Ezekiel 20

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:3

Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them ,.... Give them this for an answer from me: thus saith the Lord God, are ye come to inquire of me ? no; not seriously, heartily, and in good earnest, determining to abide by the advice and counsel that might be given; or how can you have the face to inquire of me, when guilty of such abominations? as I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you ; knowing their wickedness and hypocrisy, which were... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:4

Wilt thou judge them, son of man ?.... Excuse them, patronise them, defend their cause, and plead for them? surely thou wilt not; or rather, wilt thou not reprove and correct them, judge and condemn them, for their sins and wickedness? this thou oughtest to do: wilt thou judge them ? this is repeated, to show the vehemency of the speaker, and the duty of the prophet: cause them to know the abominations of their fathers : the sins they committed, which were abominable in themselves,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:5

And say unto them, thus saith the Lord God ,.... Here begins the account of their fathers; of God's unmerited goodness to them, and of their sins and transgressions against him, and how it fared with them: in the day when I chose Israel ; to be his peculiar people, above all people on the face of the earth; when he declared his choice of them, and made it appear that he had chosen them, and distinguished them, by special blessings and favours bestowed on them: and lifted up mine hand... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:6

In the day that I lifted up my hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt ,.... Not only promised and swore to it, but exerted his power in the miracles he wrought, by bringing plagues upon the Egyptians, to oblige them to let them go forth from thence: into a land that I had espied for them ; which he had in his eye and in his heart for them; which he had in his mind provided for them, and was determined in his purposes to bring them to; and which he, as it were, looked... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:7

Then I said unto them ,.... Having promised and swore to do such great and good things for them; which must lay them under an obligation to regard what he should command them: promises and blessings of goodness are great incentives to duty, and lay under great obligation to it: cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes ; which should be so, meaning idols; but which his eyes were taken with, and were lifted up unto, as his gods; though they ought to have been rejected with the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:8

But they rebelled against me ,.... All sin is rebellion against God, an act of hostility, especially idolatry; it is refusing homage and casting off allegiance to him: and would not hearken unto me ; to his word by his prophets; so the Targum, "they rebelled against my word, and would not receive my prophets:' they did not every man cast away the abominations of his eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of the Gentiles ; whence it appears that there were some among them that did... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:9

But I wrought for my name's sake ,.... In a way of grace and mercy; did well by thorn, did what he promised to do; not for any merits of theirs, but for his own honour, and the glory of his name: that it should not be polluted before the Heathen, among whom they were ; be spoken evil of, which is a polluting it; saying, either that he was not true to his word, in not doing what he promised; or else that it was not in his power to perform; either of which would reflect dishonour on his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:10

Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt ,.... It was the Lord that brought them out from thence with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; that obliged Pharaoh to let them go, and gave them favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, that they went out unmolested by them: and brought them into the wilderness ; before they went into the land of Canaan; here they had freedom from their bondage, and were in a wonderful manner provided for by the Lord, guided, supported,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:11

And I gave them my statutes ,.... The precepts of his law, the law on Mount Sinai, of which there were not the like among other nations; nor were they given unto them, but were a special gift unto Israel, and greatly to be valued, Deuteronomy 4:8 ; and showed them judgments : the nature, use, and excellency of the the necessity and advantage of observing them: the same as before, called "statutes", because appointed, fixed, and certain, being of inviolable and lasting obligation; and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:12

Moreover, also, I gave them my sabbaths ,.... The Targum is, "the days of the sabbaths;' or sabbath days, the seventh day sabbaths, which recurring throughout the year are many; but, besides these, there were the year of remission, for the seventh year sabbath; and the jubilee year, the great sabbath of all, once in fifty years; yea, Kimchi thinks the feasts, such as the passover, &c.; are included: now these are distinguished from the statutes and judgments, or the precepts of the... read more

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