**The Rebellion of Israel and the Mercy of God: A Retelling of Ezekiel 20**
The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, the prophet in exile, as he sat among the elders of Judah in the land of Babylon. The men had come seeking guidance, their faces lined with worry, their hearts heavy with the weight of captivity. But the Lord looked upon them with righteous judgment and spoke through His servant, saying:
*”Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them: ‘Thus says the Lord God: Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.’”*
Ezekiel’s voice carried the weight of divine authority as he continued, recounting the long history of Israel’s rebellion—a story woven with both judgment and mercy.
### **The First Rebellion: Egypt’s Idols**
The Lord commanded Ezekiel to remind the elders of their ancestors, the children of Israel, when they dwelt in the land of Egypt. There, in the house of bondage, they had defiled themselves with the idols of the Egyptians—worshiping gods of stone and wood, gods who could not hear or save.
Yet the Lord, in His great love, had sworn to bring them out. He had lifted His mighty hand and declared:
*”I am the Lord your God! Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast upon, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt!”*
But they rebelled. They clung to their false gods, stubborn and unyielding. The Lord’s wrath burned against them, yet for the sake of His holy name—lest the Egyptians mock Him—He stayed His hand and led them out with great power.
### **The Wilderness: A Covenant Broken**
Into the vast wilderness He brought them, a land of scorching sands and towering cliffs. There, He gave them His statutes and judgments, laws by which they would live and prosper. He set before them the Sabbath—a sacred sign between Him and them, a reminder that He alone was their sanctifier.
Yet again, they rebelled. Their fathers despised His laws, rejected His judgments, and profaned His Sabbaths. Their hearts chased after idols, and their eyes lusted after the high places of the heathen.
*”Then I resolved to pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them,”* declared the Lord.
But once more, for the sake of His name, He held back His wrath. He would not allow the nations to say, *”The Lord brought them out only to slay them in the desert!”* So, in mercy, He spared them—though He swore that their children would not enter the land of promise, save for Caleb and Joshua, the faithful.
### **The Second Generation: A Repeat of Sin**
Even the children who survived the wilderness did not learn. When they entered the land flowing with milk and honey, they saw the high places of the Canaanites and lusted after their abominations. They offered sacrifices to wooden idols, poured out drink offerings to stone gods, and kindled the Lord’s anger with every step.
*”What is this high place to which you go?”* the Lord thundered. Yet they would not listen.
So He gave them over to statutes that were not good—laws that brought punishment rather than life. He allowed them to defile themselves with the sacrifices of their firstborn, a horror that stained their hands and hardened their hearts.
### **Exile and the Promise of Restoration**
Now, in Ezekiel’s day, the children of Israel sat in exile, far from their homeland. The elders had come seeking answers, yet their hearts were still entangled in idolatry. The Lord would not hear their empty inquiries while rebellion festered within them.
But even in judgment, the Lord spoke of mercy.
*”As I live,”* swore the Lord, *”I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out!”* He would gather them from the nations where they had been scattered—not for their sake, but for the holiness of His name.
He would bring them into the wilderness of the peoples and plead with them face to face, purging the rebels from among them. And those who repented would enter the restored land, where they would serve Him in truth.
*”You shall know that I am the Lord,”* He declared, *”when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I swore to give your fathers.”*
### **A Call to Repentance**
Ezekiel’s words hung in the air, a solemn warning and a glimmer of hope. The elders bowed their heads, some in conviction, others in stubbornness. The Lord had laid bare their history—a cycle of rebellion, judgment, and undeserved mercy.
Now, the choice was theirs. Would they continue in sin, or would they turn and live?
For the Lord does not delight in the death of the wicked, but that they should turn from their ways and live.
And so, the word of the Lord echoed through the exiles’ dwellings, a call to remembrance, repentance, and redemption.
*”I am the Lord your God. Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and hallow My Sabbaths—and you shall know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”*
And with that, the prophet fell silent, waiting to see if the people would heed the voice of their God.
