Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20–21 ESV)
Paul gives a beautiful picture. It is also a beautiful picture of Israel’s history. Where the sin increased, grace abounded even more. Ezekiel is prophesying to the exiled people about the coming destruction of Jerusalem. He is also preparing the people to have new hearts and new spirits so that they can repent and turn back to the Lord. God needs his people to see his abounding grace so they will turn from their rebellion and love him with all their heart. This is what the Lord sets out to do through Ezekiel in chapters 19-20. So let’s spend our time looking at the amazing grace of God and see what God promises to do for his rebellious people.
Ending Israel’s Kings (19:1-14)
Ezekiel 19 opens with a lamentations against Israel’s kings. The lamentation tells two parables describing the final kings to rule over God’s people. The first lamentation parable are found in verses 2-9. The king is described as a powerful lion, catching prey and devouring people. However, the nations heard about him, captured him, and brought him with hooks to Egypt (19:4). The next lion was like the last lion but was captured and brought to Babylon (19:9). The first parable are pictures of how Israel’s kings were removed from power. King Jehoahaz was captured by Egypt. King Jehoakim and Jehochin were captured by the Babylonians in their invasions. The final king to rule was Zedekiah and his parable is told in verses 10-14. His rule is pictured as beginning to flourish on to be plucked up and cast down to the ground in fury.
But these are not the key points to the two parables. The ending is the key point. Look at verses 13-14. Now it is planted in the wilderness. Fire has gone out from its stem, consuming its branches and fruit. Please carefully look at the rest of verse 14. “So that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling.” In summary, this is the end of the Davidic kings. The kings have been cut off. There are no more branches. There is no more fruit. There is no scepter to rule. It is the end of the king line.
Israel’s Problem (20:1-32)
The next account sets up for us why this has happened and what God is going to do about it. Some of the elders of Israel come to Ezekiel the prophet so that he will inquire of the Lord for them. God’s response is not unexpected for what we have read for the first 19 chapters. God will not be inquired of the people because they have not been wholeheartedly seeking him (cf. Deuteronomy 4:29). But God is going to use the opportunity to give a message to these leaders and to the nation. God’s message is going to retell Israel’s story in a way to teach them.
Israel in Egypt (20:5-10).
God begins by telling Israel’s story from Egypt. God swore them that he is the Lord and he would bring them out of Egypt and into a glorious land (10:5-6). God told the people to cast away their vile images and detestable idols by which they were defiling themselves. The people were not being faithful to the Lord and were full of idolatry. But even worse, verse 8 tells us that the people refused to listen to God and rebelled against him. They did not cast away their vile images or idols. Please look at the end of verse 8. The people of Israel should have been consumed at that moment. God decided he would pour out his wrath on them in Egypt. This is what should have happened and it would have been right and just. But look at verse 9. Instead of wrath and judgment, God acted for his own name and left them out of Egypt in spite of their rebellion.
Israel in the wilderness (20:11-26).
God brought the people into the wilderness and gave them his laws so that they could have life if they did them (20:11). God made a covenant with them and gave them the Sabbath as a sign so they would know God’s holiness. But verse 13 records the same response by the people. They rebelled against the Lord in the wilderness. They rejected his laws even though it is through his laws that the people would have life. So God determined to pour out his wrath on them to destroy them. But for his own name he did not do so. Instead, God swore that they would not enter the promised land because their heart went after idols (20:16).
So God made the same offer to their children. He told them to not defile themselves with idols and to keep the covenant. But the children rebelled against him also (20:21). So God determined to pour out his wrath on the people for their rebellion. But God withheld his hand for his own name so it would not be profaned among the nations (20:22). But he did promise to scatter his people among the nations because their eyes were set on their ancestors’ idols and profaned the covenant. God’s laws were no longer life to the people but were for their destruction (20:26). God gave them over to their defiled ways.
Israel in the promised land (20:27-32).
