My Commentary On How Ezekiel Testifies To The Word's Divinity [Part 1 Chapters 1-20]
Introduction.
I have devised a plan to go over the entirety of The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel within this Article. I have done a previous Article based on this Topic of Jesus being God. Click here to read that Article. I will be using my preferred Translation, the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition. To begin reading the entire Book of Ezekiel, click here to begin at chapter 1. I will not be commentating on every single section of Scripture within the Book of Prophecy by Ezekiel, only the verses that relate to the topic of Christ being God.
Section 1. Who is Ezekiel?
Ezekiel, Bar(Son of)-Buzi. Ezekiel was a priest of God, and was among the priests of God who had been taken as prisoners from Jerusalem, along with Joachim in the year 598 B.C. The name Ezekiel (Yehézq'el) means "whom God makes strong." Ezekiel along with the other priests are taken and settled into a place near Chobar(Chebar) called Tell-Abib which is located in Babylonia. Some speculate that is was within the thirteenth year, when Ezekiel was called to be a prophet in the vision from God. And it is speculated that Ezekiel prophesied roughly for twenty-two years.
Section 2. Ezekiel Chapter 1-5
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
Ezekiel Bar-Buzi was by the river Chebar, and the heavens opened up to him and he saw visons of God. The Word of the LORD came to Ezekiel, then the later part of verse 3 says that it was by that river, Chebar, that the Hand of the LORD was upon Ezekiel. Note that in the beginning of verse 3 it is the Word of the LORD, then at the ending part of verse 3, it says it was the Hand of the LORD; meaning that the Word and the Hand of the LORD are the same being. They are beings with what I will call, "Objectonym", meaning that a person is given a name after an object. So again remember that the Word of the LORD and the Hand of the LORD are the same being, the same person.
26 And above the firmament over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form. 27 And upward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were gleaming bronze, like the appearance of fire enclosed round about; and downward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him. 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Ezekiel sees above the creatures a throne and the throne looked like sapphire. We have seen this type of description of Heaven before. In Exodus 24:10, we see that the Elders and Moses see a sapphire pavement below the feet of God. Then above the throne was a "likeness" that appeared in human form. We have seen many instances where God has appeared in human forms but it is never focused upon. There is another area of prophecy that speaks about a figure and points out their human appearance. Daniel 7:13 where it speaks of "one like a son of man" which truly means in a clearer way: one who looks like a human. So here Ezekiel sees One who is above the throne that appears like a human. Next Ezekiel describes the One that appears like human; the appearance of the One like a human was like gleaming bronze and very bright like fire all around Him. We see Christ described as having skin like how this One is described here, in Revelation 1:15. Finally we are told that when Ezekiel saw this One, he fell upon his face and he heard the voice of the One speaking.
And he said to me, “Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, who have rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God.’ 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them. 6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit upon scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear; for they are a rebellious house. 8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you; be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth, and eat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and lo, a written scroll was in it; 10 and he spread it before me; and it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
God, whom Ezekiel just saw in Ezekiel 1:26, is speaking with him. Notice and keep note of how God addresses Ezekiel; "Son of man." Take notice I have also outlined that God says that HE will speak with Ezekiel. That is note-worthy to remember. God speaks to Ezekiel, "Son of man, I WILL SEND YOU to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, WHO HAVE REBELLED AGAINST ME," God says that He will send Ezekiel to the people of Israel because they have rebelled against God. Then in verse 4, we see God saying, "I send you to them; and you shall say to them, 'THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD'" In verse 7, God again says that Ezekiel will speak the words of God.
4 And he said to me, “Son of man, go, get you to the house of Israel, and speak with my words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you; for they are not willing to listen to me; because all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and of a stubborn heart. 8 Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. 9 Like adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead; fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. 11 And go, get you to the exiles, to your people, and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God’; whether they hear or refuse to hear.”
Again at the beginning of chapter 3, we see God is still addressing Ezekiel as, "Son of man", and is commanding Ezekiel to speak His, God's, words to the people. We see this spoken again and then in verse 11 Ezekiel is told that when he goes to speak with the people of Israel, he is to say: "This says the LORD God." Keep everything in mind that I have told you to remember because now it will become important.
16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you will have saved your life. 20 Again, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and you will have saved your life.”
