ETB Ezekiel 20:1-14
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Understand the Context
Understand the Context
Today’s passage in Ezekiel 20 happens 2 years after his initial call by God in chapter 1 (Eze 1:2) and about 11 months after Chapter 8 which we studied 2 weeks ago (Eze 8:1). Last week in Chapter 11 we heard both doom and a promise of restoration. Ezekiel’s prophetic message continued through symbolic acts (Eze 12:1-16), condemnation of false prophets (13:1-16), describing Jerusalem as a prostitute (Eze 16:1-34), parables of the city’s fickleness (Eze 17:1-24), then lamenting over the capture and exile of Israel’s rulers (Eze 19:1-14). In chapter 14 some elders came to meet with Ezekiel, but he condemned their idolatrous ways (Eze 14:1-11). [LifeWay Adults (2021). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - ESV - Winter 2022. LifeWay Press.]
Ezekiel §7 An Unholy History (Ezek. 20:1–44)
The great German scholar Gerhard von Rad found the heart of Old Testament theology in the remembrance and recitation of Heilsgeschichte: the sacred history of God’s saving acts on Israel’s behalf. It is not hard to find such recitations peppered throughout the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Deut. 26:3–10; Ps. 105). In Ezekiel 20:1–44, however, we find a very different sort of recitation. Here, the story of Israel’s past is not a holy history of salvation but an unholy history of rebellion: in a word, Unheilsgeschichte.
Chapter 20 is inspired by another visit from Israel’s elders where Ezekiel recaps Israel’s idolatry, describing a history of almost constant rebellion. His summary focuses on the people’s responsibility for their sin and omits reference to prominent figures like Moses or to non-Israelite enticements to sin. It also emphasizes events outside the promised land, a historical situation that would have new significance for the exiles’ current situation. [Faithlife Study Bible]
Explore the Text
Explore the Text
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.
“In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the 10th day” (August 14, 591 BC) [The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016]. This is less than 5 years until Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem the third and final time. Some of these elders may have been the ones to receive a rather scathing rebuke back in chapter 14. The fact that they had come to consult Ezekiel shows that the elders had not entirely abandoned their worship of God in favor of other gods. Yet the pressure was there. [McGregor, L. John. “Ezekiel.” New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Ed. D. A. Carson et al. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994. 728. Print.]
Like many processes there are correct methods and incorrect ones. “Inquiring of God” adds to it an appropriate heart attitude for the process. This means we can approach God in with the correct “program” or ritual and still be incorrectly coming before Him. The prophets often used the word darash as they called on the people to make an about-face in living and instead “seek ye the Lord while he may be found …” (Isa. 55:6).[Vine, W. E., Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words 1996 : 221. Print.} When the same word is used in the negative context it often refers to a practice of divination like when Saul “inquires of” the witch of Endor regarding and upcoming battle (1Sam 28:6-7). Jesus was hypocritically questioned at times in an attempt to strip Him of his authority or deface Him before the people by the Jewish leaders in His day (Matt 22:16-18).
All the methods of inquiring of God that where acceptable first require the one asking of God to be in a correct heart or communion with God. Any other approach of God with questions would be inappropriate and subjugating His authority and implying that God was required to submit to man’s questioning. Job was chastised for this attitude (Job 40:6-8).
Clearly, God’s “I will not be inquired of by you” or in the NLT “I will tell you nothing” does not mean he will refuse to speak to them. The entire segment is packed with Yahweh’s speaking to his people. Instead, he apparently means that he will not speak at their whim. He will not respond to persons who are already agnostic about the validity of Ezekiel’s message (20:49). Instead, God will speak through Ezekiel whatever he, Yahweh, judges appropriate for them to hear. [Thompson, David L. “Ezekiel.” Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Ezekiel & Daniel. Ed. Philip W. Comfort. Vol. 9. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2010. 132. Print.]
Even though they were not going to hear from God what they wanted, God still knew the question that they had come before Ezekiel to present. He reveals that to them toward the end of the chapter.
Ezekiel 20:31–32 (ESV)
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.’
But before God would reveal His knowledge of their hearts, He had a few more things to say through His prophets about the pattern of sin in their lives.
Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers,
God’s invitation for Ezekiel to judge the people highlights the Lord’s desire that Ezekiel render His divine verdict to them. The abominations of their fathers broadly depicted the people’s many abominations, including idolatry and immorality. Ezekiel would confront the elders with the record of their sin and the sin of prior generations. [LifeWay Adults (2021). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - ESV - Winter 2022. LifeWay Press.]
The phrase is repeated for emphasis both in its assurance of happening and the speed at which it was to transpire. Similar to Jesus pronouncing the “woes” upon the leaders of Israel in His day, God is directing Ezekiel to point out all the sins that men have done in the pattern of their fathers. They thought they were “righteous” and deserved to be heard by God but in Eze 14:14;20 the prophet reminds them that even if their fathers were as righteous at the made them to be in their own minds it would not save them from God’s judgement for “even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.”
Although we still need to show people how they are missing the mark and that their parent’s “goodness” does not help them, we gratefully have Christ’s love in us and His message to temper the brashness of the truth as proclaimed through Ezekiel.
God still confronts unrepentant sinners with the truth of their sin. However, unrepentant sinners cannot receive God’s grace as long as they attempt to justify their own attitudes and actions. The gospel has the power to bring spiritually dead people back to life, but they need to recognize they have a spiritual problem. [LifeWay Adults (2021). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - ESV - Winter 2022. LifeWay Press.]
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.
God promised or “swore” or more literally “raised my hand in oath” (Gen 14:22) to do 3 things; make Himself known, to be their God, to bring them out of Egypt. All of these He fulfilled and were beneficial to the house of Jacob. Later in our passage today God expands these things and also swears again but in the negative.
Although verse 5 is related to the promise received through Moses (Ex 6:7) and there is a linear progression to the actions in the verse God is not limited by such constraints. I believe His “choosing” happened long before the children of Israel were down in Egypt. The first place to easily see this choosing or calling out from the nations was with Jacob’s grandfather Abram.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Later these same words of making a great nation and blessing are used again with Isaac and his son Jacob who was later renamed by God as Israel. Once commentary I read said:
Ezekiel was speaking of God’s selection of Israel as a nation. When God made His covenant with Abraham, the patriarch did not even have an heir as the next recipient of the covenant. When the family of Joseph went into Egypt, they were only a small clan of nomadic herdsmen (cf. Gen. 46:1–27, 31–34).[Dyer, Charles H. “Ezekiel.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 1264. Print.]
Although this is true, the wording implies that God was not aware of the nation that was to become “His people”. God knew and chose us “before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4) so there is no limitation for God if Abram did not have an heir at the time of His “choosing” of Israel. This commentary and a couple others humanize God too much with such limitations. God’s view is nothing like ours. My favorite saying that helps me remember God’s perspective better comes from a friend in Oklahoma who said, “Man is able to discover the number of seeds in an apple, God however knows the number of apples in a seed.”
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.
Not only did God choose them and make them His own by revealing Himself through Moses to them, He furthered the choosing by promising to act on their behalf and place them in a place of blessings. The place they were at the time of this revealing was a land of bondage for them and would be used as symbol of bondage throughout the rest of the Old Testament.
The word Egypt comes from the Greek term Aiguptos. The Hebrew name in the Old Testament is miṣrayim. The meaning of this word is uncertain. It is in a dual form and may hint at the Upper and Lower geographical aspects of this ancient nation.[Baker, Warren, and Eugene E. Carpenter. The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament 2003 : 657. Print.]
The land that they would be going to was specific and special. God did not have to go “find” this land but the term “searched” is taken from the desert wandering accounts, where the Lord went before the Israelites, scouting places for them to rest or camp (Nm 10:33; Dt 1:33).[Rooker, Mark F. “Ezekiel.” CSB Study Bible: Notes. Ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017. 1272. Print.]
