Ezekiel 20:12–20

Here the Spirit retraces the sin, and especially the idolatry, of Israel as a nation, from the time they lived in Egypt. Even then they had begun with their idolatry. For His own name's sake God brought them up from there. He gave them His statutes and His sabbaths — the sabbaths also as a token of the covenant between God and the people.

As well as being a kindness in itself to hard-working people, the Lord gave His sabbath to Israel as a sign between Him and them, a mark of God's people. The law never set up anything new — the tabernacle, the manna, or other special things — without pressing the sabbath again. It was a sign of their being God's people, though in fact they never entered into God's rest, any more than Adam did. There still remains a rest. But that has ceased: they are no longer God's people, except in promise for the future, when they will have their rest by grace.

The Sabbath was a "sign," and it was fitted for that purpose in every way. As Exodus first gives it, it is a memorial of God's rest as the Creator, satisfied with the goodness of all His hands had made. In Deuteronomy God commands them to keep it as a people redeemed from slavery in Egypt, and here too the loss of it would be very serious. As the sign of a people set apart to God, they had often accepted all kinds of injury rather than break it themselves.

God never gave the sabbath to the Gentile as such, whatever the reasonings of men may be. If a Gentile came and put himself under the wing of Israel, of course he kept the sabbath; but as a Gentile he had nothing to do with it. The sabbath was the Lord's sign to Israel. To argue that God laid it on everyone alike denies that fact in principle, and denies the scripture that states it. How could it be a sign to one if it was the common duty of all?

The simple meaning of sanctification is setting apart. We may recall that God sanctified the seventh day, the Sabbath. He ordained it to be a day of rest. It was not a question of making the seventh day holy, for sin had not come into the world.

It is true that the sabbath rest set up for man bore no fruit for him. Sin, into which he had fallen, kept him from enjoying it. And unless God stepped in with sovereign goodness, communion with Him was now impossible for man. For communion is based on holiness. So we read, "God blessed the seventh day and made it holy." Therefore, to give His people the enjoyment of the forfeited sabbath, God must take their sanctification upon Himself.

When out of Egypt, Israel was no better than when in it; their evil became more obvious and less excusable. They were alone in the wilderness with the Lord, yet they sought false gods. They had His statutes and ordinances, yet they did not walk by them but despised them. They had His sabbaths as a sign between Him and them, yet they profaned them badly. They sinned against His own name so proudly and so persistently, yet that name was their shelter and defence.

These sabbaths could not go on being kept as a Jewish sabbath under the commandments. Once Christ was crucified, God no longer sanctified the Jewish people. The Lord showed this beforehand, again and again during His ministry, by the way He acted and spoke on the sabbath days.

He who searches the mind and the heart saw that there was no exercise of conscience before Him. Why answer where there is only hollowness and hypocrisy? Such trifling was beneath Him, and He would allow it no longer. "As I live, I will not let you enquire of Me any longer." At the same time He is pleased to justify His ways. If the prophet is to plead for them or take them to task, God directs him to set before them the detestable things their fathers did. So God goes to the source of the trouble, and the people must judge the evil not just in its effects but where it starts.

When out of Egypt, Israel was no better than when in it; in fact, their evil became more evident and less excusable. They were alone with Jehovah in the wilderness, yet they sought false gods. They had His statutes and ordinances, yet they did not follow them but despised them. They had His sabbaths as a sign between Him and them, yet they badly profaned them. So Jehovah was again provoked to destroy Israel in the desert, as He had been in Egypt. His own name, against which they sinned so proudly and stubbornly, was their shelter and defence.

They continued in stubbornness and rebellion and became idolaters. But oh, the mercy of God! He continued to feed them and gave them water.

While in Egypt, and until Israel undertook to keep the law, God had dealt with His people in grace. But at the foot of Sinai they bound themselves in a covenant of blood to keep every commandment of the law, not realising how helpless and sinful they were. Had they kept the law, they would have lived. By breaking it they brought themselves under its curse. The law they could not keep exposed their self-will and their ignorance of themselves.

Man lives by the word of God — in obedience to it… Because sin is in everyone, the legal covenant had no life in it. Yet there is another sense in which "if a person does them, he shall live" is to be understood. There really is a path of life, though grace alone can put us in it or keep us there. Eternal life and disobedience are opposites. The gospel does not change this: grace fully affirms it.