Here at the second-half of chapter 3, we see the Word of the LORD comes to Ezekiel. The Word of the LORD then addresses Ezekiel in what manner? By calling Ezekiel, "SON OF MAN." The Word of the LORD is so far, speaking and addressing Ezekiel in the same way God spoke to Ezekiel. Now, the Word of the LORD says "I HAVE MADE YOU A WATCHMAN FOR THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL." What is a Watchman for the house of Israel mean here in the context? The second half of the verse of 17 gives us the definition of what it means when the Word of the LORD calls Ezekiel a Watchman. To be the Watchman of Israel here in this context, it means to bring the words from the Word of the LORD and speak them to Israel as a warning. So remember God earlier in Ezekiel 3 says that Ezekiel will go to Israel and speak the words God tells him to relay to Israel, but then here the Word of the LORD says you will go tell Israel the words I tell you to speak. So that sounds a lot like the Word of the LORD is God, but wait—remember that in Ezekiel 2:11, that when Ezekiel goes to speak to Israel he will say that, "THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD." So previously before the Word came to Ezekiel, God made Ezekiel a Watchman, but now the Word comes and claims that it was Him, the Word, who gave this title and job to Ezekiel. So now when Ezekiel goes to Israel and proclaims what the Word of the LORD tells him, he will be saying to Israel, "THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD," which would contradict the entire Bible because remember 1 Corinthians 14:33. "- God is not a God of confusion, but of peace." Then notice that the Word of the LORD pronounces judgment of death upon the wicked. There is only two other figures within the Old Testament that we know that can pronounce such judgements of death upon people. One of those people is God obviously—but the other person is the Angel of the LORD. That can be found in Numbers 22:33; where the Angel of the LORD says to Balaam that if his donkey had not tried turning away from the Angel, He, the Angel, would have stricken and killed Balaam. So now back here in Ezekiel, the Word says that Ezekiel is to warn the wicked within Israel of the Word's judgement and if he, Ezekiel does not warn anyone then the Word will hold Ezekiel accountable for the death of the people who suffer the judgement of the Word.
22 And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said to me, “Arise, go forth into the plain, and there I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went forth into the plain; and lo, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. 24 But the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people; 26 and I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be dumb and unable to reprove them; for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God’; he that will hear, let him hear; and he that will refuse to hear, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
Now here in verse 22 of chapter 3, we see the Hand of the LORD(remember the Hand is the also the Word) comes to Ezekiel and tells him to go into the plain so He, the Hand, may speak with Ezekiel. When Ezekiel goes to the plain, the glory of the LORD stood there and Ezekiel says that it was exactly like the glory he saw above the throne, above the heads of the living creatures. What does this mean then? So when Ezekiel sees the One like a human above the throne in Heaven, which is undoubtedly God, in Ezekiel 1:26-28. and now here the Hand of the LORD comes to Ezekiel appearing in the same manner and Ezekiel reacts the same way by falling on his face. Ezekiel is saying that this Hand of LORD is God because it appears just as God does. And to reason with common sense, your hand that is attached to you; is it not apart of you and is you? What you are, your hand is? So if God has something called a Hand, is that Hand not apart of Him, making it the same thing as Him? Obviously we know that God has a form that is beyond creation and comprehension but He uses language to allow us to understand Him. Next, in verse 25, we see the Hand of the LORD addressing Ezekiel as "SON OF MAN." Just as the Word, which the Hand is, and how God addresses Ezekiel. Now in verse 27 the Hand of the Lord says that when HE SPEAKS to Ezekiel, Ezekiel will say to the people of Israel "THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD." So the Hand of the LORD which is also the Word of the LORD, is God because He demands to be called the LORD God.
“And you, O son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem; 2 and put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about. 3 And take an iron plate, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. 4 “Then lie upon your left side, and I will lay the punishment of the house of Israel upon you; for the number of the days that you lie upon it, you shall bear their punishment. 5 For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred and ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; so long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, a day for each year. 7 And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared; and you shall prophesy against the city. 8 And behold, I will put cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege.
We see that here the Hand of the LORD is still speaking by addressing Ezekiel as "Son of Man," and from verse 4-6 the Hand of the LORD has the authority to down down punishment of judgment meaning it is the Word of the LORD.
9 “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt, and put them into a single vessel, and make bread of them. During the number of days that you lie upon your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. 10 And the food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; once a day you shall eat it. 11 And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; once a day you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.” 13 And the LORD said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them.” 14 Then I said, “Ah LORD God! behold, I have never defiled myself; from my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has foul flesh come into my mouth.” 15 Then he said to me, “See, I will let you have cow’s dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” 16 Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. 17 I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and waste away under their punishment.
