Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 20:38

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 20:38. I will purge out from among you the rebels — The incorrigibly wicked I will destroy; those who will not receive him whom I have appointed for this purpose as the Saviour of Israel. And I will gather you who believe out of all the countries where you sojourn, and bring you into your own land; but those of you who will not believe - will not receive the Son of David to reign over you, shall never enter into the land of Israel, but die in your dispersions. This is what the contradicting and blaspheming Jews of the present day have to expect. And thus, both of you shall know that he is Jehovah, fulfilling his threatenings against the one, and his promises to the other.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Past mistakes must not be repeated (20:27-44)

Having clearly illustrated that Israel had always shown a tendency to idolatry, Ezekiel now began to apply the lessons of history to his fellow exiles in Babylon. He reminded them that as soon as the people of Israel settled in Canaan they copied the religious practices of the Canaanites (27-29). Those of Ezekiel’s day were just as idolatrous in heart and were thinking of copying the idolatrous ways of Babylon. God warns that he will not allow this to happen (30-32).
As he saved his people from Egypt, so God will save them from Babylon. He will bring them back to their homeland (33-34). Again they will pass through the wilderness, but this time God will take firm control of them. He will sort them as a shepherd sorts sheep, removing those who still want to worship idols. This time only those loyal to him will inherit the promised land (35-38).
With all their idolatrous tendencies left behind in Babylon, God’s people will worship him in holiness in Jerusalem. They will offer sacrifices that are acceptable to him (39-40). When surrounding nations see Yahweh and his people living in true holiness, they will appreciate the character of Israel’s God (41-42). The people of Israel will then have a proper understanding of God and will be ashamed of their former unfaithfulness (43-44).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely with a mighty hand, and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I be king over you. And I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather ye out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out; and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I enter into judgment with you face to face. Like as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, saith the Lord Jehovah. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the land of the covenant; and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that trespass against me; I will bring them forth out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord Jehovah: Go ye, serve every one his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not hearken unto me; but my holy name shall ye no more profane with your gifts, and your idols. For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, says the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me in the land: there I will accept them and there will I require your offerings, and the first-fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.”

“I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples” This new wilderness was not a geographical wilderness like the wilderness of Egypt, but a wilderness, “of strange peoples, unusual social customs, etc.”John T. Bunn in the Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1871), p. 291. It was the wilderness of their captivity in Babylon; and the vast majority of Israel would not pass that test, any more than their fathers had passed it in the former wilderness. The most of them, enamored with the wealth and splendor of Babylon, would never leave for any return to Palestine, even when free to do so. Such persons were described by Cooke as, “Separated by the refining process, and not allowed to participate in the restoration.”International Critical Commentary, p. 221.

We agree with Keil who saw this ultimate gathering from the wilderness of the peoples, “As the gathering of the true Israel from the heathen world, which will ultimately be fulfilled in their conversion to Jesus Christ.”Carl Friedrich Keil, Keil-Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 286. However, we cannot accept Keil’s statement that, “The principal fulfillment is still future, when Israel as a nation shall be converted to Christ.”Ibid. The Bible nowhere says that any nation whatever shall ever be converted to Christ.

“Go ye, serve every one his idols” This is the same kind of commandment that God gave to Judas Iscariot, when he said, “What thou doest, do quickly.” God never restrains anyone from evil who has already made up his mind to sin. That would appear to be the condition of those elders who sat in front of Ezekiel.

A feature of this chapter here is the unchanging purpose of God to redeem all mankind through the posterity of Abraham, as he said at the beginning (Genesis 12:3). Many of Abraham’s literal posterity will have no part of God’s intention; but God will do it in spite of them. Jamieson paraphrased the thought of Ezekiel 20:40

“Although you, the rebellious portion of Israel, withdraw from my service, others of the believing remnant, will succeed after you perish, and will serve God purely.”Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s Commentary, p. 592.

“In the mountain of the height of Israel, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me” As Cook noted, “All separation between Israel and Judah shall cease. This points to the times yet future, when in Messiah’s kingdom, Jews and Gentiles alike shall be gathered into the kingdom, the kingdom of Christ.”Albert Barnes’ Commentary, p. 350.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

God’s future dealings with His people:

(1) in judgment Ezekiel 20:32-38;

(2) in mercy Ezekiel 20:39-44.

