Ezekiel 20

This chapter serves as a divine indictment of Israel's history of persistent covenant rebellion, demonstrating that their current exile is the cumulative result of generational idolatry. Despite this, God declares He will ultimately restore a purified remnant, acting not for their righteousness, but for the sake of His own name and reputation.

• The elders of Israel arrive to seek a word from God, but God refuses to be inquired of by them due to their ongoing hypocrisy.
• God commands Ezekiel to rehearse Israel's history of rebellion, beginning with their idolatry in Egypt.
• God chronicles the cycle of rebellion in the wilderness, emphasizing the Sabbath as a sign of their sanctification.
• The history shifts to the land of Canaan, where the people continued to follow the ways of their fathers.
• God promises a future, purging judgment where He will separate the rebels from His people, ultimately restoring the righteous to the land and causing them to loathe their former ways.
• The chapter concludes with a prophetic parable of a forest fire in the south, symbolizing the unavoidable judgment of Jerusalem.

• The date: seventh year, fifth month, tenth day (Ezekiel 20:1).
• The recurrent phrase 'for my name's sake' as the motivation for God's restraint and intervention.
• The Sabbath described as a 'sign' between God and Israel (v. 12, 20).
• The repeated imagery of 'lifting up mine hand' (oath) to deliver Israel, despite their rebellion.
• The 'forest of the south' as a symbol for the impending destruction of Jerusalem.

This passage establishes that Israel's history is characterized by repeated failures to keep the covenant, which underscores their need for God to act independently of their merit. It is vital for understanding the redemptive-historical movement from the old covenant of works to the promised restoration that relies solely on God's initiative.

God rejects the religious inquiries of those who simultaneously cling to their idols; true restoration is a work of God's grace performed for the glory of His name, resulting in genuine repentance.

The chapter functions as a historical prosecution, moving from the present hypocrisy of the elders to a deep review of Israel's past rebellion, which ultimately resolves into a promise of future divine intervention and restoration.

• I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered (v. 34)
• I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant (v. 37)
• In mine holy mountain... there shall all the house of Israel... serve me (v. 40)

• Cast away every man the abominations of his eyes (v. 7)
• Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers (v. 18)
• Hallow my sabbaths (v. 20)
• Pollute ye my holy name no more (v. 39)

• I will not be enquired of by you (v. 3)
• I will purge out from among you the rebels (v. 38)
• I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee (v. 47)

• The prophecy occurs in 591 BC, the seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin.
• The elders were likely the leaders among the Jewish exiles in Babylon who were attempting to consult with Ezekiel regarding their religious status and future.

• Inquire (H1875 - דָּרַשׁ) involved seeking counsel or divine will from a prophet, often as a formal religious procedure.
• The practice of 'making sons pass through the fire' refers to the pagan rite of Molech worship, which involved child sacrifice.

• The passage serves as a diagnostic historical review within the book of Ezekiel, explaining why the judgment of the Temple and city is necessary.
• The text uses the 'lifting up of the hand' (H5375 - nasa) as an idiom for taking an oath or swearing, seen repeatedly in reference to the Exodus.

• The chapter functions as a midrashic history, pulling from the events of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers to interpret the present state of the exiles.
• The promise of the 'bond of the covenant' (v. 37) points forward to the new covenant themes explored in Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8.

• References to the 'land flowing with milk and honey' echo the promises given to Moses (Exodus 3:8).
• The mention of Sabbath as a sign alludes to Exodus 31:13, establishing the Sabbath as the covenant marker.

• The term 'inquire' (H1875 - דָּרַשׁ) implies a formal seeking of God's will; the Lord refuses to be 'frequented' by those who reject His authority.
• The Hebrew word 'son of man' (H1121 - בֵּן; H120 - אָדָם) emphasizes Ezekiel's human status as he stands before the divine.
• The 'statutes that were not good' (v. 25-26) remains a difficult translation. Matthew Henry observes that God sometimes makes sin its own punishment by giving men up to their own evil desires, suggesting these 'statutes' were the judicial consequences of the people's hardening hearts rather than God commanding sin.
• The term 'pollution' and 'abominations' (H8441 - תּוֹעֵבַה) carries the strong sense of moral disgust or abhorrence.

• The shift from the past tense (what God did) to the future tense (what God will do for the restoration) starting in verse 33.
• The way the history of the Exodus is retold; it is not a triumphant story of Israel's faithfulness, but a story of God's faithfulness despite Israel's rebellion.

• The exact nature of the 'statutes that were not good' in verses 25-26 has been a subject of historical debate. Positions include: (1) Judicial abandonment, where God allowed them to follow pagan customs as a punishment; (2) The ritual laws of the Mosaic code, which the people found burdensome and 'not good' due to their hardened hearts; or (3) A distinct reference to the practice of child sacrifice being judicially sanctioned by God as a consequence of their rejection of Him. Most scholars prefer the judicial abandonment view.