From verse 1 to verse 12, if someone were to ask you who was speaking, you would say that it was the Hand of the Lord, right? But then we read verse 13 and it says that the LORD was speaking with Ezekiel. And in verse 14, Ezekiel calls the LORD speaking with him, LORD God. Do you know why most Bible Translations put LORD in all capital letters? It is because anytime you see it, it is put in place of the Divine name of God. YHWH which when fully spelled out is YAHWEH. So anytime time you see LORD it is the true God Almighty. We never see the LORD, God Almighty appearing here, instead what is happening is that Ezekiel realized and acknowledged and is making it known to us that the Word of the LORD and the Hand of the LORD is the LORD God. Ezekiel even calls the Hand, "AH LORD GOD." Then this Hand of the LORD that is called LORD meaning God Almighty, speaks to Ezekiel in the same way the Word and God speak to Ezekiel by calling him "Son of man." Again, if this is not the case then this contradicts the Bible because this leads to confusion and makes me understand that the Hand and Word are the same person and He is God. But if not then 1 Corinthians 14:33 is not true.
“And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword; use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair. 2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed; and a third part you shall take and strike with the sword round about the city; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. 3 And you shall take from these a small number, and bind them in the skirts of your robe. 4 And of these again you shall take some, and cast them into the fire, and burn them in the fire; from there a fire will come forth into all the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the LORD God: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries round about her. 6 And she has wickedly rebelled against my ordinances more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries round about her, by rejecting my ordinances and not walking in my statutes. 7 Therefore thus says the LORD God: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes or kept my ordinances, but have acted according to the ordinances of the nations that are round about you; 8 therefore thus says the LORD God: Behold, I, even I, am against you; and I will execute judgments in the midst of you in the sight of the nations. 9 And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again.
The LORD says here that He has ordinances and statutes. This means Laws; all six hundred and thirteen Laws which were given to Moses. And this LORD refers to Himself as LORD God, and claims that He has authority to execute judgments. Remember the Hand of the LORD is the One speaking with Ezekiel still and He is being referred to as LORD and LORD here meaning God. And for the rest of chapter 5, from verses 13-17 it expounds on this notion made here in verses 1-9.
Section 2. Ezekiel Chapters 6-10
The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD God! Thus says the LORD God to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense altars shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain before your idols. 5 And I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. 6 Wherever you dwell your cities shall be waste and your high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined, your idols broken and destroyed, your incense altars cut down, and your works wiped out. 7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
Chapter 6 begins with the Word of the LORD coming to Ezekiel and addressing him as "Son o man." The Word says to Ezekiel that he must prophecy and say "hear the word of the LORD GOD! Thus says the LORD GOD." Now in the punctuation and in the basic rules of English you can see that the Word is the only person speaking and is not quoting and relaying a message from someone else, but is the One speaking. Meaning that when in verse 3, when the Word says, "hear the word of the LORD GOD—THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD," the Word is referring to Himself as LORD God and at the end of verse 7 the Word speaks about itself by saying, "you shall know that I AM THE LORD." And again, this LORD here means God Almighty. Now how do we know that the Word, here is speaking about itself and is not relaying a message to Ezekiel from God Almighty. People will assume that verses 2-7 is a message that the Word of the LORD is reciting to Ezekiel. However from basic reasoning and common sense—and 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us otherwise. From verses 2-3 it is abundantly clear that it is the Word speaking directly to Ezekiel. He tells Ezekiel to go and prophesy against the mountains of Israel. Then we see the sentence within verse 3 that starts with: "Thus says the LORD God-" and here is where many will argue that the Word begins reciting a message previously spoken to Him to then give to Ezekiel. The Word is actually calling Himself God Almighty within the message so when Ezekiel relays to message, the mountains will know from who this message came from. For example, a worker goes to his employer and the employer says to his worker; "go and tell your co-worker that I need you to work at the next jobsite." And the worker goes to his co-worker and says to him, "The employer said, I need you to work at the next jobsite." Keep this in mind throughout the rest of the Commentary.
11 Thus says the LORD God: “Clap your hands, and stamp your foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 He that is far off shall die of pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that is left and is preserved shall die of famine. Thus I will spend my fury upon them. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the mountain tops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing odor to all their idols. 14 And I will stretch out my hand against them, and make the land desolate and waste, throughout all their habitations, from the wilderness to Riblah. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
Again we see the Word reminds Ezekiel who he, Ezekiel is speaking to and who is giving this message that needs relayed to Israel. From the second half of verse 11 beginning at "Alas!", all the way through verse 12, the Word backs up even further the point that He is God Almighty. The Word comes forwards acknowledging that He knows all the abominations that Israel is committing, He the Word, will spend His fury upon Israel. Meaning He will lay down His judgments upon everyone within Israel. And then in verse 13, the Word makes it even more clearer because He mentions that He will be known as God Almighty, Yahweh, by all the idolaters within Israel will lay dead at the sites where they worship and sacrifice to their pagan gods. The basic message of verse 13 is that the Word is making it clear that He is Yahweh and these false gods have no authority over sustaining or saving anyone like Yahweh does. And throughout the judgement that will fall upon Israel Israel will realize and remember who the true God is because of these extreme things that are happening because they turned from Him.
