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Texts -- Ezekiel 20:1-38 (NET)

Context
Israel’s Rebellion
20:1 In the seventh year , in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month , some of the elders of Israel came to seek the Lord , and they sat down in front of me. 20:2 The word of the Lord came to me: 20:3 “Son of man , speak to the elders of Israel , and tell them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says : Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live , I will not allow you to seek me, declares the sovereign Lord .’ 20:4 “Are you willing to pronounce judgment ? Are you willing to pronounce judgment , son of man ? Then confront them with the abominable practices of their fathers , 20:5 and say to them: “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says : On the day I chose Israel I swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt . I swore to them, “I am the Lord your God .” 20:6 On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land which I had picked out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey , the most beautiful of all lands . 20:7 I said to them, “Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you , and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt ; I am the Lord your God .” 20:8 But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols , nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt . Then I decided to pour out my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt . 20:9 I acted for the sake of my reputation , so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt . 20:10 “‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them to the wilderness . 20:11 I gave them my statutes and revealed my regulations to them. The one who carries them out will live by them! 20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths as a reminder of our relationship, so that they would know that I , the Lord , sanctify them. 20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness ; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths . So I decided to pour out my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them. 20:14 I acted for the sake of my reputation , so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out . 20:15 I also swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them to the land I had given them– a land flowing with milk and honey , the most beautiful of all lands . 20:16 I did this because they rejected my regulations , did not follow my statutes , and desecrated my Sabbaths ; for their hearts followed their idols . 20:17 Yet I had pity on them and did not destroy them, so I did not make an end of them in the wilderness . 20:18 “‘But I said to their children in the wilderness , “Do not follow the practices of your fathers ; do not observe their regulations , nor defile yourselves with their idols . 20:19 I am the Lord your God ; follow my statutes , observe my regulations , and carry them out . 20:20 Treat my Sabbaths as holy and they will be a reminder of our relationship, and then you will know that I am the Lord your God .” 20:21 “‘But the children rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes , did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths . I decided to pour out my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness . 20:22 But I refrained from doing so, and acted instead for the sake of my reputation , so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out . 20:23 I also swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands . 20:24 I did this because they did not observe my regulations , they rejected my statutes , they desecrated my Sabbaths , and their eyes were fixed on their fathers ’ idols . 20:25 I also gave them decrees which were not good and regulations by which they could not live . 20:26 I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire– so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord .’ 20:27 “Therefore , speak to the house of Israel , son of man , and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says : In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me. 20:28 I brought them to the land which I swore to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree , they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoke me to anger . They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings . 20:29 So I said to them, What is this high place you go to ?’” (So it is called “High Place ” to this day .) 20:30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel , ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says : Will you defile yourselves like your fathers and engage in prostitution with detestable idols ? 20:31 When you present your sacrifices – when you make your sons pass through the fire – you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day . Will I allow you to seek me, O house of Israel ? As surely as I live , declares the sovereign Lord , I will not allow you to seek me! 20:32 “‘What you plan will never happen . You say , “We will be like the nations , like the clans of the lands , who serve gods of wood and stone .” 20:33 As surely as I live , declares the sovereign Lord , with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm , and with an outpouring of rage , I will be king over you. 20:34 I will bring you out from the nations , and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered , with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage ! 20:35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations , and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face . 20:36 Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt , so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the sovereign Lord . 20:37 I will make you pass under the shepherd’s staff , and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant . 20:38 I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing , but they will not come to the land of Israel . Then you will know that I am the Lord .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Idolatry

    [ebd] image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object. Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Rom. 1:21-25: men forsook God, and sank into ignorance and moral corruption (1:28). The forms of idolatry are, (1.) Fetishis...
    [smith] strictly speaking denotes the worship of deity in a visible form, whether the images to which homage is paid are symbolical representations of the true God or of the false divinities which have been made the objects of worshi...
    [nave] IDOLATRY. Wicked Practices of Human sacrifices, Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut. 12:31; 18:10; 2 Kin. 3:26, 27; 16:3; 17:17, 18; 21:6; 23:10; 2 Chr. 28:3; 33:6; Psa. 106:37, 38; Isa. 57:5; Jer. 7:31; 19:4-7; 32:35; Ezek. 16:20, 2...

  • GOD, 2

    [isbe] GOD, 2 - II. The Idea of God in the Old Testament. 1. Course of Its Development: Any attempt to write the whole history of the idea of God in the Old Testament would require a preliminary study of the literary and historical...

