I’m going to tell you right now where this sermon is headed. Ezekiel chapter 20 shows us that:
God’s concern for his own glory is his greatest passion and should be ours as well. It is also the fountain from which his mercy and judgement flow. It is the key to understanding the character of God.
Before we read the passage, I want to set the stage first.
About 400 years had elapsed since King David had been on the throne, and the nation of Israel was now split in two—Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Both kingdoms had a series of evil, godless kings who ran the country further and further into the ground. God sent prophets, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and many more, to call the people back to repentance, but they wouldn’t listen. So, in 597 B.C., God sent Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army to invade Jerusalem and exile a number of Jews to Babylon, including one of the kings of Judah, Jehoiachin, and likely Ezekiel. Ezekiel’s first prophecy is dated just a few years after this event. So, most of Ezekiel’s ministry occurred in the context of the community of Jewish exiles living in or near Babylon. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel were alive and possibly ministering during this time period. The events in chapter 20 probably occurred around August 591 B.C., just three years before Nebuchadnezzar’s army would return and lay seige to Jerusalem, a seige which lasted two years and ultimately resulted in the complete destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the exile of most of the residents of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
In chapter 20, a group of the elders of Israel come to Ezekiel, who was also a priest, asking him to “inquire of the Lord”—to seek God’s will regarding some decision they needed to make. Yet, it becomes pretty clear pretty quickly that these elders are not really following God, and their desire to know God’s will is just pretentiousness. We’re not really going to talk about why God refuses to reveal his will to these elders—we’ll talk about that next week. For today, we’re going to focus in on God’s concern for his own glory.
With that in mind, let’s read this passage. Pay attention to the reasons and motivations God gives for why he does what he does.
In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you. Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God.
On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. And I said to them, ‘Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’
But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.
But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.
“And I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ But the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.
But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers’ idols. Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord.
“Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me. For when I had brought them into the land that I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. (I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.)
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go whoring after their detestable things? When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.
“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.’
“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
“As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.
“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings.
As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers. And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
Prayer for illumination
What’s in a name?
What’s in a name?
The biblical concept of “name” is closely tied up with concepts of reputation, glory, and honor.
The biblical concept of “name” is closely tied up with concepts of reputation, glory, and honor.
In English, we have an expression that captures the significance of a name: “To make a name for oneself.”
This doesn’t mean to literally give yourself a new name, it means to gain reputation, standing, admiration, glory, or honor.
When we speak of the Name of God, we mean his character, or his glory, honor, etc.
So, when God says in Ezekiel 20:9, “But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived...” God is saying that he is acting out of concern for his own reputation, glory, and honor.
But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
And this is the primary theme that runs all through Ezekiel 20. It is evident both when God says “for the sake of my name” (i.e., 20:9) and when God reiterates his name, “I am YHWH your God” (20:19-20).
I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’
The name also stands for the thing itself—a person’s name is often a reflection of their character.
The name also stands for the thing itself—a person’s name is often a reflection of their character.
When God reveals his glory to Moses, he proclaims his name and then elaborates on what that means:
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
God always acts out of concern for his name.
God always acts out of concern for his name.
God created us to magnify his glory.
God created us to magnify his glory.
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
God gives us his laws and sanctifies us out of concern for his name.
God gives us his laws and sanctifies us out of concern for his name.
Don’t read all of these, just reference them.
Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
God shows mercy out of concern for his name.
God shows mercy out of concern for his name.
Don’t read all of these, just reference them.
Ezekiel 20:8–9 (ESV)
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
Ezekiel 20:13–14 (ESV)
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
Ezekiel 20:21–22 (ESV)
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers.
“For my name’s sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
God executes judgement out of concern for his name.
God executes judgement out of concern for his name.
Don’t read all of these, just reference them.
Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord.
I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
“As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.
For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
God saves us to bring himself glory.
God saves us to bring himself glory.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The death of Christ displays the glory of God by reconciling his mercy and his righteousness in one act.
The death of Christ displays the glory of God by reconciling his mercy and his righteousness in one act.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
The ultimate sign God gives Israel for recognizing a work of God is that God always acts out of concern for his own name and glory.
The ultimate sign God gives Israel for recognizing a work of God is that God always acts out of concern for his own name and glory.
And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
More than any other factor, the fact that God always deals with his people according to the sake of his own name signals that this is an act of God. This is how he can be recognized and distinguished from other gods, from spirits, and from mankind.
So, is God egomaniacal? Is God self-seeking? Does it make you uncomfortable to know that God is primarily concerned with his own glory?
God’s concern for his own glory is good.
God’s concern for his own glory is good.
When we seek our own glory, we are rightly condemned as arrogant.
When we seek our own glory, we are rightly condemned as arrogant.
That’s because we are all sinners. At our best, we’re imperfect.
“None is righteous” (Romans 3:22–23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and James 3:2 “For we all stumble in many ways."
To seek our own glory is to fail to recognize our imperfections and flaws—it exalts something less than holy, less than righteous, less than God.
When God seeks his own glory he promotes the worship of the only thing that is perfectly good, satisfying, and whole.
When God seeks his own glory he promotes the worship of the only thing that is perfectly good, satisfying, and whole.
What else would God glorify?
It would be to promote something or someone incapable of saving, incapable of providing true satisfaction, something unworthy of worship. To glorify anything other than himself would be idolatry.
When God promotes his own glory, he promotes your good and the good of all Creation. When God promotes his own glory, he promotes righteousness, justice, peace, love, purity, and all that is good.