The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “And you, O son of man, thus says the LORD God to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now the end is upon you, and I will let loose my anger upon you, and will judge you according to your ways; and I will punish you for all your abominations. 4 And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity; but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 5 “Thus says the LORD God: Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes. 6 An end has come, the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. 7 Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land; the time has come, the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting upon the mountains. 8 Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways; and I will punish you for all your abominations. 9 And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD, who smite. 10 “Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has come, injustice has blossomed, pride has budded. 11 Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be pre-eminence among them. 12 The time has come, the day draws near. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude. 13 For the seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. For wrath is upon all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life. 14 “They have blown the trumpet and made all ready; but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude. 15 The sword is without, pestilence and famine are within; he that is in the field dies by the sword; and him that is in the city famine and pestilence devour. 16 And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one over his iniquity. 17 All hands are feeble, and all knees weak as water. 18 They gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror covers them; shame is upon all faces, and baldness on all their heads. 19 They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing; their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD; they cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity. 20 Their beautiful ornament they used for vainglory, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it; therefore I will make it an unclean thing to them. 21 And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it. 22 I will turn my face from them, that they may profane my precious place; robbers shall enter and profane it, 23 and make a desolation. “Because the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence, 24 I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses; I will put an end to their proud might, and their holy places shall be profaned. 25 When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. 26 Disaster comes upon disaster, rumor follows rumor; they seek a vision from the prophet, but the law perishes from the priest, and counsel from the elders. 27 The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are palsied by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their own judgments I will judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
Here within the entirety of chapter 7 we see the exact thing being spoken about that I unpacked back at the end of chapter 6. Throughout the entire speech the Word gives we see that the Word will punish Israel with His judgement. But it is much deeper then that. In verse 12, we see that the givers of the pagan gods, and then those who consume the content that deals with the pagan gods will both be punished. In verses 16-18 the Word speaks on how anyone who survives will be a wreck because they have witnessed the wrath of God as it destroyed Israel. In verse 19, the Word also points out that everyone will quickly get rid of their precious items like gold and silver like it is unclean to them. Meaning that it is disgusting to them and they get rid of it. Why? Because they realize these things cannot appease the true God who already owns it because He made them. And from verse 20 and 21, the Word mentions these ornaments and abominable images that the Israelites possessed that were to the pagan and false gods and here the Word says that He will make them unclean to the Israelites and will allow foreigners to come in and profane these items that the Israelites held highly despite they were for the pagan gods. Meaning the Word will show the Israelites that these pagan items they use for false gods will become useless and in return the Israelites will despise them. In verse 23 the Word makes known that because of Him, no nation invades Israel on their own accord but if He allows it. And since Israel has disowned the Word, God, He will now allow the worst nation to come into Israel and take over Israel. Verse 25 the Word mentions that the people of Israel when these hard times come, they will want peace but they will have no peace. This is because they have rejected the true God, the Word, who is the God of Peace—[1. 1 Corinthians 14:33]. And finally in the second half of verse 27, the Word says that He will repay everyone according to their deeds and He will judge them and they will know that He, the Word is Yahweh.
In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the LORD God fell there upon me. 2 Then I beheld, and lo, a form that had the appearance of a man; below what appeared to be his loins it was fire, and above his loins it was like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming bronze. 3 He put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.
We are told that once again, the Hand of the LORD comes upon Ezekiel. Now notice how Ezekiel describes the Hand in verse 1: "beheld, and lo, a form that had the appearance of a man; below what appeared to be his loins it was fire, and above his loins it was like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming bronze." Ezekiel describes the Hand in the same way He describes God back in chapter 1, verses 26-28. And we know this bodily form that the Hand of the LORD took appeared quite physical because the Hand of the LORD stretches out his hand and grabs Ezekiel by the hair.
