Ezekiel 20:1-32--Israel's Continuing Rebellion

Ezekiel 20:1-32
English Standard Version

Israel's Continuing Rebellion
20 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. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me: 3 “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. 4 Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers, 5 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. 6 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. 7 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.’ 8 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. 9 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. 10 So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, 16 because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.

18 “And I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, 20 and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign 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 and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 But I withheld my hand and 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. 23 Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, 24 because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. 25 Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, 26 and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the LORD.

27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land that I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 (I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.)

30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go whoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. 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.

32 “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.’

---

On the date given at the beginning of the passage, the leaders of Israel (it's elders--probably the 70 elders of what would later be known as the Sanhedrin), came to Ezekiel both as a priest and a prophet to make inquiry of the LORD (to ask Him questions and to have Him answer their questions).  The LORD preemptively replies that He will not be questioned by them.  They are to face the judgment that he proclaimed over them and Ezekiel is to once again pronounced judgment on them.  They have continued in their rebellion and have not repented.

The LORD then gives them a history lesson that goes all the way back to the beginning of the nation of Israel at the Exodus.  He is the one that promised them the Land of Canaan by covenant and drove out their enemies before them.  He is the one that led them through the wilderness and fed them and miraculously made their clothes and sandals not wear out for 40 years.  He asked them to make sure that they cast away all their idols before they entered the Land and that idolatry never pollute this land again like it did under the Canaanite peoples that were being killed and driven out.  The Israelites did not listen and polluted the Land with idols and now they are being killed and driven out in exile.  Yet, the elders still have not turned away from their idols and their immorality.  They did not learn from what happened to Egypt or the Canaanites or the other pagan peoples along the way that these false gods were no match for the LORD and He alone was God and the only one worthy of their worship.

From the time the very beginning the people were Sabbath-breakers (just like the people now) and the LORD punished them for it.  These Sabbaths were the most visible differentiator between Jew and Gentile and to rebel against keeping the Sabbaths was to say that they wanted to be like the Gentiles.  That is what is going on now.  The LORD punished them for such rebellion in the wilderness and He punishes them even more severely now because they cannot claim ignorance.  They had the example from the past, but they have not learned from it.

The people also dealt treacherously with the LORD by trying to become priests of their own temples at home with their own altars and not going through the one door to the one altar and gaining atonement through the one High Priest that the LORD had instituted.  Our atonement is not meant to be convenient, it is meant to be costly and everything the LORD gave to them for their atonement pictured the better atonement that was to come.  "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No man comes to the Father but by Me."  (John 14:6).  Jesus said He was the Door--the one way to go in and out.  He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and He is our Great High Priest that by the sacrifice of Himself put an end to all the other sacrifices and the need for the Temple.  He was the better Temple and He has made us the temple of the Holy Spirit until one day earth and heaven will be one again and there will be no more need for a Temple.  They have perverted the gospel they were to proclaim.  They who were supposed to be a light until the Gentiles have become as dark or darker than the Gentiles.  "If the light within them is darkness, how great is that darkness."

Even after all these "lessons" from the past, the leaders of the people and the people that followed after them still went after all the detestable things of the world--its idols and all kinds of iniquity.  They have a dream to be just like the other nations, but the LORD will never let that happen because He has a plan for them and it requires them to be holy unto the LORD so they can be His ambassadors of His kingdom to the whole world.  We are waiting for the revival among the Jewish people to happen and for them to be the evangelists and apologists they were called to be--a nations of priests to the glory of God alone.