Eze 20:29 | KingComments | STEP | With the recalling of the people’s idolatry in the wilderness and God’s judgment on it, the story of the people’s unfaithfulness is not over. All of God’s efforts to bring the people to repentance the people have answered with new unfaithfulness. Ezekiel is commanded to bring that to the people’s attention as well ( ). He is to tell them that they have blasphemed the LORD by acting treacherously against Him. They have taunted and insulted Him. The LORD now speaks of the time He brought His people into the land ( ). He has sworn to bring them there. He did that in His faithfulness. However, there is no mention of any thanks from the people to Him for that. In their blindness, they think they are offering sacrifices to the LORD. But instead of worshiping Him in the manner prescribed by Him and in the place chosen by Him, they imitate the nations and bring “the provocation of their offering” to the idols in all sorts of places. In the term “the provocation of their offering” we hear the LORD’s pain over their conduct. He addresses the people by asking them why they keep going to that high place ( ). He asks, as it were: ‘Is this the place where I want to be served?’ In this way He wants to get them to think about their foolish ways and to repent. However, they are no longer approachable for their bad behavior. The high place has been given the name “Bamah”, or “High Place”, and bears it “to this day”, that is, to the day that Ezekiel writes the book of Ezekiel. That name is thus a permanent reminder of their continued unfaithfulness. It indicates that the whole land, with its many high places, has become one great sacrificial place where sacrifices are made to idols. The words “to this day” also apply in a spiritual sense. The high places in our lives are every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. They are the deliberations of the human mind. This symbol of unfaithfulness still exists and is cast down when Christ is given dominion in our lives. These lofty places are thrown down when we listen to the teaching of Scripture. Then they are taken captive to the obedience of Christ ( ).

‏ Ezekiel 20:29

Israel’s Idolatry in the Promised Land

With the recalling of the people’s idolatry in the wilderness and God’s judgment on it, the story of the people’s unfaithfulness is not over. All of God’s efforts to bring the people to repentance the people have answered with new unfaithfulness. Ezekiel is commanded to bring that to the people’s attention as well (Eze 20:27). He is to tell them that they have blasphemed the LORD by acting treacherously against Him. They have taunted and insulted Him. The LORD now speaks of the time He brought His people into the land (Eze 20:28).

He has sworn to bring them there. He did that in His faithfulness. However, there is no mention of any thanks from the people to Him for that. In their blindness, they think they are offering sacrifices to the LORD. But instead of worshiping Him in the manner prescribed by Him and in the place chosen by Him, they imitate the nations and bring “the provocation of their offering” to the idols in all sorts of places. In the term “the provocation of their offering” we hear the LORD’s pain over their conduct.

He addresses the people by asking them why they keep going to that high place (Eze 20:29). He asks, as it were: ‘Is this the place where I want to be served?’ In this way He wants to get them to think about their foolish ways and to repent. However, they are no longer approachable for their bad behavior. The high place has been given the name “Bamah”, or “High Place”, and bears it “to this day”, that is, to the day that Ezekiel writes the book of Ezekiel. That name is thus a permanent reminder of their continued unfaithfulness. It indicates that the whole land, with its many high places, has become one great sacrificial place where sacrifices are made to idols.

The words “to this day” also apply in a spiritual sense. The high places in our lives are every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. They are the deliberations of the human mind. This symbol of unfaithfulness still exists and is cast down when Christ is given dominion in our lives. These lofty places are thrown down when we listen to the teaching of Scripture. Then they are taken captive to the obedience of Christ (2Cor 10:4-5).