Changing the calendar from one year to the next causes many of us to make New Year’s resolutions. It is always good to do what is good, meaningful and loving. Perhaps we should devote more time and reflection to our resolutions and our commitments to uphold them.
God declared a resolution. You will find it in Ezekiel 20 (NASU). It would be very helpful for you to read this chapter now. Space limitations will force you to set aside a lot. Three times God said:“I decided to pour out my anger on them.” They refer to Israel. This passage is defined during the Babylonian captivity, but explains the low points of Israel’s history. Ezekiel is serving as a kind of mediator between the elders of captive Israel and God. The elders of Israel came to Ezekiel in“Ask the Lord”which is sometimes good, but certainly not in this passage. God puts them in their place without any ambiguity. God makes it clear that He, and He alone, oversees all things without the Creator being questioned by the creatures. At three specific times, God decided to pour out his wrath on his people.
Don’t miss the fact that every time God followed up“I decided to pour out my anger on them” with“But I acted for the sake of my name.” God did not annihilate His chosen nation because He had chosen to love, care for, and protect them. The majesty and holiness of his name would seem to be dazzled if his nation perished. In the name of His name, God would come to justice by a different path. In verses 33-38, God declared that instead of pouring out His wrath on the nation, He would purge His nation by pouring out His wrath on the rebels and transgressors among them. Do not miss the climax reached in verse 38,“So you will know that I am the Lord.” The purpose of the Scriptures is always that the creature can know the Creator.
We have gone through a detail that we must not miss. Each of the three occurrences is practically word for word. Ezekiel 20: 13-14 clearly states:“Then I decided to pour out my wrath on them in the desert, to annihilate them. But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I made myself known unto them. (NASU) God is the missionary God. He does not want his majestic, glorious and holy name to be singled out in the eyes of the nations of the world because that would be tragic in itself. Moreover, from before the creation of the world, God’s magnificent intention was always to put all nations, not just the Jewish nation, under the care of the Messiah. Desecrating His name before the nations would not gather them to Him, which is the desire of His heart.
For the resolution of my new year and yours, will we decide with the greatest commitment to focus on honoring and not desecrating God’s name? This is the best and most effective way to love God and love your neighbor. God has a final word:As long as I live, ”declares the Lord God,“ you will not ask me. What comes to your mind will not happen when you say, ‘We will be like the nations, like the tribes of the lands, serving wood and stone.’ (Ezekiel 20: 31-32, NASU) The worst thing we can do for the world is to copy the ways of the world. The best we can do is honor God by obeying him.