Ezekiel 20:35-37
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord GOD. I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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What’s striking here is that the “wilderness” isn't a physical place, but a state of being scattered among all peoples. God is bringing them into this disorienting, isolated condition, not to abandon them, but to confront them directly, "face to face," so they can’t avoid His judgment and their own responsibility.
After promising to rescue Israel from their exile, God declares He will refine them through a period of discipline among the nations, mirroring their wilderness journey after Egypt. This scattering among diverse peoples isn't a literal desert, but a spiritual wilderness where God will confront them directly and justly, just as He dealt with their ancestors, to purge the unfaithful and prepare a remnant for future restoration. This intense, personal reckoning prepares them for a renewed relationship with Him back in their own land.
God promises to bring His people into a 'wilderness,' but not the one they might expect. What does this strange new 'wilderness' represent?
The 'wilderness of the peoples' isn't a physical desert. It refers to the state of exile and dispersion among various nations, a place where Israel would be stripped of their usual comforts and identity.
God declares He will 'plead' with His people 'face to face.' What does this intense, personal confrontation signify?
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The phrase 'face to face' evokes the idea of a direct, unmediated encounter, much like the one God had with Israel at Mount Sinai. In Ezekiel 20:35, it signifies a direct confrontation where God will hold them accountable.
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.
shaphat · Hebrew Verb
A formal legal process where God evaluates the deeds, hearts, and fidelity of His people, often resulting in discipline, vindication, or sentencing based on His covenant standards.
shebet · Hebrew Noun
Refers to the act of a shepherd counting his flock by passing them under a staff; symbolically represents God's discipline, inspection, and claim of ownership over His people.
berit · Hebrew Noun
A solemn, binding agreement or treaty between God and His people, characterized by God’s promises of faithfulness and the expectation of exclusive devotion and obedience from the people.
Ezekiel's message of judgment in a 'wilderness of the peoples' echoes the past exiles and foreshadows future divine reckoning. The 'wilderness' isn't necessarily a desert, but a state of being scattered among nations, where God will confront His people directly.
c. 722 BC
Assyrian Exile of Northern Kingdom
The Neo-Assyrian Empire conquers the Northern Kingdom of Israel, deporting a significant portion of its population. This marks the first major exile of the Hebrew people.
605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon conquers Judah, initiating the first wave of exiles to Babylon. This included many of the Judean elite and skilled workers.
597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
Following a revolt, Nebuchadnezzar deports more of Judah's population, including King Jehoiachin and the prophet Ezekiel himself, to Babylon.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Nebuchadnezzar's forces destroy Jerusalem and the First Temple, leading to the final major deportation of Judeans to Babylon.
c. 539 BC
Persian Conquest of Babylon
Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers Babylon, eventually allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands.
c. 516 BC
Completion of Second Temple
The Jewish exiles return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, marking a significant phase in their post-exilic history.
This passage describes the Lord speaking to Moses 'face to face, as one speaks to a friend,' mirroring the direct and personal judgment Ezekiel faces in the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 5:4The phrase 'face to face' is directly quoted from this verse where Moses recounts God speaking to Israel at Sinai, highlighting a parallel of direct divine interaction and covenant dealings.
Hosea 2:14-15This passage speaks of God leading Israel back to the wilderness to 'speak tenderly' to them, echoing Ezekiel's 'wilderness of the peoples' where God will 'plead' with them, suggesting a process of discipline and restoration.
Jeremiah 2:9This verse describes God's 'plea' with Israel, reminding them of their unfaithfulness, which aligns with Ezekiel's prophecy of God entering into judgment with His people, emphasizing the legalistic aspect of God's dealings.
Revelation 17:15The 'waters' where the harlot sits are explained as 'peoples and multitudes and nations and languages,' providing a conceptual link to Ezekiel's 'wilderness of the peoples' as a place of dispersion and divine judgment among nations.
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…
What’s striking here is that the “wilderness” isn't a physical place, but a state of being scattered among all peoples. God is bringing them into this disorienting, isolated condition, not to abandon them, but to confront them directly, "face to face," so they can’t avoid His judgment and their own responsibility.
After promising to rescue Israel from their exile, God declares He will refine them through a period of discipline among the nations, mirroring their wilderness journey after Egypt. This scattering among diverse peoples isn't a literal desert, but a spiritual wilderness where God will confront them directly and justly, just as He dealt with their ancestors, to purge the unfaithful and prepare a remnant for future restoration. This intense, personal reckoning prepares them for a renewed relationship with Him back in their own land.
After promising to rescue Israel from their exile, God declares He will refine them through a period of discipline among the nations, mirroring their wilderness journey after Egypt. This scattering among diverse peoples isn't a literal desert, but a spiritual wilderness where God will confront them directly and justly, just as He dealt with their ancestors, to purge the unfaithful and prepare a remnant for future restoration. This intense, personal reckoning prepares them for a renewed relationship with Him back in their own land.
"And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with yo…" — What’s striking here is that the “wilderness” isn't a physical place, but a state of being scattered among all peoples. God is bringing them into this disorienting, isolated condition, not to abandon…
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