Ezekiel 20:32

The inquirers had thought that if Jerusalem were taken, and the whole people became sojourners in a foreign land, they would cease to be a separate nation. In their love for idolatry some may have even desired this. But more probably they thought that this very consequence precluded the possibility of such a catastrophe. God answers that He will not allow them to become as the pagan, but this will only subject them to severer trial and stricter rule.

Ezekiel 20:33

The expressions “a mighty hand, stretched out arm” carry back the thoughts to Egyptian bondage Deuteronomy 4:34; Deuteronomy 5:15; but then it was for deliverance, now for judgment “with fury poured out.”

Ezekiel 20:35

The wilderness of the people - A time of probation will follow, as before in the wilderness of Sin, so in the “wilderness of the nations” among whom they will sojourn (not the Babylonians) “after” that captivity. This period of their probation is not over. The dispersion of the Jews did not cease with the return under Zerubbabel; but in our Saviour’s time they were living as a distinct people in all the principal places in the civilized world; and so they live now. God is yet pleading with them “face to face,” calling them personally to embrace those offers which as a nation they disregarded.

Ezekiel 20:37

To pass under the rod - i. e., to be gathered into the flock Micah 7:14.

The bond - The shepherd collects the flock, and separates the sheep from the goats, which are rejected. Compare Romans 11:7-11.

Ezekiel 20:39

Strong irony. Some prefer another rendering: “Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, yet hereafter ye shall surely hearken unto me, and shall no more pollute My Holy Name etc.” In this way, this verse is introductory to what follows.

Ezekiel 20:40

This points to the consummation indicated by the vision of the temple.

In the mountain of the height - Or, Upon a very high mountain Ezekiel 40:2. Compare Isaiah 2:2-3.

The house of Israel, all of them - All the separation between Israel and Judah shall cease. This points to times yet future, when in Messiah’s kingdom Jews and Gentiles alike shall be gathered into one kingdom - the kingdom of Christ. Jerusalem is the Church of Christ Galatians 4:26, into which the children of Israel shall at last be gathered, and so the prophecy shall be fulfilled Revelation 21:2.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

He continues the discourse which he had commenced, namely, that God would not suffer the exiles to withdraw themselves from him from the time he had adopted them. Then, since they were bound by the blessing of redemption, although they thought themselves far removed from the sight of God, after they were cast into exile, he says he would be present to gather them from the land of their dwellings; that is, wherever they were dispersed to bring them out. Some suppose the phrase to include a promise of favor, because it is said, I will purge you; but the word to choose, as I prefer to render it, or to discern, means, that God will drag to light those who think they have obtained hiding-places in which they can escape his eyes. Although, therefore, they promise themselves complete exemption from God’s authority, he, on the other hand, pronounces them deceived, since he would collect them all together from the land of their habitations, although they were dispersed in different places. God’s threatenings are sufficiently evident from the second clause of the verse, they shall not come, says he, into the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. He confirms what we saw before, that when liberty was granted them, they did not on that account become God’s Church, since he had another reason for ruling over them, namely, to chastise them severely for their wickedness. They shall not come, therefore, into the land of Israel; that is, they shall remain, and grow corrupt in the desert, as we know that to be a most severe punishment, when God swore, that except two persons, Caleb and Joshua, no one should enter the land of Canaan. (Numbers 14:23.) So also in this passage, I will free you, that is, when your return to your country shall be evident, a new light shall seem to have shone forth, but yet reflect on what happened to your fathers; for although redeemed, they perished in the desert, and never possessed the land of Canaan. The same thing shall happen to you also:, since your return is only a prelude to my favor: but you shall never return to the land of Israel. But this is extended to those who returned and dwelt in their native land. But we said that Judea was a place of exile since the course of God’s favor was broken off, and God begun to plead with them afresh, even when he had led them from their captivity at Babylon And you shall know that I am Jehovah: as we said yesterday, God is recognized by the reprobate, while they are compelled to acknowledged a judge whose fatherly clemency they had despised. It follows —

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 20

Now it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me ( Ezekiel 20:1 ).

Now this evidently was their custom. We read earlier last week where the elders came to sit before Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord.

And so the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel ( Ezekiel 20:2-3 ),

Now the last time God said, you know, "Why should I be inquired of them? You know, these guys have idols that they've set up in their hearts." And God's still not speaking to them.

Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are you come to inquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you ( Ezekiel 20:3 ).

You've come to get My advice? You've come to get My counsel? I'm not gonna counsel you.

Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers: Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt ( Ezekiel 20:4-5 ),

Now He goes back, "Cause them to know their history. Rehearse their history for them. Go back to when they were in Egypt."

when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am Jehovah your God; In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land which I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands ( Ezekiel 20:5-6 ):

Now you go to Israel today and you see a tremendous work of restoration, they have planted millions of trees all over the land. And as the result of the planting of all of these trees, they have been able to change the climate in Israel. And creating a lot more humidity, and thus a lot more rain. And the land is again becoming a land of streams and a land of greenery as they are getting more and more rains all the time as the result of this reforestation program that they have had. And, of course, they have been able to, through drainage canals and planting of eucalyptus trees and all, been able to take a lot of the marshes, the areas that were just swampy, and they've been able to make them very productive as far as the growing of fruit and all. The Sharon plain that used to be nothing but marshland is now beautiful citrus orchards. The same with the valley of Megiddo that was marshland, is now just so verdant and beautiful and green with all of the agriculture that is there. Of course, by their planting and all and bringing water down to Beersheba there, they're really creating now a whole new look to this land.

Now, when God first brought the children of Israel into the land, it was a land of heavy forest. A land of beautiful streams and forest, a land that flowed with milk and honey. They sort of sneer now, because it is a rocky land. And they make jokes out of the rocks, you know. Like when God was creating the earth He sent two angels out with baskets of rocks to distribute around the world. And one of the angels took and distributed his rocks over half the world, but the other angel was lazy and just dumped all of his rocks on Israel. And it is true, that is a rocky land now, but it wasn't always so.

When the Turks took the land, they deliberately cut down all of the forest to just denude the land. And without the trees and all, the topsoil all washed away and the land became a barren desert, wilderness. But, of course, except in the valleys, they became marshlands because of all of the silt that plugged up the streams and so forth. And so it developed these marshlands, plus the rocky mountains, the barren rocky mountains. Now, the Jews started planting pine trees on these rocky mountains, because the pine tree roots are able to go down in the crevasses and are able to... actually, as they go down and they swell, they begin to crack the rocks and break them up creating new topsoil. And all of the planting was done on a scientific basis. And extremely educational and valuable lessons can be learned agriculturally in going over and studying. They've really done the whole thing from a scientific base. Because eucalyptus trees drink up so much water, they planted eucalyptus trees in these marsh areas so that they would drink up gallons of water every day. And, of course, they drained the marshes and drained the rivers and all, and allowed them to flow on out again to the Mediterranean so that you don't have the marshland. And they are really restoring this land in a marvelous way. It's an exciting thing to see.

But when God first brought them into the land out of Egypt, it was a beautiful verdant land of forest and streams and all throughout the entire land. It was, according to the Word of God, one of the most beautiful places in the world. And as you see where they are restoring it, where the rain has been restored and all, there are some beautiful, beautiful areas. That Sea of Galilee and the areas around the Sea of Galilee. Up at Tel Dan, one of the most beautiful places, the water in the springs and all, it is just lovely, beautiful. The whole countryside is being restored, and as it is, it's again becoming a place of great beauty.

But the land, God said, I spied out this land for them. It was flowing with milk and honey. It was the glory of all of the lands.

Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes ( Ezekiel 20:7 )

That is while they were in Egypt.

don't defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: for I am Jehovah your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt. Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them ( Ezekiel 20:7-11 ).

So God gave the statutes, the judgments, the right way to live.

Moreover I also gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them ( Ezekiel 20:12 ),

Now the sabbath was not a sign to the Gentiles, and there are people today who get on a sabbath day kick and wonder why we don't worship God on the sabbath. We do. I worship God every day. "But why don't you observe the sabbath?" Because I'm not a Jew. It's a sign between God and the Jew. You say, "How can you be so sure?" Because God said so. How sure can you be? Exo 31:12 when God gave the law of the Sabbath, or Exodus 31:17 ,"It is a sign," or sixteen. "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever. For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the seventh day He rested and He was refreshed." So it's a sign between God and Israel.

So I am with Paul, I am the type of man that Paul described, "One man considers one day above another," that's not me. "But another considers every day alike," that's me. I'm sort of boring to be around, because as far as I'm concerned, every day is alike. Anniversary, birthday? So what, you know. Every day is alike. You know people set days and, "Oh it's a special day." Just another day. As far as I'm concerned, they're all the Lord's day.

