Ezekiel 20:1-9
IN THE EARLY DAYS... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE EARLY DAYS... [ Continue Reading ]
And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, about in the middle of the first period of Ezekiel's prophetic activity, THAT CERTAIN OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL, who were their spiritual leaders also in the captivity, CAME TO ENQUIRE OF THE LORD, as on a former... [ Continue Reading ]
Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,... [ Continue Reading ]
Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, giving them information which was verbally the expression of the will of God, AND SAY UNTO THEM, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD, the supreme Ruler of the universe, at the same time the God of the covenant, ARE YE COME TO ENQUIRE OF ME? Was their impudence such a... [ Continue Reading ]
Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? the question showing the impatience of the Lord in pronouncing sentence upon the unrepentant sinners. CAUSE THEM TO KNOW THE ABOMINATIONS OF THEIR FATHERS, this rehearsal having the purpose not only of presenting the greatness of Israel's guilt... [ Continue Reading ]
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, In the day when I chose Israel, selecting them, on the basis of His grace and mercy, from among the nations of the world, AND LIFTED UP MINE HAND UNTO THE SEED OF THE HOUSE OF JACOB, in the gesture of a solemn oath to the children of His servant Israel, AN... [ Continue Reading ]
in the day that I lifted up Mine hand unto them to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, seeking it out and choosing it for them as the best of all lands for His special purpose, Deuteronomy 8:7, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, th... [ Continue Reading ]
then said I unto them, this being the gist of the entire message of Moses, CAST YE AWAY EVERY MAN THE ABOMINATIONS OF HIS EYES, that which was loathsome in God's eyes and should have been so in theirs, AND DEFILE NOT YOURSELVES WITH THE IDOLS OF EGYPT, for such. idolatry was still carried on in secr... [ Continue Reading ]
But they rebelled against Me and would not hearken unto Me, being filled even in those days with the obstinacy which proved their undoing; THEY DID NOT EVERY MAN CAST AWAY THE ABOMINATIONS OF THEIR EYES, NEITHER DID THEY FORSAKE THE IDOLS OF EGYPT, Cf Exodus 32. THEN I SAID, I WILL POUR OUT MY FURY... [ Continue Reading ]
But I wrought for My name's sake, He refrained from executing His wrath for the sake of His own honor, THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE POLLUTED BEFORE THE HEATHEN, who would have taken occasion to blaspheme if Israel had been severely punished by the Lord at that time, while the Egyptians were witnesses, AMON... [ Continue Reading ]
Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, in agreement with His merciful intention, AND BROUGHT THEM INTO THE WILDERNESS, delivering them from oppression and preparing them for entry into the Land of Promise.... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE WILDERNESS... [ Continue Reading ]
And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, namely, in the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, WHICH IF A MAN DO, HE SHALL EVEN LIVE IN THEM, for a perfect keeping of the Law would indeed merit eternal life. Cf Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12; Luke 10:28.... [ Continue Reading ]
Moreover, also, I gave them My Sabbaths, whose special observance was a distinction to the Jews, TO BE A SIGN BETWEEN ME AND THEM, in their ever-recurring celebration, THAT THEY MIGHT KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD THAT SANCTIFY THEM, by separating them from the other nations of the world and by reminding... [ Continue Reading ]
But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness, repeating the former performance; THEY WALKED NOT IN MY STATUTES, AND THEY DESPISED MY JUDGMENTS, the general ordinances as well as the specific commands, WHICH IF A MAN DO, HE SHALL EVEN LIVE IN THEM; AND MY SABBATHS THEY GREATLY POLLUT... [ Continue Reading ]
But I wrought for My name's sake, again working deliverance and refraining from striking in His wrath, THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE POLLUTED BEFORE THE HEATHEN, IN WHOSE SIGHT I BROUGHT THEM OUT, the Lord's explanation here agreeing exactly with the plea by which Moses effected the deliverance of the peopl... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet also I lifted up My hand unto them in the wilderness, in another solemn oath, Numbers 14:28, THAT I WOULD NOT BRING THEM INTO THE LAND WHICH I HAD GIVEN THEM, FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY, WHICH IS THE GLORY OF ALL LANDS,... [ Continue Reading ]
because they despised My judgments and walked not in My statutes, but polluted My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols, as their fierce longing for the flesh-pots of Egypt indicated. Cf Numbers 15:39; Psalms 78:37; Amos 5:25; Acts 7:42.... [ Continue Reading ]