  • LEVITICUS, 2

    [isbe] LEVITICUS, 2 - III. Origin. 1. Against the Wellhausen Hypothesis: As in the article ATONEMENT, DAY OF, sec. I, 2, (2), we took a stand against the modern attempts at splitting up the text, and in III, 1 against theory of the...

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • Sabbath

    [isbe] SABBATH - sab'-ath (shabbath, shabbathon; sabbaton, ta sabbata; the root shabhath in Hebrew means "to desist," "cease," "rest"): I. ORIGIN OF THE SABBATH 1. The Biblical Account 2. Critical Theories II. HISTORY OF THE SABBAT...
    [smith] (shabbath), "a day of rest," from shabath "to cease to do to," "to rest"). The name is applied to divers great festivals, but principally and usually to the seventh day of the week, the strict observance of which is enforced ...
    [nave] SABBATH Signifying a rest period, Gen. 2:2, 3; Lev. 23; 25; 26:34, 35. Preparations for, Ex. 16:22; Matt. 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31. Religious usages on, Gen. 2:3; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:16, 31; 6:6; 13:10; Acts ...

  • Wicked

    [nave] WICKED Compared with: Abominable branches, Isa. 14:19; ashes under the feet, Mal. 4:3; bad fishes, Matt. 13:48; beasts, Psa. 49:12; 2 Pet. 2:12; the blind, Zeph. 1:17; Matt. 15:14; bronze and iron, Jer. 6:28; Ezek. 22:18; br...

  • Bamah

    [ebd] a height, a name used simply to denote a high place where the Jews worshipped idols (Ezek. 20:29). The plural is translated "high places" in Num. 22:41 and Ezek. 36:2.
    [isbe] BAMAH - ba'-ma, ba'-ma (bamah, "high place"): The word appears in Ezek 20:29 where reference is made to former "high-place worship," the prophet speaking with contempt of such manner of worship. Ewald suggests a play of word...
    [smith] (high place). Found only in (Ezekiel 20:29) applied to places of idolatrous worship.
    [nave] BAMAH, a high place, Ezek. 20:29.

  • Honey

    [isbe] HONEY - hun'-i (debhash; meli): One familiar with life in Palestine will recognize in debhash the Arabic dibs, which is the usual term for a sweet syrup made by boiling down the juice of grapes, raisins, carob beans, or date...
    [nave] HONEY. Ex. 16:31; 2 Sam. 17:29; Prov. 25:27; Song 4:11; Isa. 7:15; Matt. 3:4; Luke 24:42. Not to be offered with sacrifices, Lev. 2:11. Found in rocks, Deut. 32:13; Psa. 81:16; upon the ground, 1 Sam. 14:25. Samson's rid...

  • DETESTABLE, THINGS

    [isbe] DETESTABLE, THINGS - de-tes'-ta-b'-l, (shiqquts; sheqets, synonymous with to`ebhah, "abomination," "abominable thing"): The translation of shiqqutsim in Jer 16:18; Ezek 5:11; 7:20; 11:18,21; 37:23; a term always applied to i...

  • Impenitence

    [nave] IMPENITENCE. Lev. 23:26-29; Lev. 26:21 vs. 22-24.; Deut. 29:19-21; 1 Sam. 15:23; Job 9:2, 4; Job 24:13; Job 33:14; Psa. 7:11, 12 v. 13.; Psa. 10:3; Psa. 32:9; Psa. 50:17, 21; Psa. 52:1, 7; Psa. 58:3-5; Psa. 68:21; Psa. 78:8...

  • Milk

    [isbe] MILK - milk (chalabh; gala; Latin lac (2 Esdras 2:19; 8:10)): The fluid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals for the nourishment of their young. The word is used in the Bible of that of human beings (Isa 28:9) as...
    [nave] MILK Used for food, Gen. 18:8; Judg. 4:19; Song 5:1; Ezek. 25:4; 1 Cor. 9:7. Of goats, Prov. 27:27; sheep, Deut. 32:14; Isa. 7:21, 22; camels, Gen. 32:15; cows, Deut. 32:14; 1 Sam. 6:7, 10. Churned, Prov. 30:33. Kid not t...

  • ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

    [isbe] ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION - des-o-la'-shun: The Hebrew root for abomination is shaqats, "to be filthy," "to loathe," "to abhor," from which is derived shiqquts, "filthy," especially "idolatrous." This word is used to describ...