God gives describes this land in 2 ways and even in Ezekiel’s pronouncements He does so favorably. First it is a land “flowing with milk and honey”. Butter and cheese were known among the ancients (1 Sam. 17:18) as well as curdled, sour milk which still forms, after bread, the chief food of the poorer classes in Arabia and Syria. Honey was rare enough to be considered a luxury item (Gen 43:11; 1 Kings 14:3). The OT’s most extensive use of milk is in conjunction with honey to symbolize abundance and blessing. [ Wright, G. Al, Jr. “Milk.” Ed. Chad Brand et al. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary 2003 : 1126. Print.] In the New Testament milk is used to symbolize the pure word of God (1Pet 2:2).
It was beautiful and glorious not because of the milk and honey but because of what God the Father had already decided and determined to do within its boundaries. His Son whose day of birth we will soon celebrate came, lived, and died for all the sins of the world within the same valleys that the house of Jacob was promised centuries earlier. Before that God would place His spirit for a time within a temple built within this land. God had already seen what He was going to do in this land before He announced Himself to those whom He would “choose” to become His people. The land is beautiful and glorious because He would be in it and for a time dwell there in both spirit and body.
The land was however going to inhabited by many people and even those that He had chosen would not always remember or stay faithful to Him.
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.
Before they would receive the land, God wanted their devotion to be undistracted by the things of the world they had been living in for the past 400+ years. I like the way the New Jerusalem Bible translates verse 7 “Each of you must reject the horrors which attract you; do not pollute yourselves with the foul idols of Egypt.” This helps us see this a heart issue that it must be retrained from the things that should not be attractive to us to the things of God.
Joshua 24:14 is the final plea after the entering the promised land to “Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River in Egypt”. Although the people answered with their words correctly and they did follow until the “elders who outlived Joshua” had died then the rebellious nature toward God began the cycle again and it continued to repeat through the rest of the Old Testament and beyond.
How often do we ‘rebel and not listen” to God through His Word and the promptings of His Spirit? What things do you look upon or desire more than obeying God? The idols may be different, and the commands and principles are written instead of oral but all men continue the sinful cycle for there was no one to who could break the cycle. It would take a literal “act of God” for mankind to be redeemed.
Our passage states that “none of them” obey God’s edict to cleanse themselves of the idols. Although there were a few who did get rid of the idols (Moses, Joshua, & Caleb) as a nation they did not. James tells us that a sin in part of the law is a breaking of them all (James 2:10). God applies this principal of guilt to the nation of Israel for their sins against Him and also individually for those leaders who continued to guide the people away from the Lord and His ways.
God commanded their complete allegiance but the people lacked that level of commitment. The Lord said, I would pour out my wrath upon them. He thought about bringing judgment on them even while they were slaves. The expression spend my anger against them has the sense of complete destruction. The people had strayed so far from God that He considered judging them even while they lived in the midst of the land of Egypt. [LifeWay Adults (2021). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - ESV - Winter 2022. LifeWay Press.]
Not only did God make Himself known to the house of Jacob but through His interaction and promises being fulfilled to them He made Himself known to the surrounding nations and enemies.
This word “profaned” has three distinct meanings. The first meaning is to pierce or wound, either physically unto death (Isa. 53:5; Ezek. 32:26) or figuratively unto despair (Ps. 109:22). The second meaning of this word is to play the pipe, which is used only twice in the Old Testament (1 Kgs. 1:40; Ps. 87:7). The third meaning is to profane or to defile, which is used primarily of the ceremonial objects of worship [Baker, Warren, and Eugene E. Carpenter. The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament 2003 : 342. Print.]
God’s people deserved God’s judgment. God desired both His people and the nations to see His glory through His mighty acts. Therefore, although God’s people deserved God’s wrath for their idolatry, the Lord acted mercifully to honor His name and deliver His people. (Num 14:12; Isa 48:11)
God’s mercy is indeed great. Believers fall short regularly, but God extends His mercy and grace in situations when He could bring discipline against us. However, we should never consider His mercy and grace as reasons to sin more (Rom. 6:1-2).[LifeWay Adults (2021). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - ESV - Winter 2022. LifeWay Press.]
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.