The sabbath was a lasting sign that Jehovah had set that people apart for Himself. No other nation kept it as Israel was told to keep it. So Jehovah says to the sons of Israel, without mentioning the other nine commandments at all, "You shall keep my Sabbaths, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you." It was to be a perpetual covenant, a sign for ever (Ex. 31:12-17). Long afterwards Ezekiel the priest points back to this sign, when God charges Israel with polluting the sabbaths and so walking in the ways of the nations.

His sabbaths were the seal upon all these, a sign between God and them of the rest which He designed for them. He was not a hard taskmaster, but their gracious Deliverer. He would always point them to that rest — for themselves and even for the cattle with them. It was a reminder of the rest God took at creation, when He was satisfied with the perfect goodness of all He had made.

In His counsels of grace, the honour of Jehovah's Name was tied to the blessing of His people. Not even the wickedness of Israel could turn Him from what He had purposed and set His hand to do. In mercy He withdraws the hand He had lifted in judgment. He considers what their enemies would make of the destruction of His people. But He is not only merciful, He is also righteous. Because of their rebellion He said, "I also swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations."

When out of Egypt, Israel was no better than when in it; in fact their evil became more evident and less excusable. They were alone in the wilderness with Jehovah, yet they sought false gods. They had His statutes and ordinances, yet they did not walk by them but despised them. They had His sabbaths as a sign between Him and them, yet they deeply profaned them. So Jehovah was again provoked to destroy Israel in the desert, as He had been in Egypt. Their shelter and defence was His own name — the very name they sinned against so proudly and so persistently.

Immediate destruction is the work of justice. Full and final preservation is the glorious and vital work of divine grace — grace reigning through righteousness. If God had dealt with the people in mere justice, He would not have declared His name. There is far more in His name than justice. There is love, mercy, goodness, kindness, long-suffering, deep and unfailing compassion. But no one could have seen any of this if He had destroyed the people in a moment. Then the name of Jehovah would not have been declared or glorified.

Moses knew the heart of Jehovah when he interceded for Israel, saying, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people… Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people."

God is not simply glorious and bound to maintain His glory. He has taken a people on the earth, and He has tied His glory to that people. Faith feels this, with a deep and thankful sense of it, and counts on deliverance and grace. God delivers, and so secures His own glory.

How delightful the intercession of Moses must have been to the Lord, for His faithful servant spoke exactly what was in His own heart. Moses' thoughts and words mirrored God's own thoughts and compassions. God listens to His servant, and his pleadings turn God from the fierceness of His wrath. Yet no amount of intercession could have turned away God's wrath if He had not cared about the honour of His great Name.

So God forgave Israel, and acted for His Name's sake. But there was also the righteous government of God, which He speaks about to Ezekiel… The way He governed the rebellious proved His Name as a merciful God, for that generation died off little by little in the wilderness.

Here the Spirit retraces the sin, and especially the idolatry of Israel as a people, from the time of their stay in Egypt. Even then they had begun with their idolatry. For His own name's sake God brought them up from there, and gave them His statutes and His sabbaths… But Israel rebelled against God in the wilderness, and even then He had thought to destroy them… Still, for His name's sake, God withdrew His hand because of the nations who had watched Him bring the people up from Egypt.

We know that He has forgiven our sins, and as 1 John 2:12 says, it is "for His name's sake." We owe every blessing we already enjoy, and everything that awaits us in the coming day, to the sovereign love of God.

When out of Egypt, Israel was no better than when in it; indeed, their evil became more obvious and less excusable. They were alone in the wilderness with Jehovah, yet they sought false gods. They had His statutes and ordinances, yet they did not walk by them but despised them. They had His sabbaths as a sign between Him and them, yet they profaned them badly. So Jehovah was again provoked to destroy Israel in the desert, as He had been in Egypt. His own name was their shelter and defence — the very name they sinned against so proudly and stubbornly.

See how often Jehovah reminds His people of His oath! He swore by Himself, since He could swear by no one greater. In this way He wanted to show more fully that His purpose never changes. It is of Israel in particular that the apostle declares the gifts and calling of God are not subject to a change of mind. For this very reason He judges, and must judge, their ways. Otherwise He would have to approve or excuse sin.