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they did not walk in my statutes, they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he would 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 ( Ezekiel 20:13 ).

God said to Moses, "Stand back. I'm gonna wipe them out."

But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out ( Ezekiel 20:14 ).

Now they were, they didn't obey Me in Egypt, they didn't obey Me in the wilderness.

Yet 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 the lands ( Ezekiel 20:15 );

Glorious land.

Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but they polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. But I said unto their children in the wilderness ( Ezekiel 20:16-18 )

So He cast the fathers out; they failed. "So I spoke then to their children in the wilderness."

Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: I am Jehovah your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am Jehovah your God. 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 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. 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. 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 ( Ezekiel 20:18-23 );

God spoke to them through Moses and said, "Look, God is gonna scatter you throughout all the nations. He's gonna disperse you among the nations." It's in the song that Moses taught them so that when they were scattered that they would be singing the song and they'd remember God warned them of this. "If you turn from God and all, then God will turn you over into the hands of your enemies and you'll be dispersed among the nations. You'll become a curse and a byword on the lips of all the people."

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. Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good ( Ezekiel 20:24-25 )

He said, "All right," verse Ezekiel 20:39 :

Go, serve every one his idols ( Ezekiel 20:39 ),

In other words, God says, "All right, that's it. Do it." So He gave them statutes that were not good. You know, just, He saw that they were bent in that direction, "All right, if that's what you want to do, do it." It's terrible when God gives up on a person and just turns him over to his own desires, to his own destruction.

And I polluted them in their own gifts, and caused them to pass through the fire all that open the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD. Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, thus saith Jehovah God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, [when I finally brought them in here,] then they saw every high hill, and all of the thick trees [the forest], and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: which there also they made their sweet savor, and poured out their drink offerings ( Ezekiel 20:26-28 ).

So I brought them finally into the land and they saw the beauty, the hills and all, and they began to worship on every one of these hills, these false gods.

Then I said to them, What is the high place whereunto you go? And the name thereof is called Bamah to this day ( Ezekiel 20:29 ).

Which means high place.

Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah God; Are you polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredoms after their abominations? For when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons to pass through the fire, you pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith Jehovah God, I will not be inquired of by you ( Ezekiel 20:30-31 ).

So here they are sitting before the prophet Ezekiel, saying, "Inquire of the Lord for us." And God says, "Hey, Ezekiel, just tell them the history. And then say, 'Should I be inquired of by you?' No way."

And that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. As I live, saith Jehovah God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein you have scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith Jehovah God. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: and I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD ( Ezekiel 20:32-38 ).

So God says, "I will come again in that day." And, of course, this day is in the future, but God is gonna cause them to pass under the rod to enter into the covenant. There will be those that God will deal with that He will bring into the land, and He will bless, and He will favor. But He's gonna rule, they will have to make that commitment unto God.

As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. I will accept you with your sweet savor, when I bring you out from the people ( Ezekiel 20:39-41 ),

This is when Christ returns and the gathering together again of the people into the land and God will then accept them as His people.

And he will be sanctified in you before the heathen. And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall you remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all of the evils that you have committed ( Ezekiel 20:41-43 ).

It said that in Zechariah prophesies, "and when they see Christ, they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn and wail over Him as a mother wails over her only son who has been killed" ( Zechariah 12:10 ). Oh, when they realize what they have done, what they have missed in the rejection of their Messiah. Weeping, but it will be a glorious thing because it will be the weeping of repentance and it will be their restoration in their life and their glory.

And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming fire shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables? ( Ezekiel 20:44-49 )

"They're already saying, Lord, 'He's speaking in parables,' and now I tell them this and they're going to just give me a bad time." But, of course, God is here speaking this parable of the forest of the south field in which he is prophesying the fact that Jerusalem is to be burned and this is the end. And, of course, this is the final prophecy. After this prophecy, Jerusalem, the news came of Jerusalem's destruction. And so we... this is the last prophecy before the news of the destruction of Jerusalem arrived to Babylon. And now beginning with chapter 21, we get into a new set of prophecies, after now that Jerusalem has fallen and those in Babylon have realized it's so.

