The Sovereign Lord is also a God of restoration and reconciliation. He calls His people back to Himself over and over again. He does all this for His glory, to uphold the power and essence of His holy Name. We observed in Ezekiel 19 how God remained true to His holy nature throughout His judgment on Israel. This theme continues into chapter 20.
Read Ezekiel 20:30-32.
- God asked Israel a rhetorical question to accuse them of the same vile practices as their fathers.
- His question brought personal accountability one step closer, as He specifically named their detestable sin: they offered their sons in the fire of pagan worship.
- They declared God’s sacrificial system, which included redemption of their firstborn sons, as unacceptable to them.
- The holy Lord is the One who decides what is an acceptable sacrifice!
- This was blasphemy in action.
- No wonder God declared Israel could not inquire of Him—they had already cast Him aside!
- Ah, they wanted to be like all the nations around them. They didn’t want to live as a people set apart, holy until the Lord.
- It’s no surprise the word for “serve” as used here in verse 32 doesn’t necessarily have the connotation of religious service to God.
*What is our personal accountability to God today?
*What does God declare as an acceptable sacrifice for us?
Read Ezekiel 20:33-36.
- The Lord Almighty declared His Lordship over them.
- Even though Israel might choose to worship idols, God would rule over them with His mighty hand of judgment and wrath.
- God stated this twice, that Israel might not miss His declaration of judgment.
- Again, God described His plan: He would gather Israel and send them into the desert to execute judgment.
- Ezekiel wrote the same word for judgment four times in two verses, a word that includes the idea of condemnation and punishment.
- The Lord judged Israel in the desert when they left Egypt and complained against God. They didn’t trust and believe God had their best interests at heart.
- So God denied an entire generation entrance into land He promised to their forefathers.
*Why did God emphasize His judgment of Israel?
*How do we know God has our best interests at heart?
Ezekiel 20:37-39
- Israel overstepped the commands of God’s covenant with them.1
- The word “rod” refers to a shepherd’s staff 2—the Lord has always been Shepherd to His people!
- God would bring them under the bond of the covenant, into a new relationship with Him.
- We read here a glimpse of God’s new covenant to come through Jesus: this agreement was a “divine promise through a series of prophets to establish a new constitution with new institutions and precepts.”3
- God would cleanse the nation: He would purge all who rebel and revolt against Him.
- Again, the Lord would judge an entire generation. Those He brought out into exile and captivity4 would not re-enter the land.
- By God’s Sovereign rule over Israel, they will know that I am the Lord.
- Israel could believe and declare and worship pagan practices of idolatry all they wanted, but God proclaimed His Lordship over all.
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him (Romans 10:12).
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 22:13).
- God always allows people to make a choice.
- He released Israel to worship idols if they chose, and here the word “serve” is indeed used in the sense of religious service.
- But there would come a time when Israel would listen again to the Lord.
*What is the significance of learning God is a Shepherd in this passage?
*Why do you think God again judged an entire generation?
*How does God proclaim His Lordship over all?
Ezekiel 20:40-42
- He would bring them back from captivity.
- God would establish worship—holy sacrifices—once again in the promised land.
- In that time, Israel would serve God in worship.
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity (Joel 2:13).
- He would accept their sacrifices, offerings, and that which they consecrated to Him.
- He would delight and take pleasure in their worship.
- God is always willing to listen to His remnant.
- One type of sacrifice they would offer was “tribute,” as in that which is offered to a Ruler 5—perhaps a remnant would truly worship God as King of Kings.
- God would show Himself holy among the nations.
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11). 
- In verse 40, Israel would offer holy, or consecrated, sacred, sacrifices—an object (noun).
- In the next verse, God said He would “prove [Himself] holy among you in the sight of the nations” (vs. 41 NASB)—God’s action (verb).
- His holy nature remains true before, during, and after Israel’s judgment.
- As a result, then you will know that I AM the Lord.
*What do we learn about worship in this passage?
*What do we learn about God’s character in these verses?
Ezekiel 20:43-44
- Israel would remember their sin, detestable practices, and evil behavior.
- With their sin laid bare, they would know that I am the Lord, because at this point God would interact with them on the basis of His holy name and nature.
- He would not give them what they deserve in their evil, corrupt ways.
- He would deal with them according to His holiness and for His Name’s sake.
- Hundreds of years before Ezekiel recorded this message from God, the prophet Samuel said,
“You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own” (1 Samuel 12:20-22).
*How do we see God interact with His people according to His holy nature?
*Why does God uphold His Name?
In light of God’s eternal promises to preserve a people for Himself, let us pray,
Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake (Psalm 79:9).
- Warren Baker, D.R.E., Eugene Carpenter, Ph.D. The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: Old Testament. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003) 800
- Ibid., 1091
- Bible Hub. Interlinear Hebrew Old Testament. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1285.htm
- Baker, 462
- Bible Hub. Interlinear Hebrew Old Testament. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4864.htm