Ezekiel 20:1-4

Chapter Ten

ISRAEL: PAST AND FUTURE
20:1-21:32

Eleven months intervene between Ezekiel's last series of oracles and the present utterances. He has effectively shattered Judah's insane hope that judgment would never fall on Jerusalem. Every argument put forth in objection to his dogmatic assertion of imminent judgment has been rebutted. Ezekiel may have passed the past eleven months in silence.

Late in the summer of 591 B.C. news of Egyptian military victories in Africa spawned new delusions of deliverance among the Jews in Judah and in Babylon. King Zedekiah was now looking to Egypt for assistance against Babylon. Sometime between the end of 591 B.C. and the summer of 589 B.C. Zedekiah formally severed his allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar. The question uppermost in the minds of the captives was, What bearing would this political realignment have on the fortunes of Judah? In response to this unasked question Ezekiel speaks of (1) the past corruption of the nation (Ezekiel 20:1-29); (2) the future restoration of Israel (Ezekiel 20:30-44); and (3) the imminent judgment of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 20:45 to Ezekiel 21:32).

I. ISRAEL'S PAST CORRUPTION 20:1-29

After a brief introduction to this section (Ezekiel 20:1-4), Ezekiel traces Israel's waywardness through the period of Egyptian bondage (Ezekiel 20:5-9), wilderness wandering (Ezekiel 20:10-26), and settlement in the land of Canaan (Ezekiel 20:27-29).

A. Introduction 20:1-4

TRANSLATION

(1) And it came to pass in the seventh year, the fifth month, the tenth day of the month that certain men of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD; and they sat before me. (2) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (3) Son of man, Speak unto the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you coming to inquire of Me? As I live, I will not be inquired of by you (oracle of the LORD). (4) Will you judge them, will you judge them, O son of man? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers.

COMMENTS

This section begins with a new date which apparently includes all the material in Chapter s 20-23. The last note of time was in Ezekiel 8:1, and eleven months and five days have passed. Ezekiel has now functioned in his prophetic office for two years, one month and five days. Converted into terms of the modern calendar the date of this section would be August 14, 591 B.C. On this date certain elders of Israel[339] approached Ezekiel in order to inquire of the Lord through him (Ezekiel 20:1). They obviously hoped to receive from him some optimistic assurance that the time of deliverance was at hand.

[339] The elders in Ezekiel 8:1 were said to have been of Judah. Ezekiel seems to use the terms Israel and Judah interchangeably.

In the presence of his guests Ezekiel received a new revelation (Ezekiel 20:2). He has an answer for the inquirers, but it was not what they expected. Instead of indulging their curiosity regarding the times and the seasons of future divine activity, Ezekiel launched into a stern sermon, the theme of which is the persistent rebellion of Israel against leadership of the Lord. Whatever their specific query was, God regarded it as impertinent and irrelevant. God through Ezekiel had already made it abundantly clear that Jerusalem was doomed for destruction. God was not interested in hearing their requests, He wanted to see their repentance! That which sinful men want to hear from the Lord is not always what they need to hear (Ezekiel 20:3).

By means of a double question (Will you judge them, will you judge them?) God commissions Ezekiel to sit as a judge in the trial of His people Israel. He is to recount to the elders all the abominations of their fathers (Ezekiel 20:4), and that not in parables as in chapter 16, but in a very factual way. The plight of the nation and the necessity of the impending doom would become clear to his auditors through this sad survey of Israel's history.