Ezekiel 20:1-9·~1 min

Israel’s Rebellion in Egypt

In the seventh year certain elders of Israel come to inquire of the LORD, but God swears He will not answer them as they expect. Instead Ezekiel is told to judge them by recounting how the LORD chose Israel in Egypt, swore to bring them into a glorious land, and commanded them to cast away Egyptian idols. They rebelled and refused to listen, yet He acted for His name's sake and brought them out rather than destroying them before the watching nations.

I¹n the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and they sat down before me. ²Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ³“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: Have you come to inquire of Me? As surely as I live, I will not be consulted by you, declares the Lord GOD. ⁴Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Confront them with the abominations of their fathers ⁵and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. With an uplifted hand I said to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.’ ⁶On that day I swore to 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 glory of all lands. ⁷And I said to them: ‘Each of you must throw away the abominations before his eyes, and you must not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’ ⁸But they rebelled against Me and refused to listen. None of them cast away the abominations before their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the land of Egypt. ⁹But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

Section summaryWhen the elders come to inquire of the LORD, He refuses to be consulted and instead commands Ezekiel to judge them by recounting Israel's history. He reminds them that in Egypt He chose Israel, swore to bring them into a good land, and commanded them to throw away Egyptian idols. But they rebelled and clung to those idols. Even there He restrained full wrath for the sake of His name, so that the nations would not see Him as unable to complete the deliverance He had begun.

Role in the chapterThis section establishes that Israel's rebellion began before the wilderness and that God's patience has always been tied to the honor of His name.