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Ezekiel 20:32
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30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your afathers, and committing harlotry according to their babominations?  
31 For when you offer ayour gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will bnot be inquired of by you.  
32 aWhat you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’  

God Will Restore Israel

33 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, awith an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you.  
34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.
35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there aI will plead My case with you face to face.  
36 aJust as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord God.  
37 “I will make you apass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the bcovenant;  
38 aI will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but bthey shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.  
39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God: a“Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; bbut profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols.  
40 For aon My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “there ball the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there cI will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your1 sacrifices, together with all your holy things.  
41 I will accept you as a asweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles.  
42 aThen you shall know that I am the Lord, bwhen I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers.  
43 And athere you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and byou shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed.  
44 aThen you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you bfor My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.’ ”  

Fire in the Forest

45 Furthermore the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
46 a“Son of man, set your face toward the south;1 preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land, the2 South,  
Commentaries:
Matthew Henry
<< Ezekiel 20:31   Ezekiel 20:33 >>


Ezekiel 20:1-49

The elders of Israel are reminded of the idolatry in Egypt. (1-9) In the wilderness. (10-26) In Canaan. (27-32) God promises to pardon and restore them. (33-44) Prophecy against Jerusalem. (45-49)

1-9. Those hearts are wretchedly hardened which ask God leave to go on in sin, and that even when suffering for it; see ver. 32 . God is justly angry with those who are resolved to go on still in their trespasses. Cause the people to know the evil deeds of their fathers, that they may see how righteous it was with God to cut them off.

10-26. The history of Israel in the wilderness is referred to in the new Testament as well as in the Old, for warning. God did great things for them. He gave them the law, and revived the ancient keeping of the sabbath day. Sabbaths are privileges; they are signs of our being his people. If we do the duty of the day, we shall find, to our comfort, it is the Lord that makes us holy, that is, truly happy, here; and prepares us to be happy, that is, perfectly holy, hereafter. The Israelites rebelled, and were left to the judgments they brought upon themselves. God sometimes makes sin to be its own punishment, yet he is not the Author of sin: there needs no more to make men miserable, than to give them up to their own evil desires and passions.

Verses 27-32 The Jews persisted in rebellion after they settled in the land of Canaan. And these elders seem to have thought of uniting with the heathen. We make nothing by our profession if it be but a profession. There is nothing got by sinful compliances; and the carnal projects of hypocrites will stand them in no stead.

Verses 33-44 The wicked Israelites, notwithstanding they follow the sinful ways of other nations, shall not mingle with them in their prosperity, but shall be separated from them for destruction. There is no shaking off God's dominion; and those who will not yield to the power of his grace, shall sink under the power of his wrath. But not one of God's jewels shall be lost in the lumber of this world. He will bring the jews to the land of Israel again; and will give them true repentance. They will be overcome with his kindness: the more we know of God's holiness, the more we see the hateful nature of sin. Those who remain unaffected amidst means of grace, and would live without Christ, like the world around them, may be sure it is the way to destruction.

Verses 45-49 Judah and Jerusalem had been full of people, as a forest of trees, but empty of fruit. God's word prophesies against those who bring not forth the fruits of righteousness. When He will ruin a nation, who or what can save it? The plainest truths were as parables to the people. It is common for those who will not be wrought upon by the word, to blame it.


 
<< Ezekiel 20:31   Ezekiel 20:33 >>

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