5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now in the direction of the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”
Remember that the Hand brought Ezekiel to the inner court that faces north in the Temple within Jerusalem. back in verse 3. Now here in verse 5 the Hand commands Ezekiel to look north within the Temple, and Ezekiel looks at the entrance and sees what is described as a "image of jealousy." This simply means some sort of idol to a false pagan god. And then in verse 6 the Hand says that Israel is committing a great abomination by, "to dive ME far from MY sanctuary." The Hand of the LORD just blatantly said that He was Yahweh, God Almighty. How do I know? Because the of the area of the Temple that is being spoken about.
Example 1. Image of the Temple in Ezekiel 8-10
The Inner Court is what leads to the most Holy Place, or Holy of Holies which is where God resided upon the Earth. [ 2. Leviticus 16:2 ] And here in Ezekiel 8, the Hand of the LORD says that this place is HIS sanctuary, which in basic terms, the Hand is claiming the Temple is where He resides and He is present.
16 And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD; and behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too slight a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence, and provoke me further to anger? Lo, they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore I will deal in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”
The Hand brings Ezekiel back into the Inner Court between the porch and the outdoor alter. In between the porch and the alter, there is a group of men with their backs towards the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, and they faced the rising sun and worshipped it. The Hand then says that the abominations that Israel is committing here, "provoke me further to anger." Remember that this is the Hand of the LORD speaking here. Who else warns Israel to not provoke Himself to Anger? God. [ 3. Psalm 78:56-58 ] What is even more incredible is that in this Psalm within the three verses I quoted, Israel had provoked God because of GRAVEN IMAGES. And now here in Ezekiel, Israel is putting idols within the walls of the Temple, and even worshipping the sun as a god. And what is very interesting is that, they have their back to the Hand, because their backs are facing the Holy of Holies where the Hand claimed to reside. This is why the Hand vows to deal with them in wrath and not have pity on them because they have turned their backs to Him and began worshipping other gods.
3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherubim on which it rested to the threshold of the house; and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his side. 4 And the LORD said to him, “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and smite; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity; 6 slay old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one upon whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. 7 Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go forth.” So they went forth, and smote in the city. 8 And while they were smiting, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, “Ah LORD God! wilt thou destroy all that remains of Israel in the outpouring of thy wrath upon Jerusalem?”
We are told here in verse 3 that the Glory of God, that was seated from the cherubim, had gone up from His seat. Remember, the Hand of the LORD just claimed to be that very Glory that is present in the Temple. Which is beyond all doubt, God because God would sit in the place that was just described in verse 3. The place that was just described was the seat between the Cherubim upon the Ark of the Covenant. The Glory spoke to the man in linen and in verse 4 the Glory is called LORD, meaning Yahweh God Almighty. So this Glory, which the Hand just claimed to be, is called God Almighty and it sits on the seat of God, on the Ark, within the Holy of Holies. Then Yahweh, LORD, tells the other men to go and smite all the people and to begin at, "MY SANCTUARY." So God here just claimed the Temple as His sanctuary just as the Hand did. And the majority of verse 8 we see Ezekiel crying out to the LORD God who commanded the Israelites be killed for their staunch idolatry.
9 Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice; for they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see.’ 10 As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity, but I will requite their deeds upon their heads.”
In the beginning of verse 10 the LORD God says the exact same thing as the Hand of the LORD.
20 These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
Ezekiel here in chapter 10 confirms that it was God that he saw in the first vision, and in turn that means that the Word/Hand of the LORD are God because He was described exactly like God.
Section 3. Chapters 11-15
14 And the word of the LORD came to me: 15 “Son of man, your brethren, even your brethren, your fellow exiles, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far from the LORD; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the LORD God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the LORD God: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will requite their deeds upon their own heads, says the LORD God.” 22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. 24 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had showed me.
Again, here we see the Word came to Ezekiel once more, and mentions how the Israelites within Jerusalem are speaking about how the exiles are far from Yahweh, outside of the land that was given to them, the land of Israel. Then in verse 16 the Word reminds us who He is, "Therefore say, 'Thus says the LORD God.'" and the Word tells Ezekiel what to say, MEANING He is calling Himself Yahweh God. In verse 17, the Word says that He will gather back all the exile Israelites from all countries and give to them the land of Israel. In verses 19-20, the Word says that HE will give the people one heart, and put in them a new spirit and will soften their hearts so they will walk in the Commandments of the Word. The Word says that if the people do these things, "I WILL BE THEIR GOD." The Word then goes on to say that those who want to still go after the false pagan gods still, the Word will put their deeds on their heads. Verse 25 here Ezekiel tells us that he went and told the exiles what had been told to him by YAHWEH. He called the Word, Yahweh.
