Above all God wants his love to be known to the world. This is the heart of Ezekiel 20, though you might not recognise this at first read. The reason why God persevered with Israel was because their rejection of him threatened to thwart his self-revelation to the world. Israel’s rejection of Yahweh declared, in effect, that he was not worthy of their love and worship. Israel was to be the vessel through which God would reveal himself to the world, but now they were sending the wrong message. So, God declares here what he will do to keep his “name from being profaned”. He would discipline and restore his people so that the world would know that he is a gracious and faithful God. If God gave up on Israel it would mean the failure of his purpose to reveal himself to the world. So, God committed himself to his people, not for their sake primarily, but for the sake of his “name,” that is his self-revelation. That doesn’t mean that God is only interested in his reputation and not his people. On the contrary, the thing that Israel and the rest of the world needed most, was to know God himself. He would therefore persevere with his people for the sake of his name. But the revelation of his name through such perseverance was indeed for the sake of all people. God wants you to know him so that you can make him known. Everything God does in your life is to this end.
Reflect on what God presently wants you to know about himself.
Read Ezekiel 20:1-29
