and say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah Let it suffice you of all your abominations, O house of Israel,
Before God gives a single rule for His future temple, He tells Ezekiel to bring a charge against His own people. Why does a picture of coming glory open with a list of past sins, and what had Israel done inside the sanctuary?
The ESV reads "enough of all your abominations." Older translations put it "Let it suffice you." One commentator hears in the phrase the end of God's patience:
There will be no following of idols any more. Israel will have done with all their abominations. No one will tamper with the priesthood again, and no one will break Jehovah's covenant. From now on, the house of Jehovah will be kept holy for ever. Here He reminds them of their sins, but shows that there can be no toleration of such ways any longer.
The complaint is not vague. In the verses that follow, God names what Israel did, and one writer sorts the charges:
Here we have three definite charges: they brought into the House those who had no part or share in the House; they failed to keep the House holy; and they used the House of God for their own ends — "for themselves."
The rebuke is not an aside. Everything that follows rests on it.
Jehovah first reproves the house of Israel for their evil ways. They had forgotten His holy claims and defiled His house with their abominations. In view of this He established the ordinances which follow. Through them they will always remember the past and His own holiness. Guarding that holiness from every unlawful intrusion secures for them the fullest blessing and His own proper glory.
One writer marks where this word stops, and draws from it a reason why God reveals the future at all:
In earlier chapters of this book the prophet has told of Israel's abominations (e.g., Ezek. 8, 11), and many times have they been referred to as rebellious. Here they are so spoken of for the last time. This then is a word for the people of Ezekiel's day, for when this new temple is built they will be no longer of such a character. This shows what God intended. The prophet was making known a new order that belonged to the future, but God meant it to have a present effect on the ways of the people. As they learned what God planned for the day of glory, they were to separate themselves at once from past evils. Those evils had come in through gross carelessness about His honour and holiness. This is always God's purpose in revealing the future. Those to whom it is revealed are responsible to walk in its light.
One writer traces Israel's sin again in Christian history. What began pure did not stay that way:
On the day of Pentecost those who formed the House of God by the descent of the Holy Spirit were no "strangers"; all were true children of God. There were no "uncircumcised in heart" among the three thousand added to the Church by the Lord. Every one was a true believer. But how soon the "stranger" came in… So, as with Israel of old, the holiness of the House has not been kept. Men are using the House of God for their own ends, "teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of base gain" (Titus 1:11).
Applied to the present, the verse draws a line — and one writer is careful to say where that line does not fall:
We know that in reality only believers can enter our sanctuary (Heb. 10). But this surely shows that in outward worship we cannot place believers and unbelievers together before God. Of course it is not for us to judge hearts, and a hypocrite may creep in anywhere. Yet the worship of God ought to be kept to the children of God… We are not speaking here of preaching the gospel. At such services unbelievers have their right place. But these are completely distinct from the worship of believers.
Another writer puts the same point as a question of God's honour:
How humiliating it is for the people of God to mix the holy with the unholy… What a dishonour to Him of whom it is said: "Holiness becomes Your house, O Jehovah."
- Enough. God lists Israel's sins to close the account: He will never again tolerate such ways in His house.
- Three failures. They let in those with no part in the house, they did not guard its holiness, and they ran it for themselves.
- Reproof first. The rebuke comes before the rules. Every rule that follows keeps the past in mind and guards God's holiness.
- Last mention. This is the last time Ezekiel calls them rebellious. God reveals the coming order to change them now: whoever is shown the future must walk in its light.
- Repeated. Commentators trace the same three failures in Christian history. They apply the verse to worship too: the gospel is for everyone, but praise belongs to God's children.
in that ye have brought strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, [even] my house, when ye offered my bread, the fat and the blood; and they have broken my covenant besides all your abominations.
God's charge here is not neglect but mixture: Israel let men who were uncircumcised in heart and body stand in His sanctuary while the offerings went up. He says this inside a vision of a temple still to come, which raises two questions — who were these "foreigners," and why raise an old sin now?
The word translated "foreigners" here is not the ordinary word for a resident outsider. A later chapter of Ezekiel uses that other word and gives such a man a place in the land. One commentator writes on that later chapter — his "here" is that passage, not this verse:
The word for "stranger" here is different from the one used in Ezekiel 44. There the word means "sons of the alien," or "foreigner" — those brought in through Israel's unholy mixture with the evil nations around. Here it is someone who, though not one of the tribes by birth, has cast in his lot among them. Such are to be treated as native-born, and have their inheritance by lot in the tribe where they live.
So the problem was not foreign blood. It was letting into holy things people who had no share in them.
The verse names what was on the altar while these men stood there — God's food, the fat and the blood. The words come from the law of the peace offering, where the priest burned certain parts for God alone:
The main action is the priest's burning of the several inward parts on the fire of the bronze altar. There it is called "the food of the offering," or "bread" of the offering. We find the same words in Ezekiel 44:7: "when you offer My bread, the fat and the blood." This was Jehovah's own portion, a pleasing aroma to Himself out of the fire.
The ESV renders that phrase "when you offer to me my food." Either way, the intrusion came at the point where God was receiving what was His.
Another writer reads verses 6 to 8 together and counts three failures in one:
Here we have three definite charges. They brought into the House those who had no part or share in the House. They failed to maintain the holiness of the House. And they used the House of God for their own ends — "for themselves."
The last charge turns the whole thing around: God's house had become theirs to use.
The verse ends with a broken covenant and with abominations. One writer sets the rebuke against the temple still to come, where both are finished for good:
There will be no following of idols any more. Israel will have done with all their abominations. No one will tamper with the priesthood again. No one will break Jehovah's covenant. From now on the house of Jehovah will keep its holiness for ever. Here He reminds them of their sins, but shows that such ways can no longer be tolerated.
The same pattern appears again in the church. One writer starts where the problem did not yet exist:
On the day of Pentecost those who formed the House of God by the descent of the Holy Spirit were no "strangers"; all were true children of God. There were no "uncircumcised in heart" among the three thousand added to the Church by the Lord. Every one was a true believer. But how soon the "stranger" was brought in. The baptism of Simon Magus brought a man who had no part or share in the matter into the company where the Spirit of God dwelled. Others soon followed.
This reading gives "uncircumcised in heart" a plain sense. It describes anyone who is not a true believer.
Another writer applies the verse to meetings today. He draws a line between worship and gospel preaching:
It is not for us, of course, to test hearts, and a hypocrite may creep in anywhere. But divine worship surely belongs to the children of God. Indeed, no one else can worship. It is an awful mockery to see those who make no claim to be saved — not even lip profession — join with God's people in singing His praises… We are not now speaking of preaching the gospel. At all such services unbelievers have their right place. But those services are quite different from the worship of believers.
- Mixture. These foreigners were not outsiders who had joined Israel. They came from Israel's "unholy mixture with the evil nations around."
- Mixture at the altar. They stood there at the worst moment — while the priest was giving God His own portion, "the fat and the blood."
- Mixture multiplied. One failure brought three charges: the wrong people let in, holiness not kept, and the house used for men's own ends.
- Mixture repeated. No "stranger" stood among the first three thousand believers. The baptism of Simon Magus let the same sin in, and one writer still draws the line at worship.
- Mixture ended. The rebuke sits inside a vision of a temple still to come. There God will tolerate such ways no longer, and His house will be holy for ever.