8 In the morning the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’ 11 Say, ‘I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them; they shall go into exile, into captivity.’ 12 And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth; he shall dig through the wall and go out through it; he shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. 13 And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it; and he shall die there. 14 And I will scatter toward every wind all who are round about him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will unsheathe the sword after them. 15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. 16 But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may confess all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the LORD.”
In the beginning of Ezekiel 12, the Word commanded Ezekiel to dig a hole through the wall of the Temple and go through it. Now here the Word comes to Ezekiel after Ezekiel went through the Wall and asks Ezekiel if any of the Israelites within the Temple asked Ezekiel what he was doing. Meaning the Word was not testing Ezekiel, He knows Ezekiel is faithful, He, the Word was testing the Israelites within the Temple to see if they would protect the Temple. The Word in verse 10 says that this Oracle that He is giving to Ezekiel concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel. Who is the prince of Jerusalem that the Word is speaking of? And why is this significant that I bring it up? For the first point, the prince that is being referred to and spoken of is the king at that time, Zedekiah the king of Judah. Now, other commentaries that I have looked into, regarding this section of chapter 12, they all simply mention what appears to be a commonly known fact that Zedekiah was an "acting prince for Jerusalem." Whether or not this is a well known fact or not, notice what the Word just did. A King for God's people is apart of the Host that we commonly hear when we here the phrase, "LORD of Hosts." Yahweh, is God over the Heavenly Host and the earthly Host. The Kings, prophets, priests and the soldiers of Israel are all apart of the earthly Host. So now, the official position of Zedekiah is King of Judah, and his lesser role is temporary prince of Jerusalem. The Word does not refer to him, Zedekiah as King but as prince. Is there any significance to this? I think so, I believe that the Word is speaking in this way to show that He is God because He has the authority to raise and lower people in their positions of power and beyond that. The Word says that He will will bring the prince into Babylon and he will die there. And all the people who associate themselves to Zedekiah will be scattered by the sword of the Word, the sword of God. The Word says that because of this they will know that He is Yahweh, LORD. And when He scatters them, they will go all over, some will live, others will die and because some will live, they will most definitely know that the Word is LORD.
17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me: 18 “Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with fearfulness; 19 and say of the people of the land, Thus says the LORD God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink water in dismay, because their land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
The Word comes to Ezekiel and again as I have shown, calls Himself Yahweh God and then gives Ezekiel the message of another disaster that will fall upon Israel and all it's people. Notice like I have pointed out earlier, most of the punishments of God's judgement reflects upon things God does for Israel (and all people but within this context, Israel). And by bringing these punishments upon Israel, they will know that the Word is Yahweh, God Almighty.
The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, prophesy and say to those who prophesy out of their own minds: ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’ 3 Thus says the LORD God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets have been like foxes among ruins, O Israel. 5 You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the LORD. 6 They have spoken falsehood and divined a lie; they say, ‘Says the LORD,’ when the LORD has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfil their word. 7 Have you not seen a delusive vision, and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Says the LORD,’ although I have not spoken?”
Notice who is speaking within this entire snippet of Scripture, which I have spoken on earlier in this Article. The Word is speaking here with Ezekiel directly. The Word quotes from other sources only 3 times, first at the end of verse 2, then near the middle of verse 6, and lastly at near the end of verse 7. That is the only time the Word is telling Ezekiel the words spoken from others, the rest of the time from verse 2-7 the Word is speaking of Himself, directly to Ezekiel. Verse 7 is the most groundbreaking verse within this section because the Word says that any of these prophets of Israel have lied by giving "delusive visions," and "uttered lying divinations," and they try to say that Yahweh, LORD, told them to say these things. And here the Word says that I have not spoken to them. He, the Word, called Himself Yahweh.
17 “And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own minds; prophesy against them 18 and say, Thus says the LORD God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people, and keep other souls alive for your profit? 19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death persons who should not die and keeping alive persons who should not live, by your lies to my people, who listen to lies.
What the Word said within verses 1-7, and now here in 17 the Word wants Ezekiel to prophesy against these false prophets of Israel who prophecy from silence, from their minds and claim their false prophecies to be from Yahweh when they are not.
Then came certain of the elders of Israel to me, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces; should I let myself be inquired of at all by them? 4 Therefore speak to them, and say to them, Thus says the LORD God: Any man of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself because of the multitude of his idols, 5 that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols. 6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the LORD God: Repent and turn away from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to inquire for himself of me, I the LORD will answer him myself; 8 and I will set my face against that man, I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people; and you shall know that I am the LORD. 9 And if the prophet be deceived and speak a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they shall bear their punishment—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike— 11 that the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, nor defile themselves any more with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, says the LORD God.”
