Old Testament Commentary - Ezekiel 20

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 20 From their deliverance from Egypt to the day of Ezekiel, Israel have rebelled and failed to keep the commandments—In the last days, the Lord shall gather Israel and restore his gospel covenant.
1 AND it came to pass in the seventh ^ayear, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the ^belders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, 3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be ^aenquired of by you.
4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the ^aabominations of their fathers: 5 ¶ And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I ^achose Israel, and ^blifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the ^cLORD your God; 6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to ^abring them forth of the land of Egypt into a ^bland that I had ^cespied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the ^cglory of all lands:
7 Then said I unto them, ^aCast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 8 But 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^a: then I said, I will pour out my ^afury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I wrought for my ^aname's 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.	8^a neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt What is of particular interest here is the the children of Israel in Egypt were worshipping the idols of the Ebyptians. They were in a state in which they had turned from the God of Israel and they would not depart from thier idol Gods. And the Lord was of a minde to accomplish his anger against right there in Egypt except that is would have marred the good name of the Lord that the God of Israel would so act upon the children of Israel. So for his own name's sake he did forebear rather than to give the heathen reason to scorn the God of Israel.
10 ¶ Wherefore I ^acaused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. 11 And I gave them my ^astatutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even ^blive in them. 12 Moreover also I gave them my ^asabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that ^bsanctify them.
13 But the house of Israel ^arebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they ^bdespised 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 ^cwilderness, to consume them. 14 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
15 Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the ^aland which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; 16 Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their ^aheart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless mine eye ^aspared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.
18 But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your ^afathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: 19 I am the LORD your God; walk in my ^astatutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; 20 And ^ahallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a ^bsign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
21 Notwithstanding the children ^arebelled 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. 22 Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen^a, in whose sight I brought them forth.	22^a for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathern At times the Lord blesses the people not for their own righteousness, but because of his own 'name's sake'. As stated here he blessed the rebelleous children of Israel out of Egypt not for their own righteousness, for they were not so righteous. But he blessed them in order to not 'polluted' his own name, the name of the Redeemer of the World in the eyes of the heathen nations, that they could say that the God of Israel was not a God unto his own people but a destroyer of them.
23 I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would ^ascatter them among the heathen^a, and disperse them through the countries; 24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.	23^a I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen Moses while Israel was yet in the wilderness and yet to come into the promised land did so pronoucne such against Israel that if they did not live by the commandments of the Lord that they would be scattered among the nations of the heathen. This the Lord had planned before Israel even entered into the promised land. And of course all of the prophets did continue to so warn Israel and teach them of the scattering even to the point that later it was so familiar to them that they did tend to no longer pay attention to the threat, as did Judah even after the house of Israel had been so scattered.
25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; 26 And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass ^athrough the ^bfire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the ^cend that they might ^dknow that I am the LORD.
27 ¶ Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have ^ablasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine 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. 29 Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.
30 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations? 31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. 32 And that which cometh into your ^amind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the ^bheathen, as the families of the countries, to serve ^cwood and stone.
33 ¶ As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will ^agather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the ^awilderness of the people, and there will I ^bplead with you ^cface to face. 36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
37 And I will cause you ^ato pass under the ^brod, and I will bring you into the bond of the ^ccovenant: 38 And I will ^apurge out from among you the ^brebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not ^center into the ^dland of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but ^apollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your ^bidols. 40 For in mine holy ^amountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of ^bIsrael, all of them in the land, serve me^a: there will I ^caccept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and ^agather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be ^bsanctified in you before the heathen.	40^a For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me This high and holy mountain of the Lord is in the land of the Lord's covenant, even the Land of Joseph. They did not so serve and worship him wholely in the promised land of the east, but they must worship him and serve him in this land, which land was the Land of Adam, and which land has the covenant that he who would live here and prosper in the land must serve the God the the land who is Jesus Christ according to the Book of Mormon. Thus Ezekiel is speaking of the whole house of Israel and they giving served unto the Lord in this land of America in the latter days, the days of the restoration and the fulness of the blessings of the temple of the Lord.
42 And ye shall ^aknow that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I ^blifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. 43 And there shall ye ^aremember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
45 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 46 Son of man, set thy ^aface toward the south, and ^bdrop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest ^cof the south field; 47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. 49 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they ^asay of me, Doth he not speak parables?