May the Lord be with you and bless you and strengthen you for this week. May the anointing of God's Holy Spirit rest upon your life. And through His beauty may your life shine forth. May God cause fullness of His Spirit to rest upon you. And may your life be a strong testimony and a witness to those around of the grace and the love of our Lord. In Jesus' name. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. The history of Israel’s rebellion and Yahweh’s grace 20:1-44

The structure of this passage is quite clear. It consists of a review of Israel’s history with an introduction and a concluding application.

"The chapter is remarkable in that it shows a uniform moral plane sustained by the nation throughout its history." [Note: Feinberg, p. 108.]

Other important themes in this chapter include God’s faithful grace in spite of Israel’s persistent rebelliousness, the repetition of a wilderness experience for Israel for her disobedience, and Yahweh’s concern for His own reputation (name).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Israel’s rebellion in Ezekiel’s day and God’s grace 20:30-38

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

As the Lord had judged the fathers in the wilderness long ago, so He would judge the children of His people. He would discipline them to sanctify them (cf. Jeremiah 33:13). It was customary for shepherds to count their sheep as they passed under their staff that they held over the doorway of the sheepfold.

"Reference to those who ’pass under my rod’ was first an allusion to the tithe (Leviticus 27:32). Every tenth animal that passed under a ’rod’ held over the sheep was separated and declared to be holy. The purification of the exile, likewise, would separate the righteous and the wicked. The ’rod’ also was an instrument of discipline, correction, and punishment. This was another way of communicating the purpose of the exile, which was to ’purge’ and purify those who rebelled against God (Ezekiel 20:38)." [Note: Cooper, pp. 206-7.]

The Lord would also bring His people under obligation to keep the terms of a covenant. This is evidently a reference to the New Covenant (cf. Ezekiel 36:25-38; Jeremiah 31:31-34). He would weed out the rebels and transgressors from among them and bring them out of the countries where they lived but would not bring them into the Promised Land (cf. Numbers 16; Deuteronomy 11:6). This probably refers to the Jews who will die during the Tribulation period (cf. Zechariah 13:8; Revelation 12:15-17) and or when the Lord returns to the earth (cf. Matthew 25:31-46). Of course, many other Jews will enter the Millennium, as the verses cited make clear.

"The passage is a prophecy of future judgment upon Israel, regathered from all nations . . . The issue of this judgment determines who of Israel in that day will enter kingdom blessing (Psalms 50:1-7; Ezekiel 20:33-44; Malachi 3:2-5; Malachi 4:1-2)." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 859.]

Then His people would know that the One who did this was Yahweh.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me,.... All men are enemies, and enmity itself, against God; and every sin is an act of hostility and rebellion against him; every transgression and violation of his law is a casting off of allegiance to him, and a trampling upon and despising his legislative power and authority; wherefore rebels and transgressors of his law are put together; the one being explanative of the other. The people of the Jews were always more or less a rebellious people; so they were in the times of Moses, and all the while that he was with them, and were notoriously so in the times of Ezekiel; and therefore are often so described in this book; but they were not all so; such as were, the Lord here declares that he would single them out, as goats from among his sheep he brought under the rod, and purge them as chaff from the wheat; that sinners in Zion should be no more in the congregation of the righteous:

I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn; or "countries"; wherever they have been pilgrims and sojourners, as they now are; wherever they are; it looks as if, a little before or when the remnant of God, according to the election of his grace, shall be converted, that the rest shall be collected together into some one place, and be destroyed as rebels:

and they shall not enter into the land of Israel; when the converted Jews shall; an emblem of carnal Israelites, wicked professors, being not admitted into the New Jerusalem, and being excluded from the kingdom of heaven:

and ye shall know that I am the Lord; that knows all things, can do all things, and will faithfully and punctually perform all that is promised, threatened, or predicted.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:   34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.   35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.   36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.   37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:   38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.   39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.   40 For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first-fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.   41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.   42 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers.   43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.   44 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

      The design which was now on foot among the elders of Israel was that the people of Israel, being scattered among the nations, should lay aside all their peculiarities and conform to those among whom they lived; but God had told them that the design should not take effect, Ezekiel 20:32; Ezekiel 20:32. Now, in these verses, he shows particularly how it should be frustrated. They aimed at the mingling of the families of Israel with the families of the countries; but it will prove in the issue that the wicked Israelites, notwithstanding their compliances, shall not mingle with them in their prosperity, but shall be distinguished from them for destruction; for idolatrous Israelites, that are apostates from God, shall be sooner and more sorely punished than idolatrous Babylonians that never knew the way of righteousness. Read and tremble at the doom here passed upon them; it is backed with an oath not to be reversed: As I live, saith the Lord God, thus and thus will I deal with you. They think to make both Jerusalem and Babylon their friends by halting between two; but God threatens that neither of them shall serve for a rest or refuge for them.