In verses 1-3 we see that some of the elders came before Ezekiel and then the Word comes to Ezekiel and asks Ezekiel if He, the Word should entertain the inquiries of these elders who invoke the Word. Throughout this excerpt, the Word as I have spoken on, calls Himself Yahweh many times. And we see the Word addresses and gives the answer to verses 2-3. The Word says that He will answer the elders who invoke Him, directly and use no messenger to speak with the elder. The Word will make an example out of the elder by cutting him off from Israel. And the Word says that if a prophet will lie by trying to blame the Word for misguiding Him, the Word will destroy that prophet. Then at the very end of verse 11, the Word says that "I MAY BE THEIR GOD."
And the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do men take a peg from it to hang any vessel on? 4 Lo, it is given to the fire for fuel; when the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? 5 Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing; how much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! 6 Therefore thus says the LORD God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 And I will set my face against them; though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them; and you will know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them. 8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, says the LORD God.”
In verse 6 the Word vows to turn the inhabitants of Jerusalem like that of fire kindling and will desolate the land because of their unbelief.
Section 4. Chapters 16-20
53 “I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in the midst of them, 54 that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. 55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and you and your daughters shall return to your former estate. 56 Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become like her an object of reproach for the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those round about who despise you. 58 You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, says the LORD.
The majority of Chapter 16, verses 1-52, is this metaphorical speech by the Word about Israel prostituting itself among the surrounding nations and partaking in their detestable deeds and abominable practices. Then the Word says that He will restore the fortunes to the other nations, and will have Israel disgraced and bear shame for consulting to them. And in verse 57, the Word says that now that you, Israel have done this and become like the other nations, the other nations will despise you.
59 “Yea, thus says the LORD God: I will deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, 60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. 61 Then you will remember your ways, and be ashamed when I take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I forgive you all that you have done, says the LORD God.”
Throughout the Bible we see God, Yahweh, makes covenants with Adam, Noah, Moses. And in all of those covenants, God uses the phrase, "everlasting covenant." Now here, the Word calls Himself Yahweh God, and vows to make a covenant with Israel that in verse 60, is an "EVERLASTING COVENANT." And the Word says further in verse 62, that because He will establish His covenant with Israel, they will know that He is Yahweh God. Now at the beginning of this piece of commentary you probably wondered by I left out the covenant of Abraham [Genesis 15:1-21 ; Genesis 17:1-21] and of David [2 Samuel 7:4-17]. That is because the Word made both of those covenants as well.
11 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 12 “Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 And he took one of the seed royal and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. (The chief men of the land he had taken away, 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and that by keeping his covenant it might stand.) 15 But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can a man escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape? 16 As I live, says the LORD God, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the LORD God: As I live, surely my oath which he despised, and my covenant which he broke, I will requite upon his head. 20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treason he has committed against me. 21 And all the pick of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.”
The Word says that because Zedekiah broke the covenant of God and made a false covenant with the king of Babylon, now the Word will cause Zedekiah to die in Babylon and all his best troops will die and any survivors from the rest of the army will scatter out into the nations and because of this act, all will know that He, the Word, is Yahweh God.
The word of the LORD came to me again: 2 “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 As I live, says the LORD God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins shall die.
The Word comes to Ezekiel once again and spoke on a proverb that is repeated about Israel. And in verse 4, the Word says, "Behold, ALL SOULS—are MINE." He, the Word, claimed that all souls belong to Him. How could one say that and not be a blasphemer unless they are God?
5 “If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right— 6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman in her time of impurity, 7 does not oppress any one, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 8 does not lend at interest or take any increase, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true justice between man and man, 9 walks in my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances—he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the LORD God.
Then the Word speaks on what makes a man righteous from verses 5 to 9. The second half of verse 7 is quite interesting if you realize that Christ our LORD in the New Testament commands to do the same thing in Matthew 25:31-46 and in verse 9, the Word says that if a man does all these things, the man is righteous and he will live, just as Christ our LORD says back in Matthew 25:31-46. And here in Ezekiel the Word goes over a few different examples after verses 5-9, specifically from verse 10 to verse 20.
21 “But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the LORD God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does the same abominable things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, he shall die.
