Ezekiel chapter 20

Ahh, another long chapter.

vs 1

This isn't the first time, you'll recall. And you remember what God's attitude was last time.

vs 2

What else did we expect by now?

vs 3

God is not happy with the leaders of Israel, and if they think they can ask him 'what up', they're in for a surprise.

vs 4

Does God want Ezekiel to judge them? I guess it's more of a symbolic judgment with information given from God, so it's not like it's going to be wrong. The reason God doesn't want to talk to them is because of their detestable practices, and those of their ancestors. Now, God just spent the whole of last chapter (or was it the chapter before) talking about how a father's sins don't spread to the son, so this might seem a bit weird. But he also talked earlier about repentance, and the need for us to turn away from past actions - and this includes, I guess, the actions of past generations.

vs 5

So God made a covenant, which he swore 'with uplifted hand', which I assume means that he symbolically meant it. He wasn't messing around when he called Israel his people.

vs 6

I'm sure both Canada and Australia are like, WTF? But I'm sure Canaan is lovely. The point is God, when calling out his people from a land that was, let's face it, rich, but oppressive, also called them into a land that was rich, and less oppressive.

vs 7

That wasn't all he said, but it was one of the things he said, and you know when God says stuff, it's worth remembering and taking particular interest in. So God says "no idols", you should really be thinking, "Yeah, no idols, right on." I can't remember off the top of my head how long it took them to walk to Mount Sinai, but Moses spent about 40 days up there, so let's give them two months between escaping Egypt and making the first idol. It seems awful, but you know this is probably the longest they have held out without a king telling them not to.

vs 8

This verse, though, seems to be talking about an idolatry that was taking place inside Egypt, before they were even removed from her. Now we see the full on mercy of God. Because God could have said, "Okay, I'll save you from Egypt, but not until you've cleaned up your act." And Israel would have then perished in Egypt, because we all know how good they are at cleaning up their act. Or they might have done it long enough to get out of Egypt, and then still made the gold calf when they got to Sinai. Who knows, since it didn't happen that way. God was so upset that at some point he talks about just pouring out his wrath on his own people in Egypt and letting it all come to naught.

vs 9

It was not his love for Israel that stayed his hand. Well, that's not the element that he is focusing on, anyway. No, it was his desire for the glory of his name to continue among the nations. God is not fickle, in that he chooses his actions based on a popularity poll from the other nations. He's not saying, "Oh, I won't wipe out Israel today, because the other nations will think bad of me, and I couldn't stand that, they might vote me off the show".

It's almost like - but I still think off the mark - God is involved in some sort of cosmic damage control of his name. Having sworn to be Israel's people already, God is now sort of stuck with them, and so he is trying to limit the damage to his name that they are producing, and so releases them from Egypt instead of keeping them in captivity, despite their less-than-perfect nature.

In reality, though, God has everything under total control. God could have smote the Israelites in Egypt, but he wanted the nations to see that he keeps his promises, and that he is slow to anger. He wanted them to see just how far he would stretch his love and his covenant for them.

vs 10

Now the wilderness wasn't exactly flowing with milk and honey. It was going to be the stage of some of Israel's big failures, a lot of whinging, and a big number of displays of power by God. The story continues, as we all know, but it will be interesting to see what God highlights for Ezekiel to tell these elders at this time.

What is interesting, and this point is often made again and again by scholars, is just how grounded in the pentateuch the prophets are. What is Ezekiel's answer to the elders to be? Well, start with Jacob, and Egypt, and tell them about how God saved them way back then. This is living history, but also showing the long memory of God, and the enduring importance of the Mosaic covenant in the era of the major prophets.