CHAPTER 20

(593 B.C.)

THE ELDERS ENQUIRY

¹And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the Elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. (This is a new Prophecy; it begins with this Verse and follows through the conclusion of Chapter 23. The seventh year pertains to the length of the Prophets captivity up to this time.

The Elders came before Ezekiel because the false prophets among the Exiles were at this time predicting a speedy restoration to Judah [Jer. 28:11]. These Elders desired Ezekiel to preach the same comfortable message, but he refused to do so. On the contrary, he exposed the deep-seated idolatry of their hearts and announced an accession of the Wrath of God upon them.)

GODS ANSWER: ISRAELS REBELLION AND DEFILEMENT WITH EGYPTIAN GODS

²Then came the Word of the LORD unto me, saying,

³Son of man, speak unto the Elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Are you come to inquire of Me? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. (The last phrase is a startling statement indeed! The Lord will not accede to their request and will not hear their prayers. These men outwardly professed the worship of God, but inwardly they loved idolatry.)

⁴Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers (the Holy Spirit, by causing them to know the abominations of their fathers, will in no uncertain terms proclaim the justness of Gods Actions; furthermore, He will relate their own culpability):

⁵And say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up My Hand unto the seed of the House of Jacob, and made Myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up My Hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God (the phrase, In the day when I chose Israel, reverts back to Chapter 16, portraying the truth that the Lord did not choose them because they were great or grandiose, but instead because He loved them);

⁶In the day that I lifted up My Hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands (Flowing with milk and honey, appears first in Ex. 3:8, and became proverbial. This entire Verse is also a portrayal of the great Plan of Redemption affording Gods Salvation. The Lord not only delivers the believing sinner from bondage, but also delivers them to Blessing, all through Christ, and by the means of the Cross):

⁷Then said I unto them, Cast you away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (This Verse portrays the fact that they were idol worshippers in Egypt, and the Lord demanded their disengagement from such abominations.)

⁸But they rebelled against Me, and would not hearken unto Me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out My Fury upon them, to accomplish My Anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. (To accomplish My Anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt, portrays Israels wrongdoing, even in the midst of being delivered. This is not so pointedly outlined in the Book of Exodus, as that account concerns itself more so with their deliverance than with their obedience; nevertheless, this portrays the truth that God was almost as angry with His Own as He was with the Egyptians. This Passage tells us that there was little, if any, difference in the two peoples.)

ISRAELS REBELLION IN THE WILDERNESS

⁹But I wrought for My Names sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made Myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt. (The phrase, But I wrought for My Names sake, refers to the truth that the only reason they were spared was not their holiness, but His Holiness and Names sake.)

¹⁰Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

¹¹And I gave them My Statutes, and showed them My Judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. (The Statutes and Judgments spoken of here pertain to the Law of Moses given to the Children of Israel on Mount Sinai. They were to live by these Laws.)

¹²Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I Am the LORD Who sanctifies them. (The Sabbaths were typical of the rest which could be found only in Christ. Serving Christ today constitutes keeping the Sabbath; that particular day is no longer in force, because the One it typified, the Lord Jesus Christ, has come.

The Divine Title Jehovah-Mekaddishkem [Lev. 20:8] is repeated here in the words, I Am the LORD Who sanctifies them. This portrays the fact that Israel could not sanctify themselves, and neither can any modern Believer.

Presently, all Believers are sanctified, and remain that way, simply by constantly looking to Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross. Then the Holy Spirit can effect Sanctification within our lives, and on a constant basis [Rom. 8:1-2, 11].)

¹³But the House of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness: they walked not in My Statutes, and they despised My Judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and My Sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out My Fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. (When fathers are hardened in sin, as Verses 13 through 17 will portray, hope has recourse in their children; but then, as now, these are found to possess the same corrupt nature as their parents, and consequently to love the same sins, as Verses 18 through 21 will also proclaim!)

¹⁴But I wrought for My Names sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. (This, as Verse 9, portrays Gods reason for not destroying the Children of Israel.)

¹⁵Yet also I lifted up My Hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands (from this Passage, we learn how absolutely close that Israel came to being totally exterminated in the wilderness. It was only the Intercession of Moses which caused them, after a fashion, to be spared [Num. 14:11-35]);

¹⁶Because they despised My Judgments, and walked not in My Statutes, but polluted My Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. (This Passage portrays to us the truth that Laws, even if they do originate with the Lord, cannot change an individual. Only a work effected in the heart can bring about this change. It is called the New Birth [Jn. 3:3].)

