Today’s blog article continues exploring the history that God instructed Ezekiel to recount to the exiles in Babylon. If you missed yesterday’s video, please consider watching today’s YouTube presentation. Rudy Ross provides fascinating information on the date connected to this vision.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the biblical account is its honest and transparent portrayal of its heroes. The people of God, His unique and chosen ones, are depicted as heroes who have been delivered from slavery to serve as an example to the world of what it means to follow a loving God.
Yet, as the account reminds us, they are also deeply fallible. God could have executed His judgment against His people while they were still in Egypt; instead, He led them into the wilderness.
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.
But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt (Ezekiel 20.8-9).
God’s special relationship with Israel was not a secret affair. They were living among the nations, and He had publicly demonstrated His covenantal relationship with them by bringing them out of Egypt.
God did not destroy the Israelites, even though they had mixed their worship of Him with the idolatry they had learned over 400 years of slavery in Egypt.
He explained that His reason for sparing them was to uphold His name.
God wanted the world to understand His nature, and He chose to make Israel a reflection of His character. If He had destroyed them, He would have damaged His reputation and missed the chance to reveal to the world what the one true God is really like.
God’s Gift in the Wilderness
When you consider the laws God gave the Hebrews after freeing them from Egypt, you’ll notice that they are all designed to promote life.
These laws did not come from a king or a philosopher but from the very heart of God Himself, and they deserve to be observed because of their divine origin.
So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live.
Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, so that they might know that I the Lord sanctify them (Ezekiel 20.10-12).
When you look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) or the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), you’ll find that these are not burdensome rules imposed by God, but rather principles and behaviors that foster harmony, peace, and love among people. God gave them to us so we might learn how to live life to the fullest.
God gave His people the gift of the Sabbaths as a sign of His relationship with them. Notice the use of the plural “Sabbaths.” This term indicates that it is more than a weekly Sabbath in view. It includes special holy days on which all work ceased, as well as the sabbatical years and the year of Jubilee.
The Sabbaths were a perpetual reminder of God’s covenant with them. They also had a teaching function, reminding the nation that their special status derived from God’s action alone.
Israel’s response to God’s expression of grace was similar to their response to the first. The nation rebelled against Him in the desert, rejecting His revealed will, and with it the abundant life God purposed for them.
But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not observe my statutes but rejected my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live, and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned (Ezekiel 20.13).
Judgment in the Wilderness
While the people were living in Egypt, God spared them from the full force of His judgment. Even now, in the wilderness, He extended yet another opportunity for the nation to reveal His character to the world.
However, the generation that disobeyed Him learned that they would not enter the promised land.
Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make an end of them.
But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands,
Because they rejected my ordinances and did not observe my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, for their heart went after their idols (Ezekiel 20.13b-16).
It is worth noting the four violations of God’s will that took place in the wilderness.
(1) The rejection of God’s laws.
(2) The refusal to follow His decrees.
(3) Failure to observe of God’s Sabbaths.
(4) The continued pursuit of idols.
Words like rejection, refusal, and failure to observe indicate a conscious willingness to rebel against God.
At the heart of this behavior lies idolatry.
When people replace God with a substitute, they inevitably reject His guidance, refuse to follow Him, and fail to heed what He instructs us to do.
Once again, in Ezekiel’s account of the people’s poor behavior, we see God’s gracious mercy toward them. He chooses not to execute judgment at this time.
Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make an end of them in the wilderness (Ezekiel 20.17).
Reflections
Those who study the Bible deeply—whether to teach it or to write about it—are often the ones who benefit most from the process.
As I reflect on the history lesson in Ezekiel chapter 20 and other passages, I find a mirror held up to my own behavior, revealing not only how I should act but also where I fall short.
In this reflection, there is an opportunity for repentance—for stopping where we are, turning to God, and humbly committing to follow His direction. I invite you to join me in this journey.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 