Nevertheless Mine eye spared them from destroying them, although all adults who had left the land of Egypt died in the wilderness, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, NEITHER DID I MAKE AN END OF THEM IN THE WILDERNESS, namely, by a sentence of total extermination, as He had threatened.... [ Continue Reading ]
But I said unto their children in the wilderness, whom He spared by a special act of His mercy, WALK YE NOT IN THE STATUTES, the idolatrous customs and usages, OF YOUR FATHERS, NEITHER OBSERVE THEIR JUDGMENTS, the manner in which they pretended to do justice and practice righteousness, NOR DEFILE YO... [ Continue Reading ]
I am the Lord, your God; walk in My statutes, as opposed to the self-appointed ordinances of men, AND KEEP MY JUDGMENTS, the manner in which He chose to exercise righteousness, AND DO THEM;... [ Continue Reading ]
and hallow My Sabbaths, by knowing them according to their spirit, not only in outward form; AND THEY SHALL BE A SIGN BETWEEN ME AND YOU THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, YOUR GOD.... [ Continue Reading ]
Notwithstanding the children, the younger generation, whom His mercy had spared, REBELLED AGAINST ME; THEY WALKED NOT IN MY STATUTES, NEITHER KEPT MY JUDGMENTS TO DO THEM, WHICH IF A MAN DO, HE SHALL EVEN LIVE IN THEM; THEY POLLUTED MY SABBATHS, showing that in every way they followed the stubbornne... [ Continue Reading ]
Nevertheless I withdrew Mine hand, in sparing the sinners even then, AND WROUGHT FOR MY NAME'S SAKE THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE POLLUTED IN THE SIGHT OF THE HEATHEN, IN WHOSE SIGHT I BROUGHT THEM FORTH, who were watching the progress of Israel with a great deal of interest.... [ Continue Reading ]
I lifted up Mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, in a solemn oath concerning also this generation, THAT I WOULD SCATTER THEM AMONG THE HEATHEN AND DISPERSE THEM THROUGH THE COUNTRIES, Cf Jeremiah 15:4,... [ Continue Reading ]
because they had not executed My judgments, the decrees of His righteousness, BUT HAD DESPISED MY STATUTES AND HAD POLLUTED MY SABBATHS, AND THEIR EYES WERE AFTER THEIR FATHERS' IDOLS, in a continual desire to commit idolatry, in a strange eagerness to transgress the First Commandment.... [ Continue Reading ]
Wherefore I gave them also, in just retribution upon them, STATUTES THAT WERE NOT GOOD, which brought them no deliverance, no blessings, AND JUDGMENTS WHEREBY THEY SHOULD NOT LIVE, which would, on account of their stubbornness, become stumbling-blocks to them;... [ Continue Reading ]
and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, thereby consecrating their first-born children to Molech, the abomination of the Moabites, instead of offering them to Jehovah according to the manlier prescribed by Him, Exodus 13:12, THA... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, represented by the elders who had come to inquire of the Lord, AND SAY UNTO THEM, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD, YET IN THIS, or, "In this again," YOUR FATHERS HAVE BLASPHEMED ME, holding Him up to mockery and derision, IN THAT THEY HAVE COMMITTED A T... [ Continue Reading ]
Israel's Behavior In Canaan And The Lord's Sentence... [ Continue Reading ]
For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to them, promising it to them by a solemn oath, THEN THEY SAW EVERY HIGH HILL AND ALL THE THICK TREES, places which were commonly devoted to idolatrous worship by the heathen, AND THEY OFFERED THERE THEIR SACRI... [ Continue Reading ]
Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah, that is, height, UNTO THIS DAY. In spite of the Lord's remonstrance, Israel and Judah continued to regard the high places as places of worship, persisting in their idolatrous treachery to the very la... [ Continue Reading ]
Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, namely, the generation then living, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD, ARE YE POLLUTED AFTER THE MANNER OF YOUR FATHERS? in being guilty of the same idolatry as that which brought God's wrath upon Israel in the first centuries of its national existence. AND COMMIT YE WH... [ Continue Reading ]
For when ye offer your gifts, as described above, WHEN YE MAKE YOUR SONS TO PASS THROUGH THE FIRE, YE POLLUTE YOURSELVES WITH ALL YOUR IDOLS, EVEN UNTO THIS DAY; AND SHALL I BE ENQUIRED OF BY YOU, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL? whose representatives were even then sitting before the prophet. AS I LIVE, SAITH TH... [ Continue Reading ]
And that which cometh into your mind, what they were now deliberately planning to do, SHALL NOT BE AT ALL, shall not come to pass, THAT YE SAY, WE WILL BE AS THE HEATHEN, AS THE FAMILIES OF THE COUNTRIES, AMALGAMATING WITH THEM IN EVERY RESPECT, losing their identity as a separate people altogether,... [ Continue Reading ]