      I. Babylon shall not protect them, nor any of the countries of the heathen; for God will cast them out of his protection and then what prince, what people, what place, can serve to be a sanctuary to them? God was Israel's King of old, and had they continued his loyal subjects he would have ruled over them with care and tenderness for their good, but now with a stretched-out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over them,Ezekiel 20:33; Ezekiel 20:33. That power which should have been exerted fore their protection shall be exerted for their destruction. Note, There is no shaking off God's dominion; rule he will, either with the golden sceptre or with the iron rod; and those that will not yield to the power of his grace shall be made to sink under the power of his wrath. Now when God is angry with them, though they may think that they shall be lost in the crowd of the heathen among whom they are scattered, they will be disappointed; for (Ezekiel 20:34; Ezekiel 20:34) I will gather you out of the countries wherein you are scattered, as, when the rebels are dispersed in battle, those that have escaped the sword of war are pursued and brought together out of all the places whither they were scattered, to be punished by the sword of justice. They shall be brought into the wilderness of the people (Ezekiel 20:35; Ezekiel 20:35), either into Babylon, which is called a wilderness (Ezekiel 19:13; Ezekiel 19:13), and the desert of the sea (Isaiah 21:1), or into some place which, though full of people, shall be to them as the wilderness was to Israel after they came out of Egypt, a place where God will plead with them face to face, as he pleaded with their fathers in the wilderness of Egypt (Ezekiel 20:36; Ezekiel 20:36),-- where their carcases shall fall and where he will swear concerning them that they shall never return to Canaan, as he did swear concerning their fathers that they should never come into Canaan,--where he will avenge the breach of his law with as much terror as that with which he gave it in the wilderness of Sinai. Note, God has a good action against apostates, and will find not only time, but a proper place, to plead with them in upon that action, a wilderness even in the midst of the people for that purpose.

      II. Israel shall be no more able to protect them than Babylon could; nor shall their relation to God's people stand them in any more stead for the other world than their compliance with idolaters shall for this world; nor shall they stand in the congregation of the righteous any more than in the congregation of evil-doers; for there will come a distinguishing day, when God will separate between the precious and the vile; he will cause them, as the shepherd causes his sheep, to pass under the rod, when he tithes them (Leviticus 27:32), that he may mark which is for God. God will take particular notice of each of them, one by one, as sheep are counted, and he will bring them into the bond of the covenant (Ezekiel 20:37; Ezekiel 20:37); he will try them and judge of them according to the tenour of the covenant, and the difference made between some and others by the blessings and curses of the covenant. Or it may refer to those among them that repented and reformed; he will cause them to pass under the rod of affliction, and, having done them good by it, he will bring them again into the bond of the covenant, will be to them a God in covenant, and use them again as heirs of promise.

      1. He will separate the wicked from among them (Ezekiel 20:38; Ezekiel 20:38): "I will purge out from among you the rebels, who have been a grief and scandal to you, and who have by their rebellions brought all these calamities upon you." The judgments of God shall find them out, and their naming the name of Israel shall be no shelter to them. They shall be brought out of the countries where they sojourn, and shall not have that rest in them which they promised themselves. But they shall not enter into the land of Israel, nor enjoy the benefit of that rest which God has promised to his people. Note, Though godly people may share with the wicked in the calamities of the world, yet wicked people shall have no share with the godly in the heavenly Canaan; but it shall be part of the blessedness of that world that they shall be purged out from among them, the tares from the wheat, the chaff from the corn, Ezekiel 13:9; Ezekiel 13:9. But wherever these idolaters of the house of Israel were contriving to worship both God and their idols, thinking to please both, God here protests against it (Ezekiel 20:39; Ezekiel 20:39), as Elijah had done in his name: "If the Lord be God, then follow him, but, if Baal, then follow him; if you will serve your idols, do, and take what comes of it; but then do not pretend relation to God and a religious regard to him, nor pollute his holy name with your gifts at his altar." Spiritual judgments are the sorest judgments. Two of that kind of judgments are threatened in Ezekiel 20:39 against those that were for dividing between the God of Israel and the gods of the nations:-- (1.) That they should be given up to the service of their idols. To them he said ironically, "Since you will not hearken unto me, go you, serve every one his idols, now that you think it will be for your interest, and hereafter also. You shall go on in it. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone; let him take his course, and see what he will get by it at last." Note, Those who think to serve themselves by sin will find in the end that they have but enslaved themselves to sin. (2.) That they should be cut off from the service of God and communion with God: "You shall not pollute my holy name with your vain oblations,Isaiah 1:11. You bring your gifts in your hands, wherewith you pretend to honour me, but at the same time you bring your idols in your hearts, and therefore you do but pollute me, which I will not suffer any more," Amos 5:21; Amos 5:22. Note, Those are justly forbidden God's house that profane his house.