  • ABOMINATION

    [isbe] ABOMINATION - a-bom-i-na'-shun (piggul, to`ebhah, sheqets (shiqquts)): Three distinct Hebrew words are rendered in the English Bible by "abomination," or "abominable thing," referring (except in Gen 43:32; 46:34) to things o...

  • CALF, GOLDEN

    [isbe] CALF, GOLDEN - kaf, gol'-d'-n: I. THE NAME II. ANCIENT CALF WORSHIP 1. Narrative of Aaron's Golden Calf 2. Jeroboam's Golden Calves III. ATTITUDE OF ELIJAH TO THE BULL SYMBOLS IV. ATTITUDE OF AMOS AND HOSEA TO THE BULL SYMBO...

  • PLEAD

    [isbe] PLEAD - pled: In modern non-legal English is a synonym of "pray" or "beseech," but in legal phraseology "plea," "plead," and "pleading" have a great variety of technical meanings, with "present a case before the court" as th...

  • Egypt

    [nave] EGYPT The country of: Called Rahab, Psa. 87:4; 89:10; Land of Ham, Psa. 105:23; 106:22. Limits of, Ezek. 29:10. Fertility of, Gen. 13:10. Productions of, Num. 11:5; Psa. 78:47; Prov. 7:16; Isa. 19:5-9. Irrigation employ...

  • Government

    [nave] GOVERNMENT Paternal functions of, Gen. 41:25-57. Civil service school provided by, Dan. 1:3-20. Maintains a system of public instruction, 2 Chr. 17:7-9. Executive departments in. See: Cabinet; King; Ruler; Statecraft. Ju...

  • Idol

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. aven, "nothingness;" "vanity" (Isa. 66:3; 41:29; Deut. 32:21; 1 Kings 16:13; Ps. 31:6; Jer. 8:19, etc.). (2.) 'Elil, "a thing of naught" (Ps. 97:7; Isa. 19:3); a word of contempt, used of the gods of Noph (Ezek. 30...
    [nave] IDOL Manufacture of, Ex. 20:4; 32:4, 20; Deut. 4:23; Isa. 40:19, 20; 44:9-12, 17; Hab. 2:18; Acts 19:24, 25. Manufacture of, forbidden, Ex. 20:4; 34:17. Made of gold, Ex. 32:3, 4; Psa. 115:4-7; 135:15-17; Isa. 2:20; 30:22;...

  • Offerings

    [nave] OFFERINGS Offered at the door of the tabernacle, Lev. 1:3; 3:2; 17:4, 8, 9; of the temple, 2 Chr. 7:12; 1 Kin. 8:62; 12:27. All animal sacrifices must be eight days old or over, Lev. 22:27. Must be salted, Lev. 2:13; Ezek....

  • Molech

    [nave] MOLECH, called also Moloch and Milcom. An idol of the Ammonites, Acts 7:43. Worshiped by the wives of Solomon, and by Solomon, 1 Kin. 11:1-8. Children sacrificed to, 2 Kin. 23:10; Jer. 32:35; 2 Kin. 16:3; 21:6; 2 Chr. 28:3;...
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Arts

Questions

  • I'm going to copy some articles on this subject, but let me give you my summation of all of them. In the Old Testament, the firstborn son was the one who normally received a double inheritance, and was the one who would inher...
  • The concept of the lost tribes of Israel is a misnomer. They may be lost to men, but they have never been lost to God. The Scripture clearly anticipates the regathering of the whole house of Israel from all the tribes. The bo...