As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched-out arm, by applying His almighty power, AND WITH FURY POURED OUT WILL I RULE OVER YOU, asserting His sovereign right over them in spite of their resistance;... [ Continue Reading ]
and I will bring you out from the people and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand and with a stretched-out arm and with fury poured out, so that they would have to acknowledge the rule of God, unwilling though they were.... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, the spiritual wilderness which characterizes the great mass of the world, with its heathenism and wickedness, AND THERE WILL I PLEAD WITH YOU FACE TO FACE, bringing the matter to an issue as in a court of law.... [ Continue Reading ]
Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, upon the occasion of the giving of the Law, Deuteronomy 5:4, SO WILL I PLEAD WITH YOU, SAITH THE LORD GOD. Cf Numbers 17:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will cause you to pass under the rod, as a shepherd does with his sheep, in order to determine their number and thus to prepare their benefits, AND I WILL BRING YOU INTO THE BOND OF THE COVENANT, His chastising having prepared the way to a true sorrow;... [ Continue Reading ]
and I will purge out from among you the rebels, those who persisted in their opposition to His guidance and rule, AND THEM THAT TRANSGRESS AGAINST ME, those who were guilty of apostasy and treachery; I WILL BRING THEM FORTH OUT OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THEY SOJOURN, the land of their exile, AND THEY SHA... [ Continue Reading ]
As for you, O house of Israel, those whom the Lord desires once more to gather as His Church, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD, in an admonition calling them to repentance, not without a mixture of holy irony, GO YE, SERVE YE EVERY ONE HIS IDOLS, for open idolatry is better than hypocrisy, AND HEREAFTER ALSO... [ Continue Reading ]
For in Mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, in the Zion of the New Testament, THERE SHALL ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, all those who belonged to the true, the spiritual Israel, ALL OF THEM IN THE LAND, SERVE ME; THERE WILL I ACCEPT THEM, as His children by fai... [ Continue Reading ]
I will accept you with your sweet savor, the believers themselves being a' sweet odor in the nostrils of Jehovah with the incense of their faith, WHEN I BRING YOU OUT FROM THE PEOPLE AND GATHER YOU OUT OF THE COUNTRIES WHEREIN YE HAVE BEEN SCATTERED, this being used in general for the separation of... [ Continue Reading ]
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, Jehovah, the everlasting God of the covenant, WHEN I SHALL BRING YOU INTO THE LAND OF ISRAEL, INTO THE COUNTRY FOR THE WHICH I LIFTED UP MINE HAND TO GIVE IT TO YOUR FATHERS. The return of Israel to the Land of Promise after the Babylonian Exile was a guarantee... [ Continue Reading ]
And there shall ye remember your ways and all your doings wherein ye have been defiled, in true sorrow over their past wickedness; AND YE SHALL LOATHE YOURSELVES IN YOUR OWN SIGHT FOR ALL YOUR EVILS THAT YE HAVE COMMITTED; for such is the nature of true repentance.... [ Continue Reading ]
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, the one and only true God, WHEN I HAVE WROUGHT WITH YOU, in effecting their deliverance, FOR MY NAME'S SAKE, NOT ACCORDING TO YOUR WICKED WAYS, NOR ACCORDING TO YOUR CORRUPT DOINGS, O YE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, SAITH THE LORD GOD. That is the remarkable, the marvelous... [ Continue Reading ]
Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, in a message of verbal inspiration, as always, SAYING,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PICTURE OF THE FOREST FIRE... [ Continue Reading ]
Son of man, set thy face toward the South, literally, toward the right hand, for the Jew always considered himself facing east, AND DROP THY WORD TOWARD THE SOUTH, in a constant dripping, more or less violently, AND PROPHESY AGAINST THE FOREST OF THE SOUTH FIELD, where dryness and heat prevailed, na... [ Continue Reading ]
and say to the forest of the South, the densely populated districts of that section of the country, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD, whose power and sovereignty is unquestioned, BEHOLD, I WILL KINDLE A FIRE IN THEE, in the form of the various judgments which He would send upon the... [ Continue Reading ]
And all flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched; no earthly power could stop the vengeance of the Lord, it would endure until it had accomplished His purpose.... [ Continue Reading ]
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! They say of me, Doth he not speak parables? Ezekiel thus complaining that his countrymen could not understand this form of message and therefore despised and rejected his warnings. When men do not want to understand the message of the Lord, they manage to find excuses of v... [ Continue Reading ]