So God forgave Israel, and worked for His Name's sake. But there was also the righteous government of God, which He speaks of to Ezekiel: "Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness." His government of the rebellious proved that His Name is the Name of a merciful God, for that generation died off little by little in the wilderness.

He pronounced His sentence: "Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness." Then He added: "But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected." These "little ones" are the ones Jehovah speaks of in Ezekiel 20:18: "And I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols."

"And with whom was He provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?" Patience bore long through this time of testing. But they had despised the land of promise, and so they died in the wilderness. This is a solemn thought for those who today think little of the heavenly glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and the heavenly calling of His saints. But we must be clear. In the wilderness the issue was only an inheritance on earth and blessings for this life, not the heavenly inheritance and eternal blessings.

God will then accept them, and they will know Jehovah. The promises to the fathers will be kept — not only in us who now believe and go to heaven at Christ's coming, but in the children of Israel on the earth. They will repent then, and their repentance is real only because of the mercy of Him who acts freely above the evil of His creatures, for His own sake. If He did not act so, to be a sinner would mean ruin beyond remedy or hope.

When out of Egypt, Israel was no better than when in it; in fact, their evil became more obvious and less excusable. They were alone in the wilderness with Jehovah, yet they sought false gods. They had His statutes and ordinances, yet they did not walk by them but despised them. They had His Sabbaths as a sign between Him and them, yet they greatly profaned them. So once again Israel provoked Jehovah to destroy them in the desert, as they had in Egypt.

God had been ready to bring that generation into the land He had promised them. But He could not. Their hearts were still after the idols they had watched Him strike down blow after blow. What use is a convinced mind when the heart has chosen to wander!

He does not speak here of these miracles, but of the statutes and judgments He had given them, which pointed to the way of life. His Sabbaths were the seal on all of these, a sign between God and them of the rest He intended for them. He was not a hard taskmaster, but their gracious Deliverer. He kept pointing them to that rest — a rest for themselves and even for their cattle. It was the memorial of the creation rest, when God rested Himself, satisfied with the perfect goodness of everything He had made.

They turned their hearts away from Jehovah. They did as they pleased on His holy day, and so profaned His Sabbaths. Scripture declares the Sabbath to be a particular sign of God's covenant with His people. It became a broad, distinctive mark between them and every other nation. Other nations might recognise, to some degree, the great moral landmarks set out on the tablets of stone — no murder, no lust, and so on. But the Sabbath was a lasting sign that Jehovah had separated that people to Himself. Other nations did not keep it as Israel had to keep it. So Jehovah says to the sons of Israel, without mentioning the other nine commandments at all, "You shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you."

Jehovah felt compassion for them. Yet He had to assert His authority, the rightness of His judgments, and the special value of His Sabbaths as something between Him and them. It was in vain! The children in the wilderness were as bad as their fathers who fell. Only one thing stood between Israel and destruction: His own care for the name they were profaning.

Someone may say, What is an idol? I will not try to define it. But I am sure I can say this: an idol is whatever creeps into the affections and takes over that unique place in the heart which belongs to God alone.

For His own name's sake God had brought them up from Egypt, and given them His statutes and His sabbaths — the sabbaths also as a sign of the covenant between God and the people. But Israel had rebelled against God in the wilderness, and even then He had thought to destroy them. But He spared them, and He warned their children too, who still followed their fathers' ways.

So God forgave Israel, and acted for His Name's sake. But there was also the righteous government of God, which He describes to Ezekiel… His government of the rebellious vindicated His Name as a merciful God, for that generation died off little by little in the wilderness.

Jehovah felt compassion for them. But He had to assert His authority, the rightness of His judgments, and the special value of His sabbaths, as between Him and them. It was all in vain! The children in the wilderness were as bad as their fathers who fell. Nothing but His own care for the name they profaned stood between Israel and destruction.

God's eye had spared them, so as not to destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness. Once again He took their children by the hand, telling them not to walk in their fathers' statutes, and not to defile themselves with their idols, for He was Jehovah their God. But they answered as before… Even before they reached the land, He had to threaten them again with the wrath that love and pity held back. They were to be the bearers of His name before the nations. How could He destroy the only thing that remained as a witness at all?

