So, why does God treat His people in such different ways throughout their history? After all, as Ezekiel points out in the first 22 verses of chapter 20, God’s people had been disobeying Him for a very long time. Even when the Lord was in the process of leading them out of Egypt, they had clung to the false idols of the wicked people who had enslaved them (20:8). And once the Lord had brought them into the land He had promised to give them, they continued to break His commandments, even going so far as to burn their children as offerings to false gods (20:26).

So, why did the Lord keep on sending prophets to speak His Word to His unfaithful people, repeating the terms of His covenant to them? So that they might know that He is the Lord (20:5, 7, 12, 20, ), so that they might see more of His holiness and righteousness, and thus get a glimpse of His glory.

But all during that time the Lord had also steadfastly refused to destroy His people “for the sake of My name” (20:9, 14, 22), because He didn’t want the unbelieving nations to come to the conclusion that the Lord was somehow unable to save His people. Instead, the Lord displayed His glory by demonstrating His longsuffering forbearance to His undeserving people.

Just so, during the days of Ezekiel, the Lord refused to allow His people to go on inquiring of Him, instead considering them to be unclean because of their unfaithfulness (20:30-31). Yes, He was finally determined to scatter them throughout the unbelieving nations (20:23). And why? Once again, so that everyone might know that He is the Lord (20:26), so that they might see His glory displayed in His perfect justice.

And yet, Ezekiel reassured His people that their exile would not last forever. But why would the Lord eventually show mercy to His people, bringing a remnant of them back to the land He had promised to their ancestors? For the same reason that He had put up with their sin for so long and for the same reason that He eventually destroyed their nation: for His name’s sake, to display His glory in His gracious pardon for undeserving sinners. He would thus demonstrate that He truly is the Lord, the God Who had made an unshakable covenant with His people (20:44).

No, God doesn’t change. He is always the Lord, slow to anger but not allowing the guilty to go unpunished, merciful and gracious and abounding in steadfast love (Exodus 34:6-7). So, how will we respond to Him today? What part of His glory will we see?

Ezekiel 20:33-44 (NASB)

33 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you.
34 “And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out;
35 and I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I shall enter into judgment with you face to face.
36 “As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God.
37 “And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant;
38 and I shall purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I shall bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the LORD.
39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God, “Go, serve everyone his idols; but later, you will surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will profane no longer with your gifts and with your idols.
40 “For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I shall accept them, and there I shall seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things.
41 “As a soothing aroma I shall accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I shall prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations.
42 “And you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers.
43 “And there you will remember your ways and all your deeds, with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done.
44 “Then you will know that I am the LORD when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.'”