Ezekiel 20:40

40 in mine holy hill, in the high hill of Israel, saith the Lord God, ye shall be punished grievouslier. There all the house of Israel shall serve me, soothly all men in the land (truly all those in the land), in which they shall please me; and there I shall seek your first fruits, and the beginning of your tithes in all your hallowings.

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 shall choose of you trespassers, and wicked men (And I shall purge you of trespassers, and those who be wicked); and I shall lead them out of the land of their dwelling, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.
39 And ye, the house of Israel, the Lord God saith these things, Go ye each man after your idols, and serve ye those. That and if ye hear not me in this, and defoul more mine holy name in your gifts, and in your idols, (And ye, O house of Israel, the Lord God saith these things, Go ye each person after your idols, and serve ye them. But if ye do not listen to me, or obey me, in this, and more defile my holy name with your gifts, and with your idols,)
40 in mine holy hill, in the high hill of Israel, saith the Lord God, ye shall be punished grievouslier. There all the house of Israel shall serve me, soothly all men in the land (truly all those in the land), in which they shall please me; and there I shall seek your first fruits, and the beginning of your tithes in all your hallowings.
41 I shall receive you into odour of sweetness (I shall receive your offerings of sweet aroma), when I shall lead you out of (the) peoples, and shall gather you from (the) lands, in which ye were scattered; and I shall be hallowed in you before the eyes of the nations.
42 And ye shall know, that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the land for which I raised (up) mine hand, that I should give it to your fathers (that I would give it to your forefathers).
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.