God delivers and secures His own glory. But for the very same reason God allows no evil, because His name is connected with His people, as we see in Israel: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."

But their falling in the wilderness had nothing to do with the saving of their souls: Moses and Aaron died in the wilderness too, and we know they were saints of Jehovah.

They had rebelled on their road to that land in the wilderness. Despite all His grace they had polluted themselves, and God determined to scatter them among the nations. But God would fulfil all His purposes, and would yet re-gather them… As He pleaded with their fathers, and purged them in the wilderness, so would He yet do to the returning house of Israel.

God had kept careful note of the ways of His people. He said to Moses, "None of the men who have seen My glory and My signs, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed My voice" (Num. 14:22). Then He passed His sentence: "Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness." And He added: "But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected" (verses 29–31). These "little ones" are those of whom Jehovah speaks in Ezekiel 20:18.

God had been ready to bring that generation into the land He had promised them. But He could not. Their hearts were still set on the idols they had seen Him strike down blow after blow. What use is a convinced mind when the heart has chosen to go astray! God's eye had spared them, so He did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness. Once again He took their children by the hand, saying: "Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols: I am Jehovah your God." … They again refused the statutes that their own consciences approved. They profaned the sabbaths, the sign of the rest He wanted for them.

Jehovah felt deep compassion. But He must still assert His authority, the rightness of His judgments, and the special value of His sabbaths, in His dealings with them.

But Israel had rebelled against God in the wilderness, and even then He had thought to destroy them. But He spared them, warning at the same time their children also, who nevertheless followed their fathers' ways. Still, for His name's sake, God withdrew His hand on account of the heathen in whose sight He had brought the people up from Egypt.

Jehovah calls this second generation to give up the ways of their fathers and to walk in His ways. Sadly, they were just like their fathers. The Lord has to say of them, "But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes and were not careful to obey My rules" (Ezek. 20:21).

It is always easier to follow tradition than the written word of God. Doing so does not exercise the conscience, and it saves us the difficulty — sometimes a serious one — of giving reasons for what we do. It is enough that we have been brought up from infancy to believe and practise certain things, and to walk in a certain path. If it was right and good for our elders, why not for us? … What has been handed down from father to son may not be bad in itself. It may even have been good, at least for its time. But it sets up a false standard and a human authority in the soul. Even if that authority does not deny the authority of the word of God, it will certainly put it in second place.

What right do they have to inquire of Him? He has set fully before them the terms on which He alone can be with them. The prophets God raised up pressed those terms on them again and again, and all that time they broke them. Their own consciences would witness that their hearts were untrue in the inquiry itself. So there was nothing to do but remind them of their fathers' evil ways: they would find in them a mirror of their own.

God had noted the ways of His people with care. He said to Moses that all those men had seen His glory and His miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness, and had still put Him to the test ten times and had not obeyed His voice (Num. 14:22). Then He passed sentence: their dead bodies would fall in that wilderness. But He added that He would bring in the little ones they had said would become a prey, and they would know the land they had rejected (verses 29–31). These "little ones" are the ones Jehovah speaks of in Ezekiel 20:18.

God had been ready to bring that generation into the land He had promised them. He could not, because their hearts were still set on the idols they had seen Him strike blow after blow. How useless that a man's mind should be convinced when his heart is deliberately astray! God's eye spared them, so He did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness. Once again He took their children by the hand.

Jehovah had brought them into a certain relationship with Himself, and that relationship had its own privileges and responsibilities. "I am the LORD your God." This was to be the ground of their conduct. They were to act in a way worthy of the One who had become their God, and made them His people. It was not that they were any better than other people. By no means.

It is not of His miracles that He speaks here, but of the statutes and judgments which He had given them, which pointed to the way of life. His sabbaths were the seal on all these, a sign between God and them of the rest which He designed for them. He was not a hard taskmaster, but their gracious Deliverer.

Jehovah was moved with compassion. But He had to assert His authority, the rightness of His judgments, and the special value of His sabbaths, as between Him and them. In vain! The children in the wilderness were as bad as their fathers who fell. Only His own care for the name they profaned stood between Israel and destruction.