The Word says that if a wicked man turns away from the evil things and starts keeping the commandments of Him, that man who was wicked will not die for his sin but shall live. Which we see happen in the presence of the Word incarnate in the New Testament in the scene of the crucifixion in Luke 23:40-42. Then the Word says in verse 23 that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked but would rather that the wicked would turn to righteous so that he may live. This is why the Word became incarnate flesh and and suffered all the punishment that we deserved, and He took on our punishment of death so that we may live. What a wonderful and loving God we serve and belong to. Then in verse 24, the Word speaks on how a righteous man who falls away and turns to wickedness will die for the wickedness because his previous righteousness is discounted because he turned from God. And this narrative is repeated in the following verses, 25-29. And what is the overarching narrative here from verses 21-29? The Word is reminding Israel who He is, He is Yahweh the Merciful God. [ 4. Psalm 103:8 ]
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the LORD God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the LORD God; so turn, and live.”
Then the Word also reminds Israel that He is Judge. He will judge all deeds of the people of Israel. And at the end of verse 31, the Word gives what appears to be a rhetorical question on why Israel wants to die by their deeds. And the Word restates what He spoke back in verse 23.
In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me: 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the LORD God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, says the LORD God, I will not be inquired of by you. 4 Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then let them know the abominations of their fathers, 5 and say to them, Thus says the LORD God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the seed of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God. 6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. 7 And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. 8 But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not every man cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.
Ezekiel chapter 20 starts off with us seeing certain elders of Israel coming before Ezekiel again to inquire the Word being Yahweh. We have scene this happen previously, and once again, the Word responds to this by saying, "As I live says the LORD GOD, I WILL NOT be inquired by you." Then the Word reflects back on the Exodus and claims undoubtedly to be God, the God who brought Israel out of Egypt and made a promise to Israel and then brings forward the fact that Israel has not been faithful to God and have stayed in detestable ways.
“Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they dwelt, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, by whose observance man shall live. 12 Moreover I gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I the LORD sanctify them. 13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not walk in my statutes but rejected my ordinances, by whose observance man shall live; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned. “Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. 14 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, 16 because they rejected my ordinances and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.
The here in verses 8b to 17, the Word reflects upon how powerful He is as Yahweh God. The Word says that He wanted to pour out His wrath upon Israel so instead He brought them into the wilderness where the Word gave the Israelites His Sabbaths and Commandments and again Israel rebelled against the Word and again the Word wanted to thrust His wrath upon Israel and wipe them out but instead He told them that the generation will pass away and the children of the generation will pass into Israel.
27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the LORD God: In this again your fathers blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land which I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their soothing odors, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 (I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? So its name is called Bamah to this day.) 30 Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the LORD God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go astray after their detestable things? 31 When you offer your gifts and sacrifice your sons by fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the LORD God, I will not be inquired of by you. 32 “What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.’
The Word commands Ezekiel to speak to Israel because they blasphemed Him. Him who? The Word because He is Yahweh as He claimed in the previous verses. The Word says that Israel defiles themselves and go astray because they offer gifts, sacrifice children, and defile themselves to idols. And the Word says that as long as He lives, He will never be inquired by these people of Israel And then in verse 32 the Word again speaks on what is in the mind of Israelites, presumably those elders. God alone knows the thoughts of man, and here the Word while speaking to Ezekiel tells him what the thoughts of the elders are in that moment.
33 “As I live, says the LORD God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, says the LORD God. 37 I will make you pass under the rod, and I will let you go in by number. 38 I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
The Word says that His wrath will pour out over Israel and He will bring the exiles and gather them in the wilderness after taking them out of the nations. He says that Israel will face the Judgment of the Word face to face, and the Word will purge the wicked from Israel and those who are wicked and profane the Word will not enter back into Israel.
40 “For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, says the LORD God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land; there I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing odor I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country which I swore to give to your fathers. 43 And there you shall remember your ways and all the doings with which you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel, says the LORD God.”
Then the Word says here in this second to last paragraph in chapter 20, that on the holy mountain, "the house of Israel, ALL OF THEM, shall SERVE ME." So the Word says the people of Israel will be worshipping Him and serving Him, and He will accept the offerings and bless them.
My Final Thoughts So Far.
My reading of the Book of Ezekiel from chapters 1 through 20, I was blown away by the amount of verses that undoubtedly show the Word calling Himself God, and speaking about His qualities and much more. Halfway through writing this commentary I realized I needed to break this up in parts because the Article would be very long. Lord willing I will continue this series and I will move to other Books of the Prophets and other Books throughout the Old Testament. Also note Ezekiel 8b-17, I had not previously known this, and now knowing it, I will in the future Lord willing, go over the Targums focusing on the Word and His role in the Exodus.
"The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you
and give you peace." ☦
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