Ezekiel 20:1-32 Elders’ Ask

Still in captivity, the elders come to Ezekiel to ask God something. He KNOWS what is on their mind and has something to say first! Then He addresses the elders’ ask.

This passage shows us a LONG-SUFFERING GOD. It also shows us shows us that God is fed up with the attitude of the people. God sees the men sitting before Ezekiel and KNOWS why they are there. He KNOWS what they want to ask of Him before they even open their mouths. I have a feeling that if Ezekiel knew what they wanted to ask God, he would throw them out on their ears! I didn’t catch their intent until the second time I read this passage and it made my eyes POP open! I wanted to throw them out on their ears!!!

As soon as the elders sit down in the home of Ezekiel, God starts speaking to Ezekiel with a message to tell the elders. They haven’t even voiced what it is they have come for. God preempts their question with a ‘walk down memory lane’. “I remember when…” is a trip that God takes them all on regarding Israel’s relationship with God.

God doesn’t start out with “I’m the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” but goes straight to their time in Egypt. This is a time in their history that ALL are aware of and ‘hang their hat on’ as a nation. The time when God came to them and promised them a future with Him. But they only focus on the ‘good parts’ of the story.

“Remember when God did _____ and delivered us?” God says there is more to the story. And it is UGLY!

God takes these elders on a tour. He brings them first to the early years in Egypt when God told His people that He would bring them out BUT they were to KEEP THEIR EYES ON HIM AND OFF OF EGYPT’S IDOLS. Even with the great promise of redemption, they turned to Egypt’s idols anyway. The ONE THING He asked, they wouldn’t do. So He thought about destroying them and starting over. BUT He had made a promise to them as a people and He wouldn’t break it. Breaking it would make His name no better than the name of a man.

So, He let Israel ‘have a taste’ of His wrath by including them in the early plagues He sent on Egypt. I’m thinking that this probably got some of their attention. Some were angry with God during this time because the plagues and Moses’ messages brought the Egyptians down even harder on their slaves; Israel, the Hebrews. God brought them out anyway and upheld His promise.

While in the wilderness, there were several times when the people exasperated God. They wanted the idols of the other nations. They even asked for the fashioning of an alternate god; an idol they could bow down to. When they did this, God was ready again to wipe them out and start over. God held back again. He had made a promise and if He broke it, His name would have been worthless. Never again would He be trusted.

So, He let Israel ‘have another taste’ of His anger through the punishment brought on them for their actions. Three thousand of them lost their lives that day. The tribe of Levi was set apart that day for the work of the Lord. They would be the ‘ransom’ for the first born of all the tribes. And God gave them His Law by which to live from then on.

Spies are sent into the land God has promised His people to have a look around and bring back a report. Instead of bringing back a report of encouragement that rouses the people to go in and take what is being offered to them, MOST of the spies come back with a tale of woe. “We can’t do it! We came all this way for nothing. Let’s go back and ask for our old jobs back.” God is ready to wipe them out and start over AGAIN. But, again, His word is His bond and His reputation. He made a promise and He has to see it through.

So, God crosses off the first generation He brough out of Egypt and works with their children. They will be the ones who will see His promise fulfilled. The entire first generation would die in the wilderness. First to fall were the spies who had brought a bad report and then those who tried to change God’s mind in the morning and ‘take’ the Promised Land instead. We are not told how many died that day but it was a SLAUGHTER by those in the land and Israel was the one shedding the blood. God took His people, grumbling and all, on a 40 year tour of the wilderness, TRYING to shape the next generation into a people who would NOT rebel.

Nearing the end of the 40 years, the people started hanging out with Moab and worshiping their gods and bowing down to their idols. You would think that they had learned their lesson by now, but apparently not. Twenty-four THOUSAND died when the Lord said “ENOUGH!” God did not break His word with the people, even though they were unfaithful AGAIN. His name was precious and breaking His word even once would destroy that.

The first generation was finally gone. The man Phinehas killed the last man of that generation as he brazenly brought in one of the daughters of the people of Moab. God is finally ready to bring the people into the Promised Land. The land that He swore by His OWN name to give them. BUT there are still conditions to keeping this land. The FIRST of these is to serve HIM only. NO IDOLS. NO FALSE GODS.

Now we come to the house of Ezekiel again and the men sitting before him. They know this history. I’m CERTAIN they know the ‘why’ of God’s reactions all these times. They also know ‘why’ they are in exile. God had ENOUGH once again with them bowing down before idols. It was God pouring out His wrath on His people for them doing EXACTLY as He told them not to do. Yet they still have a question they want to pose to God.

If this were you sitting there, what kind of question would be on your mind. Maybe you would ask how long He was going to be angry with you and your people. You might want to ask if He was ever going to forgive you. Perhaps you would ask for one more chance to ‘get it right’. I would be wondering if I would ever ‘get it right’. That’s NOT the question on the mind of these men. We see their true question in our final verse.

“What is in your mind shall NEVER happen—the thought, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the counties, and worship wood and stone’” (verse 32). In other words, “Why can’t we worship however we want? We still want to worship the idols.”

Can we say jaw dropping! How could they ask this?! Did they think God would actually grant them this request? Maybe that is why He highlighted the times He almost wiped them out for this very sin. And here they sat in exile for that sin too! I’m surprised that God didn’t strike them dead that very instant.

One other thing I noticed while reading through our text that I want to touch on. “Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life” (verse 25). I was wondering what these statutes and rules might be. Then I thought about some of the rules Moses gave the people. One that jumped to mind was concerning divorce. Jesus said that God allowed Moses to give them this provision because of their hard hearts. This statute wasn’t one that would lead to life.

There is another reason I believe God said this. When He gave the Law, He KNEW that man could not keep it fully and obtain life. Jesus had to come to fulfill it for us. We could only go so far. Even the best of men can’t fulfill the Law perfectly. If we could, there would be no need for Jesus’ work. God’s statutes lead us towards life. Jesus takes it the rest of the way, and then some!

Father God, I PRAY I don’t bring You the question like the elders did. But I can hear it ringing in my memory when I asked You to let me do _____, even when I KNEW it was wrong. It is said that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. That is only for those who know that what they are asking ‘permission’ for will be turned down because it is wrong. THANK YOU for Your forgiveness! But never let me diminish its value. My forgiveness was bought and paid for with Jesus’ life. When I intentionally do something I KNOW is wrong, expecting to ask for forgiveness, or even worse, expect You to bless it anyway, I’m thumbing my nose as the pain it cost Jesus to purchase my forgiveness. Make this one of those lessons that goes DEEP into my spirit! I never want to be in the seat of those elders again!!!