Ezekiel 20:5

"And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; In the day when I chose Israel, and sware unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I sware unto them, saying, I am Jehovah your God; in that day, I sware unto them to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands. And I said unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am Jehovah your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me; they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. 9 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among which they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt."

ISRAEL'S ANCESTORS WERE IDOL WORSHIPPERS IN EGYPT

No other scripture pinpoints this phase of Israel's history; but there is ample evidence of the truth of it throughout the Bible. The worship of the Golden Calf was nothing but a throwback to Egyptian idolatry (Exodus 32).

"A land that I had searched out for them ..." (Ezekiel 20:6). The land of Canaan is called, "the glory of all lands," both here and again in Ezekiel 20:15. From the standpoint of its location, this is especially true, being in fact adjacent to three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. Also, the ancient fertility and productivity of Palestine were, at one time, the best on earth. Many changes since those early times have no doubt altered that situation today.

"I wrought for my name's sake ..." (Ezekiel 20:9). This is a reference to the fact that God on several occasions did not judge Israel according to what they certainly deserved; but, that in order to prevent the pagan nations from questioning God's ability to protect his people, simply went on and blessed them in spite of their sins. Two examples of this are found in Exodus 32:12 and in Numbers 14:16.

There are at least two examples of Israel's rebellion in Egypt: (1) the first, when they demanded of Moses, "Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? and the second, when they rebelled against Moses and Aaron (Exodus 5:11).

"The idols of Egypt they did not forsake ..." (Ezekiel 20:8). Joshua, the great leader who led the Chosen People into Canaan speaks of this (Joshua 24:14).

The problem, from God's standpoint, in this chapter was, "How could God vindicate his moral character by punishing rebellion, and at the same time preserve his honor in the eyes of the world."?[9] We are happy indeed that Cooke gave the correct answer to this problem: "The punishment would come, all right, but there would be a restoration, involving a striking act of power that would prove to all the world that Jehovah is indeed the only God."[10] That world-shaking event, of course, was the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and the establishment of a New Israel of God, an Israel without any racial tones whatever, but composed of Jews, Gentiles, and people of every tongue and tribe and nation.

This is a very important admission from one of the most credible of the radical critics; because it explains why prophecies of blessing, restoration and salvation always follow the denunciations found so often in the prophets, and that those prophecies of doom and salvation always came from the mouth of the same prophet, whoever he was.