Ezek 20

20:1-3 the seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity: Five more years would pass before the destruction of Jerusalem. • The leaders (literally elders) of Israel—the leaders of the community in exile—came to Ezekiel once again, looking for a word from the Lord (cp. 8:1; 14:1). Normally, seeking a message from the Lord is a good thing. But these leaders had already been condemned for their mixed motives (see ch 14), and the Lord would not receive their request. The question they asked Ezekiel is not recorded—perhaps they never had the opportunity to ask it.

20:4-26 That the Lord would not answer their inquiry did not mean that he had nothing to say to them. Ezekiel would parade the detestable character of their ancestors before their eyes.

20:8-21 Each generation of Israelites rebelled against the Lord and refused to obey the commandments he gave them. Each time, the Lord threatened to pour out his fury upon them (20:8, 13, 21), but he relented for the honor of his name, lest the nations around them should think the Lord’s power insufficient to bring his people into the Promised Land.

20:23 Because of Israel’s history of refusing to keep the Lord’s decrees or obey his regulations, God determined to scatter them among all the nations.

20:25-26 I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations . . . I let them pollute themselves: The Lord allowed the people of Israel to exercise their depravity in the complex and corrupting rituals of paganism and to suffer all of its terrible consequences (see Rom 1:18-25).

20:26 The Israelites even gave their firstborn children as offerings to the god Molech. This exactly reversed the Exodus, which freed the Israelites, the Lord’s “firstborn son” (Exod 4:22), to offer pure worship in the Promised Land.

20:27-31 Once in the Promised Land, Israel continued to blaspheme and betray the Lord. Their idolatry and wickedness continued to Ezekiel’s day. Such apostate people would receive no answer from the Lord.

20:32-38 As in the past, Israel’s rebellion had led to God’s limited judgment, so that they were once again scattered among the nations. Earlier history made it clear that judgment would not be the end of the story, as the honor of God’s name required that he fulfill his promises despite his people’s sin. • Israel could never be like the nations all around . . . who serve idols of wood and stone (20:32). God had chosen them to be his and he would bring them back into the wilderness in a new exodus. It was not unmitigated good news, for a whole generation died in the wilderness after the first Exodus because of their sin. God would also judge and purge this generation in the wilderness, and those who were rebels, refusing to obey the Lord, would never enter the land of Israel. The wilderness of the nations would be their final resting place.

20:39-44 The people of Israel might continue to worship . . . idols, but in the end, they would worship God in spirit and in truth on his holy mountain (see chs 40–48, in which the purified worship of God is restored in the Temple; cp. John 4:21-24). God’s purpose in choosing Israel to be a holy nation would ultimately stand. The people would be a pleasing sacrifice to him and would display God’s holiness. The result of this new exodus would be pure worship, offered by a purified people who were saved by sovereign grace.

20:45-49 Like a parable, this prophecy both reveals and conceals its message, leading the people to complain that the prophet only talks in riddles (see Matt 13:10-17). It reveals the coming of an all-consuming judgment (a fire that will burn up every tree), but conceals who is being judged.

20:46 turn and face the south (literally turn toward Teman): Teman was a town in Edom, southeast of Judah. • The Negev was southwest of the Dead Sea.

20:47 A green tree does not normally burn easily, whereas a dry tree provides easy kindling. This fire of judgment would be so intense that it would burn all kinds of trees.