33 I live—an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Do not I, with a strong hand, And with a stretched-out arm, And with fury poured out—rule over you? 34 And I have brought you forth from the peoples, And assembled you from the lands In which ye have been scattered, With a strong hand and with a stretched-out arm, And with fury poured out. 35 And I have brought you in unto the wilderness of the peoples, And have been judged with you there face to face. 36 As I was judged with your fathers, In the wilderness of the land of Egypt, So I am judged with you, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 37 And I have caused you to pass under the rod, And brought you into the bond of the covenant, 38 And cleared out from you the rebels, And them transgressing against Me, From the land of their sojournings I bring them out, And unto the land of Israel they come not, And ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah. 39 And ye, O house of Israel, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Each his idols—go—serve ye, And, afterwards, if ye are not hearkening to me, And My holy name ye do not pollute any more by your gifts, and by your idols. 40 For, in My holy mountain, In the mountain of the height of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, There serve Me do all the house of Israel, All of it, in the land—there I accept them, And there I do seek your heave-offerings, And with the first-fruit of your gifts, With all your holy things. 41 With sweet fragrance I do accept you, In My bringing you out from the peoples, And I have assembled you from the lands In which ye have been scattered, And I have been sanctified in you Before the eyes of the nations. 42 And ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah, In My bringing you to the ground of Israel, Unto the land that I did lift up My hand To give it to your fathers, 43 And ye have remembered there your ways, And all your doings, In which ye have been defiled, And ye have been loathsome in your own faces, For all your evils that ye have done. 44 And ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah, In My dealing with you for My name's sake, Not according to your evil ways, And according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 20:33-44
Commentary on Ezekiel 20:33-44
(Read Ezekiel 20:33-44)
The wicked Israelites, notwithstanding they follow the sinful ways of other nations, shall not mingle with them in their prosperity, but shall be separated from them for destruction. There is no shaking off God's dominion; and those who will not yield to the power of his grace, shall sink under the power of his wrath. But not one of God's jewels shall be lost in the lumber of this world. He will bring the jews to the land of Israel again; and will give them true repentance. They will be overcome with his kindness: the more we know of God's holiness, the more we see the hateful nature of sin. Those who remain unaffected amidst means of grace, and would live without Christ, like the world around them, may be sure it is the way to destruction.