¹⁷Nevertheless My Eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. (His Eye spared them for His Names sake.)

¹⁸But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk y ou not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols (the phrase, But I said unto their children in the wilderness, refers to the generation who followed those who died off in the wilderness because of their rebellion):

¹⁹I Am the LORD your God; walk in My Statutes, and keep My Judgments, and do them;

²⁰And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God. (Once again, the keeping of a particular day called the Sabbath is not imposed upon Christians. The Sabbath of the Old Covenant was a day of rest. It typified Christ, Who would give perfect rest to those who would believe Him [Mat. 11:28-30]. Serving Christ now constitutes keeping the Sabbath.)

²¹Notwithstanding the children rebelled against Me: they walked not in My Statutes, neither kept My Judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted My Sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out My Fury upon them, to accomplish My Anger against them in the wilderness. (As they did in Egypt, as described in Verse 8, and as the fathers did in the wilderness, the children had the same corrupt nature as their parents. Consequently, they loved the same sins.)

²²Nevertheless I withdrew My Hand, and wrought for My Names sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth. (For His Names sake the Lord allowed the second generation to go into the Promised Land. He did it so the heathen would not be able to mock His Name by claiming that He had brought them into the wilderness and could not deliver them.)

²³I lifted up My Hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries (they were not to think that because He had allowed them to go into the land, that this was a sign of His Approval);

²⁴Because they had not executed My Judgments, but had despised My Statutes, and had polluted My Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers idols. (As the fathers had sinned, so did the children! As their fathers were judged, so were they!)

²⁵Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live (the phrase, Wherefore I gave them, means that He permitted them to pollute themselves);

²⁶And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that opens the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I Am the LORD. (God commanded that their children should be passed over to Him and live. Idolatry commanded that they should pass through to Moloch and die.)

ISRAELS IDOLATRY IN THE LAND OF PROMISE

²⁷Therefore son of man, speak unto the House of Israel, and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed Me, in that they have committed a trespass against Me. (It actually says, They trespassed a trespass. That is, they were guilty of a supreme trespass, i.e., they associated idols with God.)

²⁸For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up My Hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings. (The fourfold repetition of the word there, stipulating the places of idol worship, is employed to emphasize the contrast with the one Divinely appointed place of acceptance, i.e., Calvary, as foreshadowed by Mount Moriah.

Access to God, Forgiveness, and Righteousness, as Abel proved, can only be enjoyed through Christs Atonement; for He is, as He Himself said, the One and Only Way to God [Jn. 14:6].)

²⁹Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto you go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day. (The word Bamah means high place. This word became a byword expressing the displeasure of God upon such places a memorial of the guilt of the people. In fact, the very name, high place, convicted these worshippers of rebellion, and not of ignorance [Deut. 12:1-5].)

³⁰Wherefore say unto the House of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD; Are you polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit you whoredom after their abominations? (This period of Israels idolatrous history is the subject of Verses 30 through 32. It pertains to the Exiles. Every evidence points to the fact that they polluted themselves with idolatry after the manner of their fathers. For the words, ye and you, of these Verses are emphatic, and the interrogative form is adopted here to express strong affirmation.)

³¹For when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons to pass through the fire, you pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O House of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. (Ezekiel, by Inspiration, refused to pray for his visitors. They must have been very angry with him, for, instead of preaching to them the comfortable messages which the other prophets announced, he exposed their idolatries and hypocrisies and predicted their eternal ruin, as is stated in Verse 38.

The expression, As I live, and as used by the Lord, was to emphasize the absolute Truth of what was being spoken.)

³²And that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, that you say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. (If the Temple were to be destroyed, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel were prophesying, this would mean, at least in their minds, that they could no longer worship Jehovah, and would be free to be as the heathen, to serve wood and stone! In their thinking, if Jehovah did not intend for them to do this, then there would be no destruction of the Temple, and no dispersion among the nations.

They could not be more wrong!)

FUTURE REGATHERING AND JUDGMENT

³³As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty Hand, and with a stretched out Arm, and with Fury poured out will I rule over you (the Lord now answers the thoughts of their minds in stating to them that they could not abrogate their high position; they would remain under the burden of its responsibilities):

³⁴And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein you are scattered, with a mighty Hand, and with a stretched out Arm, and with Fury poured out. (These baseless inquiries by the Elders of Judah in exile will occasion the Holy Spirit giving these profound Prophecies concerning Israels future Salvation. This Scripture will not be fulfilled until the Second Coming and the beginning of the Kingdom Age, which are yet future.)

