Like Fathers, like Sons . . . but Not Forever

Perhaps if God could just lead His people into Canaan, then the next generation would be fully obedient. Wrong. They quickly adopted the practices of the Canaanites and offered sacrifices on any high hill or under any leafy tree (v. 28). Instead of following the command to participate in the yearly festivals in Jerusalem, God’s people desired convenience over obedience. Any ol’ hill will do if you do not want to put too much effort into worship. They were a far cry from David’s desire not to offer the Lord anything that cost him nothing (2 Sam 24:24). Like their fathers and grandfathers they received good from God and returned to Him nothing but bad.

At this point in Ezekiel’s relaying of God’s history lesson to the elders of Israel, they might have been saying to one another, “I told you we were being punished for the sins of previous generations.” God, however, had already cleared this up in Ezekiel 18 and would soon reveal that Ezekiel’s generation was no innocent bystander. In fact, they were doing the same evil their ancestors had done, including sacrificing their children (20:31).

Why? Of all the pagan practices, why did Israel add this to their repertoire of disobedience? Stuart believes,

Thinking themselves likely to gain the lifetime favor of the gods in this way, the Israelites borrowed child sacrifice, too, from their neighbors and began killing their firstborn infants and burning them on altars as a means of sending them to the false gods they were worshipping. It is evident that such people really wanted the gods to love them and were willing to “give their all” to gain such love. (Stuart, Ezekiel, 175)

How foolish! They were trying to gain the love of gods that did not exist, all the while shunning the love of the God who does. They were seeking to earn the love of their idols, while Yahweh’s love had been given freely.

As God comes to the end of His recounting of Israel’s idolatry, He reveals to the elders who were there with Ezekiel that they may not consult Him (v. 31). If they want His wisdom, then they must do something about their sin. He has been nothing but faithful while they and their ancestors have been nothing but unfaithful. He has initiated love to each of their generations only to be met with rejection. He is done being consulted by people who have their own agendas. The question remains, though, is He finally done with His people? Will He finally destroy them in His wrath? By now, however, we know the answer. He will not destroy them, but He will discipline them. Best of all, the punishment will also be a means of purification. God is not done with His people, but He is done with their idolatry.

When you read through Ezekiel 20:4-31, what are your thoughts? Are you disgusted with Israel’s consistent rebellion and rejection? Are you overwhelmed by God’s steadfast love? Are you amazed by God’s restraint and withholding of wrath? Are you surprised that after all of God’s goodness, His people still refused to put away what pulled them away from Him? When encountering a passage like this, we want to make sure we are not wearing our rose-colored classes when we consider our own past. We were no better than Israel. All of us turned away from God, and none of us sought Him on our own (Rom 3:11-12). His love for us is just as staggering since while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). The wrath God withheld with each disobedient generation would ultimately be atoned not through exile but through the cross of His Son. What He withheld from Israel (and us), He poured out on Jesus. I wonder then if His forgiveness of and patience with sinners is evident in our lives? Are our Father’s traits of long-suffering and mercy being displayed in us and through us? Are there any idols we are foolishly carrying around that we need to “throw away” (Ezek 20:7)? Are there any ways we are trying to earn His love rather than resting in what Christ has earned already? How can the cycle of sin be stopped for Israel and for us? The answer to this question is in the next part of the passage.

God Does Not Lower His Standards but Raises His People

Ezekiel 20:32-44

That Israel has a history beyond verse 8 should amaze all of us, but the fact they are given the promises of verses 32-44 should leave us in absolute wonder of God’s mercy. For Israel (and us), what has always been will not always be. Despite all their running away, God never does anything but run to His people. He knows changing generations and changing locations in themselves will not produce lasting change in His people. Up to this point, they have produced no change. God, however, will set His people free from their greatest bondage, which is sin.

The cycle of idolatry will be broken because God will demonstrate His holiness through His people and not just to them (v. 41). He will not let their desire to “be like the nations, like the people of other countries, worshiping wood and stone” be their final lot (v. 32). God graciously rescues us from ourselves. He will rule over His people, He will bring them from the peoples and gather them from the nations, He will lead them into a new wilderness and judge them, He will make them pass under the rod for the purpose of bringing them back into the bond of the covenant, and He will purge from their presence all who rebel and transgress against Him (vv. 33-38). These are not just possibilities but certainties. He will do what He is declaring.

God’s purifying work in His people will be so effective they will one day no longer defile His holy name with their gifts and idols (v. 39). In fact, they will hate the evil things they used to do (v. 43). Not just some of the people He preserves will serve on Israel’s high mountain, but all of them, the entire house of Israel, will be accepted and bless Him with holy offerings (v. 40). His people will be a pleasing aroma to the Lord (v. 41). Despite generations of idolatry, God will deal with His people for the sake of His name rather than according to their evil ways and corrupt acts (v. 44). He will not treat them as they deserve but will bless them for their good and His glory. When all this occurs, both His people and the nations will know He is Yahweh (vv. 42,44).

In considering Ezekiel 20:1-44, Block confesses,

The experience of divine mercy drives true covenant people to their knees. . . . God did not express his love in Jesus Christ in response to our worthiness, but to redeem us from our unworthiness. The fundamental problem with most of us is not deficient self-esteem but an inadequate divine-esteem. As we submit ourselves to God, recognizing that ultimately he operates for his own name’s sake, and that his investment in us relates to agendas far greater than ourselves, we will treasure the grace with which he reaches out to us. (Block, Ezekiel, 658–59)

Block’s point is that we should never look at the love God demonstrates for us in the cross of Christ and think to ourselves, “Of course He wants to save me. I’m great.” Instead, with Watts we should ask,

While all our hearts and all our songs

Join to admire the feast,

Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,

“Lord, why was I a guest?

“Why was I made to hear Thy voice,

And enter while there’s room,

When thousands make a wretched choice,

And rather starve than come?”

’Twas the same love that spread the feast

That sweetly drew us in;

Else we had still refused to taste,

And perished in our sin.

(Isaac Watts, “How Sweet and Aweful Is the Place,” 1707)

As I said in the beginning, God’s grace will ultimately overcome all our rebellion and rip our hands and hearts free from the idols we would have clutched until they killed us. Despite all our unfaithfulness He chooses to forsake His Son so that He does not have to forsake us. It was the offering of His Son that atoned for our sins and not the burning of any of ours. He did not give up on Israel in Egypt or in the wilderness or in Canaan because He brings to completion the work He starts (Phil 1:6). Ezekiel 20 gives us a better picture of just how much work was required in Israel and in us. God does not treat us according to our sins because He treated Christ according to them and treats us according to Christ’s righteousness. May our mouths never cease to offer Him praise and to announce to a lost world the good news of Jesus Christ. There is no sinner His grace cannot deliver!

Reflect and Discuss