Ezekiel 20:35
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The phrase "wilderness of the peoples" is a striking contrast to the historical wilderness Israel experienced; it doesn't refer to a physical place, but a state of being scattered and isolated among nations. This "wilderness" is where God will confront them directly, "face to face," not with intermediaries, but to deal with them openly and in full view, just as He did with their ancestors.
After confronting their idolatry and rejection of His law, God declares He will scatter His people among the nations, just as He once led their ancestors through the wilderness. This scattering isn't an escape, but a divine judgment where God will confront them directly, stripping away their false hopes and forcing them to face Him alone. This intense, personal reckoning will lead to purification and ultimately, restoration.
God promises to bring His people into a 'wilderness of the peoples.' What kind of wilderness is this, and why does it sound so daunting?
This phrase isn't pointing to a literal desert like the one their ancestors wandered in after Egypt. Instead, it describes a state of being scattered among diverse nations, stripped of their homeland and familiar structures.
God declares He will 'enter into judgment with you face to face.' What does this intimate, direct confrontation mean in the context of judgment?
The phrase 'face to face' evokes a powerful image of direct, unmediated encounter. For Israel, this signifies a judgment that is personal, undeniable, and profoundly revealing.
Understand the original words
midbar · Hebrew Noun
A desolate or uncultivated place, often used in Scripture as a place of testing, refinement, and intimate meeting between God and His people.
mishpat · Hebrew Noun
A legal or theological process of adjudicating sin; God’s active intervention to settle accounts with His people according to His righteous standards.
panim el panim · Hebrew Phrase
A metaphor for direct, personal, and unavoidable encounter with God; it signifies a stripping away of all pretenses before the Divine Judge.
This prophecy to Ezekiel, delivered during the Babylonian exile, speaks of a future judgment and purification that mirrors the wilderness experience of the ancient Israelites. It highlights that even in dispersion among 'peoples,' God's direct, face-to-face dealings would continue, bringing about a spiritual cleansing.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the northern Kingdom of Israel, exiling many of its inhabitants and scattering them among various regions. This marks the loss of the northern tribes.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Under Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylon begins its conquest of Judah, initiating the first wave of exiles, including notable figures like Daniel. This event sets the stage for the eventual destruction of Jerusalem.
597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Babylon deports more of Judah's elite, including King Jehoiachin and the prophet Ezekiel. The exiles are taken to Mesopotamia, where they live in communities away from their homeland.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and its magnificent Temple, the center of Israel's religious life. A final, larger group of Judeans is exiled to Babylon.
This passage describes God appearing to Israel in the wilderness in a powerful, visible way, paralleling Ezekiel's prophecy of God pleading 'face to face' with His people in a spiritual wilderness.
Hosea 2:14-15Hosea speaks of God leading Israel back into the wilderness to speak tenderly to them and give them restored vineyards, echoing Ezekiel's 'wilderness of the peoples' as a place of divine discipline and renewal.
Deuteronomy 5:4This verse is the direct source of the phrase 'face to face,' highlighting the direct, unmediated communication God had with Israel at Sinai, a directness that will be replicated in His 'pleading' with them in their future dispersion.
Jeremiah 31:2Jeremiah describes God's past kindness to Israel in the wilderness and promises a future restoration, setting a precedent for God's redemptive actions in the 'wilderness of the peoples' described by Ezekiel.
Revelation 17:15This New Testament passage speaks of waters representing peoples and multitudes, offering a conceptual link to Ezekiel's 'wilderness of the peoples' as a place of divine judgment amidst the masses of humanity.
gillEzekiel 20:35: "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face."
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people,.... Into Babylon, and into captivity there, which they thought to avoid by fleeing to other countries. Some think that those inhospitable nations are meant, Syro-media, Caspia, Hyrcania, Iberia, and others, into which many of the Jews were brought, who sought to live elsewhere than at Babylon; and others are of opinion tha…
ellicottEzekiel 20:35: "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face."
(35) Into the wilderness of the people. —As in the past there was a period of probation and discipline in the wilderness, so shall there be in the future. The similarity is insisted upon in Ezekiel 20:36 , and the phrase “face to face” is taken from Deuteronomy 5:4 , not to show that the Lord will interpose again with the same sensible manifestations, but will plead with them i…
The phrase "wilderness of the peoples" is a striking contrast to the historical wilderness Israel experienced; it doesn't refer to a physical place, but a state of being scattered and isolated among nations. This "wilderness" is where God will confront them directly, "face to face," not with intermediaries, but to deal with them openly and in full view, just as He did with their ancestors.
After confronting their idolatry and rejection of His law, God declares He will scatter His people among the nations, just as He once led their ancestors through the wilderness. This scattering isn't an escape, but a divine judgment where God will confront them directly, stripping away their false hopes and forcing them to face Him alone. This intense, personal reckoning will lead to purification and ultimately, restoration.
After confronting their idolatry and rejection of His law, God declares He will scatter His people among the nations, just as He once led their ancestors through the wilderness. This scattering isn't an escape, but a divine judgment where God will confront them directly, stripping away their false hopes and forcing them to face Him alone. This intense, personal reckoning will lead to purification and ultimately, restoration.
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c. 539 BC
Cyrus the Great's Conquest of Babylon
The Persian king Cyrus conquers the Babylonian Empire, opening the way for the exiled Jews to return to their homeland.
c. 538 BC onwards
Return from Exile and Rebuilding
Cyrus issues a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. This marks the beginning of the restoration period, though it is fraught with challenges.
"And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face." — The phrase "wilderness of the peoples" is a striking contrast to the historical wilderness Israel experienced; it doesn't refer to a physical place, but a state of being scattered and isolated among…