³⁵And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. (This Passage pertains to the time when the Antichrist will actually invade Israel and defeat her, with a million or more escaping to the wilderness, i.e., Petra, which is in modern Jordan. Then Israel will realize what a fool she has been in thinking that the Antichrist was the Messiah. At that time, the Lord will really begin to deal with them [Isa. 16:1-5; 42:11-13; Hos. 2:14-23; Rev. 12:6, 13-16].)

³⁶Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, sa ys the Lord GOD. (During this time of pleading, they will be brought face-to-face with their failures, rebellion, and iniquities.)

³⁷And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the Covenant (the phrase, And I will cause you to pass under the rod, refers primarily to the rod of chastisement. It concerns itself with the latter half [3 years] of the Great Tribulation, when Israel will come close to extinction. Jesus said it will be the worst time ever [Mat. 24:21]):

³⁸And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them who transgress against Me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and you shall know that I Am the LORD. (The purging will take place during the last three and a half years of the Great Tribulation, and will have to do with the two-thirds who will be destroyed during that time, and especially during the Battle of Armageddon.)

³⁹As for you, O House of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD; Go you, serve you every one his idols, and hereafter also if you will not hearken unto Me: but pollute you My Holy Name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. (The Holy Spirit through the Prophet now brings the Prophecy away from the future back to the present. The Elders are addressed.

The Lord tells them: Go you, serve you every one his idols, but do not make the sin worse by the hypocrisy of unreal worship, by mixing the Name of Jehovah with the ritual of Moloch. By their double worship of Him and idols, they were polluting His Holy Name.)

FUTURE RESTORATION

⁴⁰For in My Holy Mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, says the Lord GOD, there shall all the House of Israel, all of them in the land, serve Me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. (Now the Holy Spirit reverts back to Prophecies concerning the future. Redeemed Israel, in the happy day of her future glory, will recognize and confess that all her happiness is due to the worthfulness of the Name of Jesus, and not to any moral value in herself, for her ways were evil and her doings were corrupt.

This Passage pertains to the coming Millennial Reign, when Christ will Personally reign supreme from Jerusalem. Then the contesting of the Land will end.)

⁴¹I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. (The acceptance of the worshipper is the result of the value of the victim offered in Sacrifice for sin. Hence, Believers are engraced in the Beloved One [Eph. 1:6], Christ; for we have no Grace in ourselves.)

⁴²And you shall know that I Am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up My Hand to give it to your fathers. (This refers to the tremendous Prophecies which seem so impossible to the natural mind, and yet, which the Lord declares that He is able to bring to pass, and which He did!)

⁴³And there shall you remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein you have been defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have committed. (This concerns Israels acceptance of Christ at the Second Coming, when they realize Who He is, and especially how they crucified Him and brought upon themselves such judgment and sorrow.)

⁴⁴And you shall know that I Am the LORD when I have wrought with you for My Names sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O you House of Israel, says the Lord GOD. (Israel will know in that day that their Salvation and Restoration are not brought about because of their holiness; in fact, their ways were wicked and their doings were corrupt. Their Restoration will be for His Names Sake.)

THE PROPHECY AGAINST THE SOUTH: DESTRUCTION OF JUDAH AND JERUSALEM

⁴⁵Moreover the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying (the balance of this Chapter speaks of the near Judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem. As is by now obvious, rebellion against God ensconced in their idol worship was basically the cause),

⁴⁶Son of man, set your face toward the south, and drop your word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field (this Prophecy forms an introduction to Chapters 21 through 32. The phrase, Set your face, determines direction and certitude of accomplishment. The fourfold repetition of the word south made absolute Judah as the scene of the approaching Judgment);

⁴⁷And say to the forest of the south, Hear the Word of the LORD; Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. (The green tree symbolizes the righteous, while the dry tree symbolizes the wicked. The inclusion of the righteous with the wicked in national and universal Judgments is one of the principles of Gods moral Government. It is important to recognize this principle. He does not promise exemption to His People from the suffering which justly follows national sin; but He makes this great distinction: that the wicked perish under such suffering, while the righteous are sustained in it, and finally, in Resurrection, delivered from it [Heb. 11:35].)

⁴⁸And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. (The accomplishment of the prediction proves the Divine Origin of the Prophecy.)

⁴⁹Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Does he not speak parables? (The ridicule of unbelief is often more painful than the anger of unbelief!)