Ezekiel 20
1
And 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.
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Then came the word of the LORD to me, saying,
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Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to inquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.
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Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
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And say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up my hand to them, saying, I am the Lord your GOD;
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In the day that I lifted up my hand to them, to bring them forth from the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
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Then said I to them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
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But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken to 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.
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But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them, in bringing them forth from the land of Egypt.
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Wherefore I caused them to go forth from the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.
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And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them.
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Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
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But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
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But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
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Yet also I lifted up my hand to 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 lands;
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Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but profaned my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.
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Nevertheless my eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.
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But I said 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:
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I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;
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And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
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Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them: they profaned my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
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Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.
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I lifted up my hand to them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;
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Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
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Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they should not live;
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And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all the first-born, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.
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Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.
28
For when I had brought them into the land, for which I lifted up my hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savor, and poured out there their drink-offerings.
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Then I said to them, What is the high place to which ye go? and its name is called Bamah to this day.
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Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye lewd deeds after their abominations?
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For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even to this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.
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And that which cometh 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.
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As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with an out-stretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:
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And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries in which ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an out-stretched arm, and with fury poured out.
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And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
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As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
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And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
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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.
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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 to me: but profane ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
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For on my holy mountain, on the mountain of the hight 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.
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I will accept you with your sweet savor, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries in which ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.
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And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers.
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And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings in which ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
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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.
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Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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Son of man, set thy face towards the south, and drop thy word towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
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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 flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
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And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
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Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
Arcana Coelestia # 8871
8871. 'Which are in the heavens above, and which are on the earth beneath' means which exist in spiritual light' and which exist in natural light. This is clear from the meaning of 'a likeness of those things which are in the heavens above' as the things which are visible to the eye in spiritual light, all of which are connected with goodness and truth, and so are aspects of faith, charity towards the neighbour, and love to the Lord (feigning and simulating these virtues is meant by 'making a likeness of those things which are in the heavens above'); and from the meaning of 'a likeness of those things which are on the earth beneath' as the things which are visible to the eye in natural light, which are the kind that belong to goodness and truth on the level of people's public life and on that of their private life. Feigning and simulating these virtues is 'making a likeness of those things which are on the earth beneath'. The sense of the letter implies objects seen in the sky, such as the sun, moon, and stars, and objects seen on earth, such as various kinds of living creatures, both flying ones and those that walk or creep. But the internal sense implies the kinds of things that are meant spiritually by those objects, all of which are connected with goodness and truth, as stated above.
[2] Further description of these matters is contained in the following words in Moses,
... lest you make for yourselves a graven image in the form of any likeness, the figure of a male or a female, the figure of any beast which is on the earth, the figure of any winged bird which flies under heaven, the figure of any creeping thing on the earth, of a fish which is in the waters under the earth; and lest perhaps you lift your eyes to heaven and you look at the sun and moon and stars, all the host of heaven, and you are drawn away and bow down to them and serve them. Take care, lest you forget the covenant of Jehovah your God which He has made with you, and you make for yourselves a graven image of any figure. For Jehovah your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. When you beget children and children's children, and grow old in the land, and corrupt yourselves and make a graven image of any figure, I call heaven and earth today as witnesses against you, that you will altogether perish quickly from upon the land. Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, where you will serve gods, the work of man 's hands - wood and stone. Deuteronomy 4:16-19, 23-28.
[3] The chief reason why making a likeness of anything in the heavens or on the earth was so strictly forbidden was that this people descended from Jacob were most prone to worshipping external objects. The reason for that proneness was that they had no wish to know anything whatever about the internal aspects of the Church, which are those of faith and love to the Lord, and of charity towards the neighbour. If therefore they had been allowed to make likenesses of things they would have bowed down to them and worshipped them as gods. This is plainly evident from the golden calf which they made for themselves in the midst of so many miracles, and also from their frequent apostasy, when they forsook the worship of God for idolatrous worship. Nevertheless such actions by them are not meant in the internal sense but the things which have been explained above.
