Ezekiel 20:32-38: a reflection

32“‘“That which comes into your mind will not be at all, in that you say, ‘We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.’ 33As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you. 34I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries in which you are scattered with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. 35I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” says the Lord GOD. 37“I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38I will purge out from among you the rebels and those who disobey me. I will bring them out of the land where they live, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”

God addresses a thought forming in the minds of his people: We will be like the nations, like the peoples of the lands, serving wood and stone. They wanted to blend in, to give up their distinct calling and become like everyone else, worshiping idols like the nations around them. And God's response is firm: What is in your mind shall never happen. As surely as I live, I will be king over you. God will not simply let his people drift away and become like the world; he is determined to reclaim them as his own.

Notice God's determination not to lose his people to the world. They wanted to be like the nations; but God says this shall not be, for he will be king over them. He would not release them to the idols they were drifting toward, would not let them simply blend into the world and cease to be his. His claim on his people was not something he would relinquish; he was determined to reclaim them, even through discipline, rather than let them go the way of the nations.

That reveals something of God's persistent claim on those who are his. We, too, can drift toward being like the world, wanting to blend in, to give up the distinct calling of belonging to God, to be like everyone else. But God does not lightly release his own to the world; he is determined to reclaim his people, to be king over them, not to let them simply drift away. Take comfort, and take warning, in God's persistent claim on you. He will not easily let you go the way of the world; he is determined to reclaim you as his own. Do not resist his claim by drifting toward the world; yield to the God who is determined to be king over you, and who will not let you simply blend into the world and cease to be his.

Lord, when your people wanted to be like the nations, serving wood and stone, you responded firmly: what is in your mind shall never happen; I will be king over you. You would not simply let them drift away and become like the world, but were determined to reclaim them as your own. Show me your persistent claim on those who are yours. I, too, can drift toward being like the world, wanting to blend in, to give up the distinct calling of belonging to you, to be like everyone else. But you do not lightly release your own to the world; you are determined to reclaim your people, to be king over them, not to let them simply drift away. Let me take both comfort and warning in your persistent claim on me. Keep me from resisting your claim by drifting toward the world; help me yield to you, who are determined to be king over me, and who will not let me simply blend into the world and cease to be yours. Be king over me, Lord.