      2. He will separate them to himself again. (1.) He will gather them in mercy out of the countries whither they were scattered, to be monuments of mercy, as the incorrigible were gathered to be vessels of wrath, Ezekiel 20:41; Ezekiel 20:41. Not one of God's jewels shall be lost in the lumber of this world. (2.) He will bring them to the land of Israel, which he had promised to give to their fathers; and the discontinuance of their possession shall be no defeasance of their right; it is the land of Israel still, and thither God will bring them safely again, Ezekiel 20:42; Ezekiel 20:42. (3.) He will re-establish his ordinances among them, will set up his sanctuary in his holy mountain, which is here called the mountain of the height of Israel; for, though the Mount Zion was none of the highest mountains, yet the temple there was one of the highest honours of Israel. It is promised that those who preserved their integrity, and would not serve idols, in other lands, shall return to their prosperity and shall serve the true God in their own land: All of them in the land shall serve me. Note, It is the true happiness of a people, and a sure token for good to them, when there is a prevailing disposition in them to serve God. Whereas God had forbidden the idolaters to bring their gifts to his altar, of these he will require offerings and first-fruits, and will accept them, Ezekiel 20:40; Ezekiel 20:40. What he does not require he will not accept, but what is done with a regard to his precepts he will be well pleased with. He will accept them with their sweet savour, or savour of rest (Ezekiel 20:41; Ezekiel 20:41), as being very grateful to him and what he takes a complacency in; whereas, to hypocritical worshippers, he says, I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. (4.) He will give them true repentance for their sins, Ezekiel 20:43; Ezekiel 20:43. When they find how gracious God is to them they will be overcome with his kindness, and blush to think of their bad behaviour towards so good a God: "There, in my holy mountain, when you come to enjoy the privileges of that again, there shall you remember your doings, wherein you have been defiled." Note, The more conversant we are with God's holiness the more we shall see of the odious nature of sin. There you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight. Note, Ingenuous evangelical repentance makes people loathe themselves for their sins, as Job 42:5; Job 42:6. (5.) He will give them the knowledge of himself: They shall know by experience that he is the Lord, that he is a God of almighty power and inexhaustible goodness, kind to his people and faithful to his covenant with them. Note, All the favours we receive from God should lead us into a more intimate acquaintance with him. (6.) He will do all this for his own name's sake, notwithstanding their undeservings and ill-deservings (Ezekiel 20:44; Ezekiel 20:44); he has wrought with them, that is, wrought for them, wrought in favour of them, wrought in concurrence with them, they doing their endeavour; he has wrought with them purely for his name's sake. His reasons were all fetched from himself. Had he dealt with them according to their wicked ways and their corrupt doings, though they were the better and sounder part of the house of Israel, he would have left them to be scattered and lost with the rest; but he recovered and restored them for the sake of his own name, not only that it might not be polluted (Ezekiel 20:14; Ezekiel 20:14), but that he might be sanctified in them before the heathen (Ezekiel 20:41; Ezekiel 20:41), that he might sanctify himself (so the word is); for it is God's work to glorify his own name. He will do well for his people that he may have the glory of it, that he may manifest himself to be a God pardoning sin and so keeping promise, that his people may praise him, and that their neighbours may likewise take notice of him, as they did when God burned again their captivity,Psalms 126:3. Then said they among the heathen, The Lord has done great things for them.