Ezekiel 20:10-26

C. Israel in the Wilderness 20:10-26

TRANSLATION

(10) And I brought them out from the land of Egypt, and brought them unto the wilderness. (11) And I gave to them My statutes, and My ordinances I made known to them, which if a man do them, he shall live by them. (12) And also My sabbaths I gave to them to become a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctified them. (13) But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes, and they spurned My ordinances, which if a man do them, he shall live by them. My sabbaths they profaned exceedingly, and I intended to pour out My wrath upon them in the wilderness to consume them. (14) But I took action for the sake of My name, that it might not be defiled before the nations before whom I brought them out. (15) And also I lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them unto the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, the beauty of all the lands; (16) because they rejected My judgments, and in My statutes they did not walk, and they defiled My sabbaths, for after their idols their heart did go. (17) But My eye had pity upon them from destroying them, and I did not make a complete end of them in the wilderness. (18) And I said unto their sons in the wilderness: Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their ordinances, and with their idols do not defile yourselves. (19) I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances, and do them; (20) and sanctify My sabbaths that they may be signs between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your god. (21) But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor did they keep My ordinances to do them, which if a man will do them, he shall live by them; they profaned My sabbaths; and I intended to pour out My wrath on them to finish My fury on them in the wilderness. (22) And I withdrew My hand, and took action for the sake of My name, that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations before whom I brought them out. (23) Also I lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness to scatter them among the nations and to disperse them in the lands; (24) because My ordinances they did not perform, and My statutes they rejected, and My sabbaths they profaned, and their eyes were after the gods of their fathers. (25) And also I gave to them statutes which were not good, and ordinances whereby they could not live. (26) And I defiled them with their gifts, in that they consecrate all who open the womb, that I might destroy them, that they might know that I am the LORD.

COMMENTS

God's concern for His name prevailed over His desire to rid Himself of that rebellious people. He brought them out of Egypt and into the wilderness (Ezekiel 20:10). At Mt. Sinai He graciously gave to that people His Law. In keeping this law one could find the key to life, i.e., he would prosper materially and spiritually. National faithfulness to that Law would result in social happiness and political stability (Ezekiel 20:11). As further evidence of His gracious concern, God ordained the sabbath[342] as an outward sign of His covenant with Israel. Every observance of the sabbath was an affirmation of their relationship to Him (Ezekiel 20:12; cf. Exodus 31:17).

[342] The text reads sabbaths and may include the various festivals as well as the weekly sabbath.

Within days of the gracious giving of the Law, Israel rebelled against the Lord in the incident of the golden calf. The Book of Numbers contains numerous examples of the times when Israel murmured against the Lord. Direct violation of the sabbath is recorded on two occasions (Exodus 16:27; Numbers 15:32), but that sacred day was defiled by attitude again and again. Because Israel had spurned God's gracious wilderness gifts to His people, He was fully prepared to destroy them there and then (Ezekiel 20:13). However, again for the sake of His name His reputation among the heathen nations he refrained from executing His wrath (Ezekiel 20:14).

While God did not completely destroy the nation in the wilderness, He did swear that the guilty generation which showed such lack of faith at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 13-14) could not enter the land of promise (Ezekiel 20:15). Because they had defiled the law of God and secretly had craved for their idols in their heart, God sentenced that generation to wander in the wilderness for forty years (Ezekiel 20:16). Yet God did not make a full end of Israel at that time (Ezekiel 20:17). Those under the age of twenty survived that disciplinary death march.

God warned that new generation not to follow in the sinful paths of their fathers (Ezekiel 20:18), but rather to recognize His absolute divinity. He earnestly pled with them through Moses to obey the divine law (Ezekiel 20:19) and to faithfully observe the sabbaths as an outward sign and reminder that they were indeed God's people (Ezekiel 20:20). Unfortunately that new generation was every bit as bad as the former one. At Baal-peer in their very first exposure to Canaanite Baal worship, the men of that new generation rushed headlong into the vilest form of degrading worship (Numbers 25:1-9; Hosea 9:10). God was of a mind to destroy the nation entirely (Ezekiel 20:21). However, for the sake of His own self-interest for the sake of his reputation among surrounding nations God relented (withdrew My hand; Ezekiel 20:22).

Though Israel survived her wilderness wandering, divine discipline was again necessary. The sentence of destruction was commuted. Instead, at some point in the future this nation would be scattered among other lands and countries (Ezekiel 20:23). The time and manner of that dispersion is not specified. The long periods of oppression during the period of the Judges probably were the first step in the fulfillment of this threat. Attacks by neighboring nations during the monarchy period resulted in God's people being deported far and wide (cf. Amos 1:6; Amos 1:9; Joel 3:1-8). The culmination of this threatened dispersion was the deportation of the northern tribes by the Assyrian kings,[343] and the removal of captives from Judah by Nebuchadnezzar.[344]

[343] The two main Assyrian deportations occurred in 745 B.C. by Tiglath-pileser III, and in 722 B.C. by Sargon.

[344] Four deportations by Nebuchadnezzar are recorded In Scripture The first was in 605/604 B.C. and the last in 582 B.C. See Jeremiah 52:30.

The generation which was brought into Canaan also rejected God's holy law and went after idols (Ezekiel 20:24). God gave them over to the consequences of their own sinful desire. He punished their sin by means of their sin. As they went ever deeper into the baser forms of idolatry, they brought themselves under statutes and judgments of a different sort. The pagan religious code which they adopted as their own did not contribute to health, happiness and well-being (life), but rather became a vicious and demanding taskmaster (Ezekiel 20:25). Stephen describes this situation when he says, God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven (Acts 7:42), He punished them by permitting them to do what they really wanted to do.

All the material gifts which God bestowed upon His people were permitted by Him to be defiled in the debasing worship of Baal. They rejected God's law of dedicating their first born to the Lord (Exodus 13:2) and replaced it with the horrible practice of child sacrifice (cf. Ezekiel 16:21). The ultimate end of such perverse pagan practices would be national destruction. Only then would Israel realize that Yahweh was the only God (Ezekiel 20:26).