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Ezekiel 20 Devotional

Mercy Rooted in His Name

“Then you will know, O house of Israel, that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for the sake of My name and not according to your wicked ways and corrupt acts, declares the Lord GOD.””Ezekiel 20:44 (BSB)

When elders come to inquire of the LORD, he refuses to be consulted and instead tells Israel's story honestly (20:1-4). In Egypt they clung to idols. In the wilderness they rejected his statutes and profaned his Sabbaths, and their children did the same (20:5-24). Time after time God resolved to pour out his wrath, and time after time he held back. The chapter gives the reason four times: he acted to protect the honor of his name (20:9, 14, 22, 44).

That repeated reason is full of comfort. Israel's survival never depended on its dismal record. It depended on God's commitment to his own name and character. The chapter closes with a promise to gather his people, accept them, and deal with them in a way that does not match their corrupt deeds (20:41-44). John tells believers that their sins are forgiven through the name of Christ (1 John 2:12). Your standing before God rests on his name, and his name does not change when your record does.

To think about: On a day when your own record feels like the measure of your standing with God, how does resting on his name change things?

About Ezekiel 20: Israel's Rebellion and God's Name

When elders come to consult the LORD, God refuses and recounts Israel's rebellion in Egypt and the wilderness, where He spared them for His name's sake, and later in the land. He vows to rule them, purge the rebels, and restore true worship on His holy mountain, then warns of a fire against the southern forest.

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