CHAPTER EZEKIEL 20:1 A HISTORY AND PROPHESY OF GOD'S DEALINGS WITH ISRAEL. In this chapter we are given a detailed description of the history of what God had done for His people, and how they had not responded to Him, beginning with their experiences in Egypt, continuing in the wilderness, and then... [ Continue Reading ]
THE APPROACH OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL. ‘And so it was in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of Yahweh, and sat before me.' The date given is in August 591/0 BC. Like the majority of the dates in Ezekiel it is relate... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the word of Yahweh came to me saying.' Ezekiel remained in his house under his enforced silence (Ezekiel 3:26), only speaking when ‘the word of Yahweh' came to him. Silently he watched their assembly, and then the word of Yahweh came to him.... [ Continue Reading ]
“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Have you come to enquire of me? As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I will not be enquired of by you.' ” Note the continued use of ‘son of man'. It was a constant reminder to Ezekiel that he was but an earthly man... [ Continue Reading ]
“Will you judge them, son of man? Will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers.” Instead Ezekiel must pass His judgment on them. He was to show them why, as with their fathers before them, they could not expect any response from God. ‘Will you judge them, son of man? W... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD'S DEALINGS WITH THEM IN EGYPT. “And say to them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up my hand to them and said, “I am Yahweh your God”, in that day... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I said to them, ‘Cast you away every man the abominations of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God'.” In Egypt the people had not been faithful to the God of their fathers, and had worshipped many gods. This is not mentioned in Exodus 1-15 although... [ Continue Reading ]
“But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me. They did not every man cast away the abomination of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out my fury on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the land of Egypt.” The people were continually reb... [ Continue Reading ]
“But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.” God had acted to protect His own ‘name' and reputation (compare Psalms 106:8; Isaiah 48:9;... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD'S DELIVERANCE IN THE WILDERNESS. “So I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes and showed them my judgments, which if a man does he shall live in them. So God delivered His people from Egypt by His mighty power, led the... [ Continue Reading ]
“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.” The importance of the sabbath as a sign that Israel were God's people is stressed here. The keeping of the sabbath, first mentioned in Exodus 16 and ratified in Exodus... [ Continue Reading ]
“But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes, and they rejected my judgments, which if a man does he shall live in them. And my sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I said I would pour out my fury on them in the wilderness to consume them.” Again i... [ Continue Reading ]
“But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.” But because He knew that the eyes of the world were on this nation whose God had so remarkably delivered them from Egypt, He spared them, even though they did not deser... [ Continue Reading ]
“Moreover also I lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.” This is the reversal of Ezekiel 20:6. He who had sworn to them to bring them out of Egypt into the good land... [ Continue Reading ]
“Because they rejected my judgments and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my sabbaths, for their heart went after their idols.” The reason for His anger is again declared. They rejected His judgments and did not walk in His statutes. God's requirements were put aside and ignored for the sak... [ Continue Reading ]
“Nevertheless my eyes spared them from destroying them, nor did I make a full end of them in the wilderness.” Although he prevented the first generation from entering the good land, He showed mercy. He spared their children that they might enter in. He refrained from making a full end of Israel.... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD'S DEALINGS WITH THE SECOND GENERATION IN THE WILDERNESS. So His people had proved themselves unfaithful in Egypt, even when He was working mighty things for them, and again on their journey to freedom, when again He had worked for them. But now came the new generation who should have learned th... [ Continue Reading ]
“But the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes, neither did they keep my judgments to do them, which if a man does he will live in them. They profaned my sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my fury on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.” But the... [ Continue Reading ]
“Nevertheless I withdrew my hand and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I brought them forth.” Yet again Yahweh withheld His judgment for the sake of His reputation and His name (compare Numbers 16:21; Numbers 25:1). He continued to... [ Continue Reading ]
“Moreover I lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations, and disperse them through the countries, because they had not carried out my judgments, but had rejected my statutes and had profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their father's idols.” Ne... [ Continue Reading ]
“Moreover I also gave them statutes which were not good, and judgments in which they would not live, and I polluted them in their own gifts in that they caused to pass through the fire all who opened the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Yahweh.” Finall... [ Continue Reading ]
“Therefore son of man speak to the house of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh, in this moreover have your fathers blasphemed me in that they have committed a trespass against me. For when I brought them into the land, which I lifted up my hand (swore) to give to them, then they saw... [ Continue Reading ]
“Then I said to them, ‘What does the high place mean to which you go?' So its name is called Bamah to this day. This sentence is a play on words. ‘Bamah' means ‘high place. But ‘ba' means ‘go' and ‘ma' means ‘what'. In it God is challenging what the significance was to them of these high places. He... [ Continue Reading ]
WHY GOD WILL STILL NOT DEAL WITH THEM AND WHAT HE INTENDED TO DO ABOUT IT. “For these reasons say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh. Do you pollute yourselves in the same way as your fathers did? And do you go a-whoring after their abominations? And when you offer your gifts, when... [ Continue Reading ]
“As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I will not be enquired of by you, and that which comes into your mind will not be at all, in that you say, ‘we will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.' ” They would have neither the one thing nor the other. They had lost t... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD WILL ACT AGAIN IN POWER, AS AT THE EXODUS, TO DELIVER THEM, WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT. HE WILL CALL THEM TO ACCOUNT. “As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out I will be king over you.” ‘As I live.' This is in direct cont... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries in which you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead with you face to face. Just as I... [ Continue Reading ]
“As for you, Oh house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh, Go you. Serve every one his idols, now and hereafter if you will not listen to me. But you will no more profane my holy name with your gifts and with your idols.” For the present those listening had a choice. They must choose between Him a... [ Continue Reading ]
“For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, says the Lord Yahweh, there will all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me in the land. There will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. I will a... [ Continue Reading ]
“And you will know that I am Yahweh, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I lifted up my hand (swore) to give to your fathers, and there you will remember your ways, and all your doings in which you have polluted yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves in your ow... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ “And you will know that I am Yahweh when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, Oh you house of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh.' Note the repetition of ‘you will know that I am Yahweh'. Compare Ezekiel 20:5; Ezekiel 20:7; E... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER S EZEKIEL 20:45 TO EZEKIEL 21:32. THE CERTAIN JUDGMENT OF YAHWEH. In the Hebrew Bible Ezekiel 20:45 is the commencement of chapter 21, and the passage fits better with what follows. The picture moves from the overall view of history and the future to God's certain judgments now to come on I... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face towards the south (temana), and drop your word towards the south (darom), and prophesy against the forest of the country in the Negeb.” ' There is an emphasis on the ‘south' in the Hebrew brought out by the use of different Hebre... [ Continue Reading ]
“And say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of Yahweh. Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold I will kindle a fire in you and it will devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree. The flaming flame will not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned by it. And all... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then said I, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, they say of me, is he not one who tells stories (or ‘a riddler of riddles')?” ' Here we have a very human touch. In spite of being the mouthpiece of Yahweh Ezekiel is still conscious of what his listeners feel about him. He is disconcerted once again to have to speak... [ Continue Reading ]