God miraculously delivers the people out of Egypt and brings them to a place where they would frightfully hear from Him and through Moses at Mount Sinai (Ex 20:18). Here He also communicates with them and reveals more of Himself through His statutes and rules. This was not just a list but His very words, a part of Himself that the people could accept. . God’s commands reflect His character (Deut 4:8). Consequently, His children should demonstrate their relationship with Him by following them. As we do, we embrace the life God has given us to live. [Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide]
Romans 3:2 “Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.” They were given “oracles” or the spoken word of God to learn and obey. We today have the written word of God, “by which, if a person does them, he shall” have a more abundant life (Jn 10:10). This truth is similar to Jesus’s statement, “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (Jn 14:15). [Rooker, Mark F. “Ezekiel.” CSB Study Bible: Notes. Ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017. 1273. Print.}
Not only did God give the people “my” statutes and “my” rules, but also “my” Sabbaths as another way to show devotion and faithfulness to Him. Literally, “I gave them My rest”.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary References in the Pentateuch
While the word Sabbath does not occur in Genesis, the concept is shown in the creation account of Gen 1:1–2:4a, where God creates the world and all living things in six days and rests (שָׁבַת, shavath) on the seventh.
Although one can show similarities to the Babylonian concept, the Hebrew Sabbath did not follow a lunar cycle. It was celebrated every seven days and became basic to the recognition and worship of the God of creation and redemption.
Sabbath observance became increasingly important in the years of the exile and afterwards (see, e.g., Isa. 56:1–8) as the distinguishing mark of the people Israel. It was likely for this reason that Jesus’ apparent disregard for Sabbath law (see, e.g., Matt. 12:1–14// Mark 2:23–3:6//Luke 6:1–11) was so deeply troubling to the religious leadership of his day. [Tuell, Steven. Ezekiel. Ed. W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., and Robert K. Johnston. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012. Print. Understanding the Bible Commentary Series.]
These observances were to help the people remember that they did not sanctify themselves (Ex 20:12). The Jews had these reminders every week, every year on the day of atonement, and every seven years for the time of return to help them keep the sanctifying work of God before them. Today we have the Holy Spirit within us to remind us of whose we are and what great a sacrifice was made for our redemption, but I know for me at least I still do not remember as often as I should.
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.
God asserted through Ezekiel, the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They lived the same way after their deliverance from Egypt as they had lived in Egypt. They did not walk in God’s statutes; further, they despised God’s rules. [LifeWay Adults (2021). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - ESV - Winter 2022. LifeWay Press.]
Ex 31:13-17 Give us the rules both good and bad for the Sabbaths. Profaning it was death sentence. God did so to that generation in the wilderness. Since the observance of the Sabbath was to be an outward sign of an inward devotion to the Lord through their “profaning” or not treating the Sabbath as special or holy the people were treating God as common. Something God would not even do to Himself as we see repeated in our last verse.
The unbelieving generation finally received God’s judgment (Num. 14:21-23). They died in the wilderness, and the next generation entered the land. Likewise, Ezekiel told God’s people the Lord had acted patiently with them, but now, the time of judgment had come. Indeed, within four years, Jerusalem’s destruction would occur.
Repeated rebellion against God invites His judgment. Further, persistent disobedience hardens people against turning to God. We should never presume on God’s mercy; rather, we should admit we are sinners and turn to Him with repentance and faith. Further, we must warn our friends, coworkers, and neighbors who do not know God, that they cannot presume on His mercy apart from a relationship with Jesus. [LifeWay Adults (2021). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - ESV - Winter 2022. LifeWay Press.]
Apply the Text
Apply the Text
The quarterly had some good suggestions on how to apply today’s passage, but I like how one commentary put it all together in a “truth for today.”
The Teacher’s Bible Commentary Israel’s History Summarized and Her Future Described (Ezek. 20:1–49)
Truth for today.—When we ask for God’s leadership there must be evidence of our sincere desire to follow his revealed will. A mere occasional coming to him is not sufficient. It is comforting, however, to know that God never leaves his children in the wilderness of suffering and frustration. There is always a future for failures. God is always seeking how he can use us not how he can punish us. It is not his will that any should perish. He wishes all men to come to repentance and be of service in bringing his purposes to pass in this world.