The structure of this passage is quite clear. It consists of a review of Israel's history with an introduction and a concluding application.
"The chapter is remarkable in that it shows a uniform moral plane sustained by the nation throughout its history."278
Other important themes in this chapter include God's faithful grace in spite of Israel's persistent rebelliousness, the repetition of a wilderness experience for Israel for her disobedience, and Yahweh's concern for His own reputation (name).
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 8:8-15; 22:13-20; Jer. 21:2-14; 37:7-10). In view of the historical context of their request, the event that they wanted information about was probably King Zedekiah's attempt to secure Egypt's help in defeating the Babylonians.
"In the late summer of 591 B.C., the news of Egypt's victory in the Sudan reached the remnant of Judeans at Tel Abib. Rumors also indicated that [Pharaoh] Psammetik II would make a triumphal conquest of Palestine. The exiles' expectations were most certainly heightened as they hoped that Egypt would prove to be the redeemer to free them from Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah had foolishly shared the same dream when he revolted from Babylonian rule and placed his confidence in Egypt's strength somewhere between the end of 591 and 589 B.C. Such a move was ill-timed; for the Pharaoh soon became ill, and the potential might of Egypt never materialized."279
These elders probably wanted to know if Zedekiah's overtures to Egypt would be successful, if the Egyptians would help them defeat the Babylonians, and if the exiles could expect to return home soon.
This event happened in the seventh year of Jehoiachin's captivity, namely, 591 B.C. The tenth day of the fifth month would have been in July or August.280Eleven months had passed since Ezekiel began the preceding series of messages (cf. 8:1). The dating of the prophecy indicates a new section of the book and a new series of messages.
20:2-4 In response to the request of these elders, God gave His prophet a message for them. He told Ezekiel to say that He would not satisfy their curiosity about the matters that concerned them. However, Ezekiel was to communicate another message to these elders, a message that included judgment because of the Israelites' abominable idolatry throughout their history. The Lord's repeated question has the effect of an emotional imperative: you must pass judgment on them.
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 said about Israel's history in each of these four periods is quite similar. God had been good to His people, but they had rebelled against Him. Consequently judgment followed, but God had also extended His grace. The Lord then repeated the last two points in His summary of each historical period.
20:5-6 The Lord reminded these elders that He had chosen the Israelites, made Himself known to them, and made promises to them when they were slaves in Egypt (Exod. 6:2-8; Deut. 7:6-11). He began this historical review with Israel's history as a nation (in Exodus), not with her earlier history as the family of Abraham (in Genesis). Yahweh had promised to be the Israelites' God and to bring them out of Egypt and into the very best of lands, which He had selected for them to occupy (Gen. 12:7; Exod. 3:8, 13-18).
20:7-9 The Lord had told the Israelites to abandon the detestable, defiling gods of Egypt because He was their God, but they rebelled against Him and refused to do so (cf. Exod. 5:19-21; 6:9; Lev. 17:7; 18:3; 26:30; Deut. 29:16-17; Josh. 24:14). He purposed to judge His people in Egypt for their rebellion, and their enslavement there was partially a judgment for their idolatry.282Then He chose to bring them out of Egypt for the sake of His reputation among the other nations (cf. Gen. 15:13-16).
"Though Israel had failed to sanctify the name of the Lord among the nations, the Lord himself would do so by his deliverance of Israel from Egypt [cf. Exod. 7:5; Ps. 106:8-12]."283
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 them the Sabbath Day as a sign of the special relationship and blessing that they enjoyed because He had chosen them. By observing the Sabbath the Israelites demonstrated their uniqueness among the nations, their sanctification unto Yahweh (Exod. 20:8-11; 31:13, 17). The Sabbath was a dual sign to the Israelites: it reminded them of Yahweh's creation of the cosmos (Exod. 20:11) and of His creation of their nation (Deut. 5:14-15). It was the central sign of the Old Covenant (Isa. 56:2, 4).
20:13 Nevertheless the Israelites rebelled against their God in the wilderness by disobeying His commands, which God intended to result in their blessing (Lev. 18:5). They also made the Sabbath common by failing to observe it as a special day of the week even though God intended it to be a day of rest and remembrance for them. Consequently, Yahweh decided to annihilate them in the wilderness.
20:14 However again His reputation as Israel's God moved Him to have mercy on them. Annihilating them would have made it appear to the other nations that He was unable to sustain them and to fulfill His promises to them.
20:15-16 Notwithstanding, He swore to them that He would not bring that generation of them into the Promised Land because they had rebelled against Him and had worshipped idols.
20:17 So the Lord spared His people. (He did this in response to Moses' intercession for the people; cf. Num. 14:13-19; Deut. 1:26-40; Ps. 106:23-25.)
20:18-20 The Lord then instructed the children of the generation that He had liberated from Egyptian bondage not to follow the bad example of their fathers. Since He was Yahweh their God they should remain faithful to the terms of the covenant that He had made with their nation.
20:21 However, they also rebelled against the Lord, as their fathers had done, so He resolved to punish them in the wilderness.
20:22-24 Again the Lord withheld punishment for the sake of His reputation (cf. Num. 16:21-22; 25:1-9), but He swore to them that He would scatter them among the other nations and disperse them in other lands because of their covenant unfaithfulness (Lev. 26:33; Deut. 28:64; Ps. 106:26-27).
