Devotions

I Will Show Myself Holy Among You

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The Israelites have the name of the Lord and claim the Lord as their protector. And, in Ezekiel 20:1 “the elders of Israel came to consult Yahweh”. But they have a form of seeking the Lord, they have a form of obedience to the Lords commands, but the Lord shows over and over, as in Ezekiel 8:6 “Do you see what they are doing—great detestable things”. So, we find the Lord saying “I acted for the sake of my name” in Ezekiel 20:9. Judgement and dispersion come. A sword is released and the nation is broken as the world looks on. But the Lord is faithful to remember his word and promises to gather them and says in Ezekiel 20:41 “I will show myself holy among you before the eyes of the nations”. 

Are You Coming to Consult Me?

Ezekiel 20:1–9
In Ezekiel 20:1 “the elders of Israel came to consult Yahweh” which was the right thing for them to have done, at least this is the right order of things because the prophet was the spokesman for the Lord. Except that, The Lord had spoken in the fifth year in Ezekiel 1:2 and said in Ezekiel 2:3 “I am sending you to the Israelites, to nations who are rebelling, who rebelled against me, they and their ancestors, they transgressed against me until this very day”. Then the Lord had spoken in the sixth year in Ezekiel 8:1 and said in Ezekiel 8:6 “Do you see what they are doing—great detestable things that the house of Israel is committing”.

Now, in the seventh year the Lord says in Ezekiel 20:3 “I will surely not allow myself to be consulted by you!” and the Lord lays out his reason. In Ezekiel 20:7 he had said to them, “Let each one throw away the detestable things” and in Ezekiel 20:8 he says, “But they rebelled against me, and they were not willing to listen to me; each one did not”. And we hear a phrase that is repeated, “I acted for the sake of my name” in Ezekiel 20:9.

I Acted for the Sake of My Name

Ezekiel 20:10–20
The Lord delivered them out of Egypt and gave them statutes for life in Ezekiel 20:11 and in Ezekiel 20:12 “And also my Sabbaths I gave to them to be a sign between me and between them so they would know that I, Yahweh, am the one sanctifying them”. But in Ezekiel 20:13 “in the desert they rebelled”. So, the Lord said to their children in Ezekiel 20:18 “You must not go in the statutes of your parents”.

Not to be Profaned Before the Eyes of the Nations

Ezekiel 20:21–29
But the children of the exodus also rebelled in Ezekiel 20:21 yet the Lord held back in Ezekiel 20:22 “I acted for the sake of my name not to be profaned before the eyes of the nations”. Then in Ezekiel 20:25 “And in turn I gave to them rules that were not good and regulations by which they will not live”.

The meaning in this next verse is a bit difficult because the Lord was not asking for the sacrifice of the first born as the pagans did. In Ezekiel 20:26 “And I defiled them through their gifts in sacrificing all of the first offspring of the womb, in order that I will cause them to be stunned, so that they will know that I am Yahweh”. Is better understood as two parts, “I had willed that the first-born should be redeemed as being Mine, but they imposed on themselves the cruel rites of offering them to Molech” (De 18:10) … (and) that they may be compelled to know Me as a powerful Judge, since they were unwilling to know Me as a gracious Father”.1

I Will Not Let Myself be Consulted by You!

Ezekiel 20:30–40 

I Will Show Myself Holy Among You Before the Eyes of the Nations

Ezekiel 20:41–49
The Lord has a plan and it is a plan for good for those that love him. Sadly, this comes after the judgement on those that were rebellious and after the house of Israel is scattered among the nations in Ezekiel 17:21. But now, the Lord says in Ezekiel 20:41 “I will accept you … bring you out … gather you …, and I will show myself holy among you before the eyes of the nations”.

We know that the world is looking at what happens with us as Christians, and it was no different here. The world saw that the Lord is holy. For the house of Israel, they saw that the Lord keeps his covenant, his promise to “bring you to the land of Israel, to the land that I swore to give to your ancestors” in Ezekiel 20:42 and they “will know that I am Yahweh”. But the house of Israel also “will remember there your ways, and all of your deeds … and you will feel a loathing for yourself for all of your evils”. There is a day when we each will understand where we missed the Lords perfect will, and the pain we suffered or caused because we fell short. Or as it says in

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, in order that each one may receive back the things through the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad”.

I Will Draw Out My Sword From Its Sheath

Ezekiel 21:1–13
This word begins a little earlier in Ezekiel 20:45 when the Lord says “set your face toward the way of the South” and in Ezekiel 20:47 “I am kindling against you a fire”. He continues in Ezekiel 21:2 “set your face toward Jerusalem, and preach to the sanctuaries, and prophecy to the land of Israel”. There won’t be a safe place, a sanctuary and there won’t be a place to run to, the land for them to escape the judgement that is coming. Then he says in Ezekiel 21:3 “I will draw out my sword from its sheath, and I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked”. It may not seem fair to us, but there are times when the Lord must break the control that people have over the land, over the region where they live and it happens by scattering them abroad.

Here, everyone is affected because in Ezekiel 21:10 “It is sharpened to slaughter a slaughter, polished to flash like lightning” and in Ezekiel 21:11 “It is sharpened—a sword—and it is polished to give it into the hand of the killer”.

I Gave a Sword for Slaughter

Ezekiel 21:14–23

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Ezekiel 20:1-49
  • Ezekiel 21:1-23

References

  • 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 591). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.