Sermon Illustrations

The Command to Keep the Sabbath

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 12:1 This section begins with a wawdisjunctive in the Hebrew text translated "Now"in the NASB. It introduces an independent circumstantial clause (cf. 1:2). Probably the revelation in view happened in Ur. The NIV captures thi...
  • Emphasis shifts in this chapter from ceremonial defilement (ch. 17) to moral impurity. The Lord wanted His people to be holy in their behavior and character as well as in less important ritual observances (cf. Matt. 23:28; Ro...
  • When banished to the ends of the earth, the Israelites could repent and return to Yahweh in their hearts purposing to obey Him again (vv. 1-2). In that event God would do several things for them. He would bring them back to t...
  • David longed for the time when God would initiate salvation for Israel from Zion. When he wrote, Israel was at least partially under a hostile foreign power's control. The psalmist believed God would one day restore His peopl...
  • 7:29 The people were to cut off their hair as a sign of grief."The command to cut off the hair' (lit., crown' . . .) is in the feminine in Hebrew, showing that the city (cf. 6:23--'O Daughter of Zion') is meant. The charge st...
  • Ezekiel ministered to the Jews in exile. He probably wrote this book for the benefit of the exiles and the other Jewish communities of his day and beyond his day. In some of his visions (e.g. chs. 8 and 11) the Lord carried t...
  • There are two major structural peculiarities that set Ezekiel off as distinctive.First, the book is a collection of prophecies arranged in almost consistent chronological order. No other prophetical book is as consistently ch...
  • Several theological concepts receive considerable attention in Ezekiel. Alexander identified five central ones: the nature of God, the purpose and nature of God's judgment, individual responsibility, the ethical, religious, a...
  • Ezekiel began prophesying when he was 30 years old, and he had gone into captivity five years before that. Thus Ezekiel was familiar with Jeremiah's preaching and ministry. Ezekiel shows quite a bit of similarity to Jeremiah ...
  • I. Ezekiel's calling and commission chs. 1-3A. The vision of God's glory ch. 11. The setting of the vision 1:1-32. The vision proper 1:4-28B. The Lord's charge to Ezekiel chs. 2-31. The recipients of Ezekiel's ministry 2:1-52...
  • This pericope contains 10 commands, and it is the center of the chiasm in chapters 1-3."The Lord's charge to Ezekiel emphasized the absolute necessity of hearing, understanding, and assimilating God's message prior to going f...
  • 3:22 While Ezekiel was among the exiles in Tel-abib, the Lord directed him to go out to the nearby plain where the Lord promised to speak with him (cf. ch. 1; Acts 9:6; Gal. 1:16-17).3:23 Ezekiel obeyed the Lord. While he was...
  • 20:1 Certain elders of the Jewish exiles came to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord (cf. 14:1-11). Inquiring of the Lord meant securing a divine revelation concerning a particular event (cf. 1 Kings 14:5-18; 22:7-28; 2 Kings 8:8-...
  • The Lord's history lesson for these elders described Israel in four successive periods: in Egypt (vv. 5-9), in the wilderness (vv. 10-26), in the Promised Land (vv. 27-29), and in the present time (vv. 30-38).281What the Lord...
  • 20:10-12 So the Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness. At Mount Sinai He gave them statutes and ordinances that would result in their welfare if they obeyed them, namely, the Mosaic Law. He also gave th...
  • 20:27-28 The Lord instructed Ezekiel to continue speaking for Him. The Israelites' forefathers had blasphemed (slandered) the Lord with further covenant unfaithfulness (cf. Num. 15:30-31). After He had brought them into the P...
  • 20:30 Ezekiel was to ask his hearers if they planned to defile themselves and to prostitute themselves to things the Lord detested as their ancestors had done.20:31 They were defiling themselves by practicing child sacrifice....
  • 20:39 For now the Israelites to whom Ezekiel spoke could continue to practice idolatry, not with the Lord's blessing of course, but in the future they would listen to and obey the Lord. Then they would make His name common no...
  • A new chapter in the Hebrew Bible begins with 20:45. The section of the book that it begins contains four messages of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem with special emphasis on the judgment coming on the leaders of the people. ...
  • The Lord now clarified one of the primary reasons for the sword that was fast approaching Jerusalem and Judah. This reason was the sins of the present generation of Judahites, especially its leaders. In chapter 20 the prophet...
  • 22:1-2 Another message came from the Lord instructing Ezekiel to remind the residents of the bloody city of Jerusalem about all their abominations (cf. 20:4). A list of specific sins was necessary for him to pronounce judgmen...
  • This chapter is the final climactic one in Ezekiel's collection of messages that condemn Israel's defective leadership (chs. 20-23).Both chapters 16 and 23 describe Israel as a prostitute, but there are significant difference...
  • 23:1-3 The Lord gave Ezekiel a story about two sisters who had one mother (cf. Jer. 3:7). These young girls became prostitutes in Egypt and allowed men to fondle their breasts. That is, they allowed the Egyptians to become in...