When God promotes his own glory, he draws people to worship Him. “You become like what you worship.” As we worship God, we become more holy, more just, righteous, peaceful, and good.
God’s pursuit of his own glory is good for his Creation.
God’s pursuit of his own glory is the fountain from which his judgment and his mercy flow.
God’s pursuit of his own glory is the fountain from which his judgment and his mercy flow.
This is the key to understanding how both God’s mercy and his wrath can coexist in perfect harmony within the Godhead.
The same motivation underlies both his mercy and his wrath
The same motivation underlies both his mercy and his wrath
“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
If you think of God’s mercy and his wrath as competing qualities, you’ll be hard pressed to reconcile the two in God’s character.
If you think of mankind as ultimate, and God’s love and mercy as somehow ‘trumping’ his wrath and judgment, you’ll be hard pressed to understand why God does what he does.
But, if you understand that God’s judgment and mercy are two streams that flow out of the fountain of God’s pursuit of his own glory to his Creation, then there’s no conflict.
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
Neither God’s Justice/Wrath nor his Mercy/Grace/Love are ultimate—God’s glory is ultimate. Mankind is not ultimate, God is ultimate. Sometimes the glory of God demands justice/wrath, sometimes grace/mercy. But both exist to exalt the glory of God.
That the highest end of God is to glorify himself is good news for us.
That the highest end of God is to glorify himself is good news for us.
Since his motivation for both (mercy and judgment) is within himself:
his motive for mercy does not depend upon us or our actions
and his character does not change, he will continue to act in this way.
he will execute justice in a way that upholds his name and therefore brings the most good in the world
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Because it is God’s highest aim, glorifying God is our highest aim in life.
Because it is God’s highest aim, glorifying God is our highest aim in life.
It’s why we were created (Is. 43:7)
It’s why we were created (Is. 43:7)
It’s the primary reason for prayer.
It’s the primary reason for prayer.
Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
It’s the ultimate reason we do missions.
It’s the ultimate reason we do missions.
Not because people need clean water and development
Not because linguistics is awesome and languages and cultures are worth preserving
Not even because lost souls need to be saved
All of those reasons are good and worthy things, and when done properly they can bring glory to God, but none of them are ultimate reason.
The ultimate reason we do missions is to spread the glory of God over his creation
It’s the reason we do anything.
It’s the reason we do anything.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Conclusion: How then shall we glorify God?
Conclusion: How then shall we glorify God?
We could name 1,000 things that bring glory to God, but I want to close with one that I think, more than any other, sums up a life that glorifies God. Interestingly enough, the Westminister Catechism kind of hits the nail on the head: “fully to enjoy him forever.”
The Westminster Larger Catechism Question 1
What is the chief and highest end of man?
Man’ s chief and highest end is to glorify God, (Rom. 11:36, Cor. 10:31) and fully to enjoy him forever. (Ps. 73:24–28, John 17:21–23)
...God has no needs that I could ever be required to satisfy. God has no deficiencies that I might be required to supply. He is complete in himself. He is overflowing with happiness in the fellowship of the Trinity. The upshot of this is that God is a mountain spring, not a watering trough. A mountain spring is self-replenishing. It constantly overflows and supplies others. But a watering trough needs to be filled with a pump or bucket brigade. So if you want to glorify the worth of a watering trough, you work hard to keep it full and useful.
But if you want to glorify the worth of a spring, you do it by getting down on your hands and knees and drinking to your heart's satisfaction, until you have the refreshment and strength to go back down in the valley and tell people what you've found. You do not glorify a mountain spring by dutifully hauling water up the path from the river below and dumping it in the spring.
What we have seen is that God is like a mountain spring, not a watering trough. And since that is the way God is, we are not surprised to learn from Scripture—and our faith is strengthened to hold fast—that the way to please God is to come to him to get and not to give, to drink and not to water. He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
My hope, as a desperate sinner who lives in a Death Valley desert of unrighteousness, hangs on this biblical truth: God is the kind of God who will be pleased with the one thing I have to offer—my thirst. That is why the sovereign freedom and self-sufficiency of God are so precious to me: they are the foundation of my hope that God is delighted not by the resourcefulness of bucket brigades, but by the bending down of broken sinners to drink at the fountain of grace.
...In other words, this unspeakably good news for helpless sinners— that God delights not when we offer him our strength but when we wait for his—this good news that I need to hear so badly again and again, is based firmly on a vision of God as sovereign, self-sufficient, and free. If we do not have this foundational vision of God in place when we ask how we can please him, it is almost certain that our efforts to please him will become subtle means of self-exaltation, and end in the oppressive bondage of legalistic strivings. A lifelong hope in the overflowing grace of God to meet all our needs ("according to the riches of his glory") simply will not stand without a deep foundation in the doctrine of God.
—The Pleasures of God, The Collected Works of John Piper, vol. 2, 551-552.
Communion Announcements:
Communion Announcements:
The order of which section goes when to the front to get the elements
Gluten-free option on the small round plate
After service, please put the used communion cups in the baskets/bowls with the colourful serviette at the exits.
When you get back to your seat, spend some time in reflection. When everyone is done filing through, I will lead us through the elements together.
As we come to the Lord’s table, I invite you to glorify God by reflecting on how God displayed the perfect harmony of his justice and his mercy in the death of Christ on the cross. Reflect on how hopeless our situation was outside of Christ, and all that Christ has accomplished for us.
Communion
Communion
People file forward to get the bread and wine during congregational songs.
Prayer of confession and repentance
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
Eat Bread
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Drink wine/juice
Prayer of thanksgiving
Congregational song
Benediction
Benediction
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.