Things did not get any better once they were in the promised land. They were also unfaithful, offering sacrifices to their idols and false gods on every hill and every tree. Now God brings all of this to the present time. After all these things have been done in Israel’s history and after these present people are still doing the same sinful things as their ancestors, will the Lord allow them to inquire of him? Why would God let you come to him when rebellion has been the default of the people? Even still, nothing has improved. Look at verse 32. The people say that they want to be like the other nations, the people of the world who serve their idols. But look at what God says at the end of verse 32. “But what you have in mind will never happen.”
God’s Solution (20:33-49)
So what is God going to so that what is in their minds will never happen? God begins by saying that he will be king with his mighty hand and outstretched arm. Now think back to chapter 19. God said the king line was going to end. There would be no scepter to rule. But God will establish himself as king. Further, God will bring them back from the countries where they are scattered. You will notice that God uses the exodus language for this restoration. God said he would use a mighty hand and outstretched arm to bring the people out of Egypt. Now he will use a mighty hand and outstretched arm to make himself king and gather his people to himself.
But notice what God says in verses 35-38. God will bring the people into judgment in the wilderness just like he did when God brought the people out of Egypt and into the wilderness. What does he mean by this? There are two pictures that are given to explain this. First, in verse 37 God says he will make them pass under the rod and bring them into the bond of the covenant. This is a picture used to count and sort sheep (cf. Leviticus 27:32; Jeremiah 33:13). God is going to number and identify who his sheep are. This leads to the second picture in verse 38. The rebels will be purged out. John the Baptizer described this as the work of Christ. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire (cf. Matthew 3:11-12). Those who are his will be brought in and those who are not his will be purged. Those who serve idols do not belong to him (20:39). So make a choice. If you are not going to listen to God, then go serve your idols. But God will not allow his holy name to be ruined by our idolatry any longer.
All Israel is pictured as coming to the mountain of the Lord. In that place God will receive their offerings and gifts. In verse 41 God says he will accept us as a pleasing aroma. When God does all of these works of restoration, then we will remember our sinful ways and loathe ourselves for all the evils we committed (20:43). We are not going to blame others. We are not going to make excuses for ourselves. We are going regret our sinning, loathe our sins, and be repentant over what we have done.
What is the trigger point? Look at verse 44. You will know that I am the Lord when I do not deal with you according to your evil ways or corrupt deeds. You will know that I am the Lord when you see that I will deal with you for my name’s sake. This is the word I want us to hear in this lesson. The Lord is shown to be glorious and worthy of our worship because he will not deal with us according to our evil ways or corrupt deeds.
The history of God’s interaction with humanity should be a very different story that what we read. God creates Adam and Eve and they sin. But God does not deal with them according to their deeds. Israel has idols in Egypt and they rebel against the Lord. But God does not deal with them according to their deeds. Israel has idols in the wilderness and rebel against the Lord. But God does not deal with them according to their deeds. Israel has idols and rebel against the Lord while in the promised land. But God does not deal with them according to their deeds. God brings them back to the land and they continued to rebel. But God does not deal with them according to their deeds. God sends John the Baptizer to call the nation to repent. But the people rebel yet God does not deal with them according to their deeds. God sends his Son but the people rebel against him and kill him. But God does not deal with them according to their deeds.
Why does God keep doing this? So you will know that he is the Lord. So you will know that this is the very nature and character of God. God wants you to know who he is by watching his repeated grace in the history of humanity and in your own personal history. God does not deal with you according to your evil deeds so that you will know that he is the Lord.
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20–21 ESV)
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:18–21 ESV)
God’s way to transform us from people who love sin to people who love God is by not giving us what we deserve. Every day is another day that God proclaims to the world that he will not bring his wrath and justice that is fully deserved. Every day is another day that God proclaims to the world that he is the Lord who does not want to deal with anyone according to what they have done. God takes no delight in the death of anyone (Ezekiel 18:32). See God’s grace and repent today. Be reconciled to God because you see his grace abounding all the more.