  • This final message brings Oholah and Oholibah back together and passes judgment on all Israel. It is a summary oracle for the section that indicts Israel's leaders (chs. 20-23).23:36-37 The Lord called Ezekiel to pass judgmen...
  • It is appropriate that this section appears at this point in Ezekiel, between the messages announcing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin (chs. 4-24) and the messages announcing future blessings for Israel (chs. 33-48). I...
  • "This last major division of the book focuses on the restoration of Israel's blessing. Israel would be judged for her sin (chaps. 1-24) as would the surrounding nations (chaps. 25-32). But Israel will not remain under judgmen...
  • Since this message is undated, it may have come to Ezekiel about the same time as the previous two in chapter 32, namely, in the last month of 585 B.C. If so, Ezekiel received it about two months after God gave him the six me...
  • This part of Ezekiel's message of warning to the exiles is similar to 3:16-21. Yahweh recommissioned Ezekiel to his prophetic task (cf. chs. 2-3)."Now that Ezekiel's original ministry of judgment was completed, God appointed ...
  • This part of the prophecy of the preparation of the Promised Land sets forth what God would do for Israel. It contains the opposite of the curses against Israel warned of in chapter 6, and it contrasts Israel's glorious desti...
  • "The next verses in the chapter are among the most glorious in the entire range of revealed truth on the subject of Israel's restoration to the Lord and national conversion."46536:22-23 Ezekiel was to tell the Israelites that...
  • 37:15-17 The Lord also commanded Ezekiel to take two sticks (cf. Zech. 11:7-14). He was to write on one of them "For Judah and for the sons of Israel, Judah's companions."He was to write on the other stick "For Joseph and for...
  • The Book of Ezekiel begins with a vision of God's glory (ch. 1), records the departure of God's glory (chs. 8-11), and ends with another vision of God's glory (chs. 40-48). This is the longest vision outside the Book of Revel...
  • The Lord next gave Ezekiel directions for the division of some of the Promised Land in the future. Revelation about apportioning the rest of the land follows later (47:13-48:35). These descriptions do not coincide with any di...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968.Alexander, Ralph H. Ezekiel. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976._____. "Ezekiel."In Isaiah-Ezekiel. Vol. 6 of The Expo...
  • 8:9 Daniel next saw a rather small horn (king, v. 23) grow out of one of the four horns (kingdoms, v. 22) that had replaced the single horn (the first king, v. 21) on the goat (Greece, v. 21). This horn is quite clearly diffe...
  • 12:9 The angel reminded Daniel that much of what he had received would remain obscure until the end time (cf. v. 4). Then people will be able to look back, marvel at the total fulfillment of prophecy, and glorify the sovereig...
  • 3:10 The descendants of the Lord's dispersed ones, the Jews, would bring him offerings of worship from the farthest corners of the earth. The rivers of Ethiopia, probably the Nile and its tributaries, were at the edge of the ...
  • 13:7 Zechariah now returned in a poem to the subject of the Shepherd that he had mentioned in chapter 11. He also returned to the time when Israel would be scattered among the nations because of her rejection of the Good Shep...
  • That another oracle is in view is clear from the question and answer format that begins this pericope, as it does the others. Verse 17 contains the question and answer, and the discussion follows in 3:1-6. The Israelites' cha...
  • 5:27-28 Jesus proceeded to clarify God's intended meaning in the seventh commandment (Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). The rabbis in Jesus' day tended to look at adultery as wrong because it involved stealing another man's wife. The...
  • The Corinthians had a tendency to respond to Paul's teachings by first resisting them and then going overboard in applying them inappropriately. They had done this in dealing with the incestuous man (1 Cor. 5). Consequently P...
  • These verses explain what God's future righteous judgment is.1:5 Paul explained that suffering for Christ demonstrates the believer's worthiness to participate in God's kingdom. A hot fire under gold ore separates the gold fr...
  • The writer pointed out the consequences of not pressing on to maturity to motivate his readers to pursue spiritual growth diligently.Christians have interpreted this passage in many different ways. Some believe that those who...
  • 5:6 God's almighty hand had permitted affliction to touch Peter's readers. The apostle urged them to submit to God's working in their lives as to the skillful hand of a surgeon. He assured them that God would raise them up ev...
  • Next Peter outlined what will surely happen so his readers would understand what will take place.3:7 God has given orders that the present heavens and earth (vv. 5-6) will experience another judgment yet future. Then God will...
  • On the one hand, the return of Jesus Christ to the earth is the climax of all that has preceded. On the other, it is the first of seven final things that John saw and recorded. These things were Christ's return, Satan's captu...
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