20:25-26 The Lord also gave them statutes that were not good for them in the sense that He allowed them to choose to live by worldly rules that caused them misery and death (cf. Lev. 26; Deut. 28:15-29:19; 2 Kings 17:26-41). He also gave them ordinances that were too difficult for them to keep in that He did not lighten the burden of responsibility that the Mosaic Law imposed. When the people offered their children up as burnt offerings to the idols, the loss of their children was God's punishment for this sin (cf. Exod. 13:12; Lev. 18:21; Deut. 18:10; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chron. 28:3). He had commanded that they offer their first-born to Him or redeem those children (Exod. 22:29; Num. 18:15-19), but He had not told them to offer their children to Him as burnt offerings.
"A sacrifice as understood by Israel's pagan neighbors was a way of giving desirable things to the gods. . . . How about really impressing a god with your dedication and sincerity by sending that god something more precious to you than anything else--your own firstborn child? Thinking themselves likely to gain the lifetime favor of the gods in this way, the Israelites borrowed child sacrifice, too, from their neighbors and began killing their firstborn infants and burning them on altars as a means of sending them to the false gods they were worshiping [sic]. It is evident that such people really wanted the gods to love them and were willing to give their all' to gain such love."284
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 Promised Land, they used that good land to practice idolatry.
20:29 The Lord had confronted His people with their use of the high places or hilltops for idolatry. The name of the high places, Bamah, had a double significance. It meant "high place,"but it also meant literally "go where"or "go what"(Heb. ba mah). Thus Bamah became a contemptuous pun. When the people went to the high places to worship idols, where were they going? They were going nowhere of any significance to do nothing of any importance since these idols were nonentities and could not help them. The name Bamah said more about these places than just identifying them as high places of worship, and the Lord had perpetuated the name Bamah for this reason.
"In the world of the Old Testament, everyone worshiped [sic] by using idols. It was unthinkable not to. Idols were thought to be absolutely necessary for proper worship in the same way that wings are thought necessary for an airplane today. The practice of idolatry was based on what is sometimes called sympathetic magic,' that is, the ability to influence reality by manipulating an image of that reality."285
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. For this reason the Lord would not give them the answers to the questions that they brought to him (cf. vv. 1, 3).
20:32-35 The Lord would not allow them to become like the idolaters all around them who served wood and stone. He would be their king, He swore, and bring judgment on them. But He would regather them to their land from the distant countries where He had scattered them (cf. 36:14-38; 37:21-23; Deut. 30:1-10; Isa. 11:11-16; 49:17-23; 60; 61:4-9; Jer. 23:1-8; Amos 9:11-15; Zech. 10:8-12; et al.). The descriptions of God doing this with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm recall the terms used of His liberation of the Israelites from Egypt (Exod. 6:6; 32:11; cf. Deut. 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; Ps. 136:12). A second exodus is in view. He would bring them into another type of wilderness, a wilderness full of people, and there He would personally judge them. This probably refers to the present worldwide dispersion of the Jews that began in A.D. 70 when the Jews had to leave the Promised Land again.286
20:36-38 As the Lord had judged the fathers in the wilderness long ago, so He would judge the children of His people. He would discipline them to sanctify them (cf. Jer. 33:13). It was customary for shepherds to count their sheep as they passed under their staff that they held over the doorway of the sheepfold.
"Reference to those who pass under my rod' was first an allusion to the tithe (Lev 27:32). Every tenth animal that passed under a rod' held over the sheep was separated and declared to be holy. The purification of the exile, likewise, would separate the righteous and the wicked. The rod' also was an instrument of discipline, correction, and punishment. This was another way of communicating the purpose of the exile, which was to purge' and purify those who rebelled against God (v. 38)."287
The Lord would also bring His people under obligation to keep the terms of a covenant. This is evidently a reference to the New Covenant (cf. 36:25-38; Jer. 31:31-34). He would weed out the rebels and transgressors from among them and bring them out of the countries where they lived but would not bring them into the Promised Land. This probably refers to the Jews who will die during the Tribulation period (cf. Zech. 13:8; Rev. 12:15-17) and or when the Lord returns to the earth (cf. Matt. 25:31-46).288Then His people would know that the One who did this was Yahweh.
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 longer with their unacceptable worship gifts and idolatry.
"Those who consistently reject God and his Word favor self-willed idolatry and immorality and are finally given over by him to reprobation (20:30-39), a process described in detail in Rom 1:24-28."289
20:40 At that future time, all Israel would serve the Lord, specifically on the holy mountain where the temple stood (cf. Isa. 27:13; 56:7; 66:20; Joel 2:1; 4:17; Zeph. 3:11; Zech. 8:3). Then the Lord would accept their offerings of worship, their special gifts to Him, and all the things that they devoted to Him because they had repented (cf. chs. 40-48).
20:41-42 The people would be as a soothing aroma to God when He regathered them to the Promised Land from where He had scattered them, and He would accept them. He would then prove that He is holy among the nations, namely, uniquely different from all the so-called gods. The Israelites would also recognize Him when He fulfilled His promise to the patriarchs to give them the Promised Land.
20:43-44 Back in the land then the Israelites would remember their past sins and loath themselves. They would also come to know the Lord for the kind of God He is because they would recognize how graciously He had dealt with them as a people.
The prospect of future grace, restoration, and blessing has always been the strongest motivation for present holiness (Rom. 2:4). This is why this message ends as it does.
