Ezekiel 20:40

40 "For on {my holy mountain}, on the mountain of the height of Israel," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "there all of the house of Israel will serve me, all of them, in the land. I will take pleasure in them, and there I will accept your contributions and the best of your portions with all of your holy objects.

Ezekiel 20:40 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 20:40

For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of
Israel, saith the Lord God
Alluding to Mount Zion, or Moriah, on which the temple was built, on the highest part of the land of Israel, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe; here the Gospel church is meant, comparable to a "mountain" for its firmness and durableness; said to be a "holy" one, because consisting of holy persons, performing holy worship to a holy God; and represented as "high", being established, as it will be in the latter day, upon the top of the mountains, and be very visible and glorious: there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me:
when all Israel shall be saved, or converted; and, the rebels and transgressors being purged away from them, they shall join themselves to the Gospel church, and in it serve the Lord, according to the rules of the Gospel, and the ordinances of it; even all of them that shall enter into their own land and dwell in it; the rest being not admitted to it: there will I accept them;
their persons, and their sacrifices of prayer and praise, being offered up, in the name and faith of Christ, that altar which sanctities every gift; see ( Isaiah 56:7 ) : and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your
oblations, with all your holy things;
meaning the offering up of their persons: bodies, and souls, as a living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice, which he would require of them as their reasonable service; together with all holy duties of prayer, praise, and beneficence; sacrifices with which God is well pleased through Christ and his sacrifice; and which are the only sacrifices he now requires under the Gospel dispensation; for ceremonial ones he does not require, seek after, enjoin, or accept; these are done away and made void by the sacrifice of his son; only it may be observed, as in other places and prophecies of Gospel times, that New Testament worship is expressed by the phrases, forms, and usages suited to the Old Testament; see ( Psalms 40:6 ) .

Ezekiel 20:40 In-Context

38 And I will purge the rebels from [among] you and the [ones] transgressing against me; I will bring them out from the land {where they are living as aliens}, but into the land of Israel they will not come, and [then] you will know that I [am] Yahweh.
39 And you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "[Let] each one go serve his idols [now] and after, if you [are] not listening to me, but {my holy name} you will not profane [any] longer with your gifts and with your idols.
40 "For on {my holy mountain}, on the mountain of the height of Israel," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "there all of the house of Israel will serve me, all of them, in the land. I will take pleasure in them, and there I will accept your contributions and the best of your portions with all of your holy objects.
41 I will accept you as {a fragrant incense offering} when I bring you out from the peoples and I gather you from the lands [to] which you were scattered, and I will show myself holy among you before the eyes of the nations.
42 And you will know that I [am] Yahweh {when I bring you} to the land of Israel, to the land that {I swore} to give to your ancestors.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Literally "the mountain of my holiness"
  • [b]. Literally "declaration of"
  • [c]. Hebrew "it/him"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.