Ezekiel 20:21

Ezekiel 20:21 says,  Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.  The people of Israel thought that they were above other people simply because they were born in Israel.  God said that they had been above other people spiritually because of their covenant relationship with Him, but now they had turned away from following His laws and keeping His sabbath holy.  There are people today in America who believe that they are superior to all other people simply because they were born in America, and some take this thought even further by believing that they are superior to even other Americans because they were born into a particular ethnic group.  When they believe this, they have already turned away from God’s law.  God said He would pour out His fury on the people of Israel because of their disobedience, and I believe that even if we profess to be a Christian nation that God will never bless us if we don’t put our faith in Him and obey His commandments.   

Verse twenty-two adds, Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.  God said He didn’t destroy the people of Israel because if He had, after He had just delivered them, so that His name would not be polluted among the heathen that they now dwelled amongst.  If we profess to be a Christian nation but continue to disobey His commandments He will remove His protective hand from us, even if He doesn't just destroy us.   

Verse twenty-three continues, I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;  Instead of bringing the nation of Israel together into the promised land and keeping them there, because of their disobedience, God said He allowed them to be scattered through the heathen and dispersed to all countries.  We cannot believe that God is going to always protect us as individuals or as a nation if we do not obey His laws.  First, we must acknowledge that He alone is God, and then we must love our neighbor as ourselves, and we have been told that our neighbor includes everyone that we come into contact with and not just those who are like us by ethnic group or by the country that they were born in.   

Verse twenty-four states, Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.  God said this was happening because the nation of Isreal overall had not obeyed His laws, had polluted His sabbaths, and had started to worship the idols that their fathers had worshipped.  God will never allow even those who profess to be Christians to not be held accountable for their actions one day, whether He scatters them throughout the world today or not.   

Verse twenty-five adds, Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;  Though this seems to say that God gave them statutes that were not good and judgments that could not bring them life spiritually, I believe that it means that God allowed them to choose these things. I don't believe God will ever call us to follow any laws that are bad, but He will allow us to choose to obey those that are.   

Verse twenty-six continues, And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord.  God said He allowed this to happen so that they would know that He is God.  He had placed the nation of Israel in the promised land so that they would live as His people and reach the rest of the world and call them to Him, but they had turned away from Him, so they were once again going to be scattered throughout the land,  If we as people of America are to be a Christian nation, we can never believe that we are somehow morally superior to other people, but  we must obey God's commandments so that we can be a shining light of His love and we must reach out to all other people with His love.    

Ezekiel 20:17

Ezekiel 20:17 says, Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.  God said that by His mercy He did not destroy the people of Israel in the wilderness.  He had rescued them from slavery in Egypt, and they immediately turned away from living in obedience to Him, so He would have been justified in slaying them.  God has already saved everyone from the penalty of sin, but if we do not accept His gift of salvation when we first hear about it, He would be justified in just allowing us to die forever separated from Him, but by His mercy, He will continue to call us to salvation.  Of course, as with the people of Israel in that day, He may declare that some people are never going to be obedient to Him and just look to the next generation for those who would be a part of His kingdom.   

Verse eighteen adds, But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:  God said that He told the children of these disobedient people to not walk in the statutes of their fathers, who were worshipping false gods and denying God.  Even if our parents are worshipping false gods, God is still going to call us to salvation.   

Verse nineteen continues, I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;  God told these children to keep His statutes and to be obedient to Him.  Though keeping God’s law will not save us, we need to keep them once we have accepted God’s gift of salvation.   

Verse nineteen concludes, And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.  They were to keep God’s sabbaths holy as a sign of their being in a covenant relationship with Him.  Keeping the sabbath, or the Lord’s Day as we celebrate today, holy should be a sign to the people of the world that we are in a covenant relationship with God.  This does not save us, but it is a sign of our obedience to God.   

Ezekiel 20:10

Ezekiel 20:10 says, Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.  God had Ezekiel remind the people of Israel that He had brought them out of slavery in Egypt and into the wilderness.  Of course, they were supposed to only be wilderness for a short period of time on their way the promised land, but they turned away from God and started worshipping idols once again, so they ended up being in the wilderness for forty years.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are on the way to the promised land.  We just need to remain true to God to keep from wandering spiritually in the wideness once more.  

Verse eleven adds, And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. God said that He gave them His laws and showed them His judgments which would enable them to live if they followed them.  God showed them what would happen if they did good by following His laws and also showed them what would happen if they didn’t, and they still rebelled against Him.  I believe that God lets everyone know what will happen if they obey His commandments and put their faith in Jesus Christ and what will happen if they don’t, but too many people refuse to obey God’s laws.  Of course, we cannot be saved by just obeying God’s law, because we will never obey them all.  That is why it was necessary for Jesus Christ to be born as a man and live in perfect obedience to God’s law so that He could be an acceptable sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.   

Verse twelve continues, Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.  God said He also gave them His sabbaths as a sign between the people of Israel and Him to let the world know that He was their God and He sanctified them.  When we gather on Sunday, the Lord’s Day which we celebrate as His sabbath, we testify to the relationship between God and us, which is why we should be faithful in attending church, but we often eliminate times of worship because it is too much trouble, and when we do, we make a statement to the world, but it is a negative one.    

Verse thirteen states, But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.  God said that even though He had delivered them from bondage in Egypt, even before getting to the promised land that they rebelled against Him.  He also said He poured out His wrath on them, which meant that they were not allowed to go into the promised land.  They were God’s people in name only and not because they were obedient to Him.  There are many professed Christians today who have never established a spiritual relationship with God by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, and even if we have done so, there are times when we fail to live by God’s law.  God is always going to pour out His wrath on disobedience to His laws, and the question then becomes whether we will face His wrath on our own or face Him with Jesus Christ having borne His wrath for us.   

Verse fourteen adds, But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.  God said that He wrought for His name’s sake that He would not let the disobedience of the people of Israel who were known as His people bring dishonor to His name by allowing them to continue to live in disobedience to Him which would bring dishonor to His name.  As followers of Christ, we need to obey God's  commandments so that we do not bring dishonor to His name, but many things that Christians do today bring dishonor to God’s name, and one day they will have to answer for it. 

Verse fifteen continues, Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all land.  God said that since they were disobedient to Him that He was not going to bring them into the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey, but that they would die in the wilderness.  If we do not accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will always be wandering around in the wilderness of sin.   

Verse sixteen concludes, Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.  God said that this was because of their actions in rebelling against Him.  We have all rebelled against God at one time another, and the only way that we can enter the promised land of heaven is we confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.