John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 11:12

"and ye shall know that I am Jehovah: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither have ye executed mine ordinances, but have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about you." — Ezekiel 11:12 (ASV)

He repeats what he had said: that they would acknowledge too late how impiously and wickedly they had despised the prophecies. This was because such contempt was akin to trying to draw down God Himself from heaven. For God desires that the reverence He demands from us be given to His own word. Therefore, men rage in contempt of His teaching, as if, in the manner of giants, they wished to draw God down from heaven.

But he expresses the cause more clearly: because indeed they had not walked in His law and His precepts, but had instead entangled themselves in the superstitions of the nations. Here we see that God could not possibly be accused of too much rigor, because He executed a judgment so heavy and severe against the Jews.

For He had given them the law. This was the greatest ingratitude: to reject the teaching that ought to have been familiar to them, and at the same time to add to it the impious rites of the Gentiles. This was to prefer the devil to God Himself with full deliberation.

Hence, God shows that although He would treat the Jews severely, His wrath was still moderate compared with their sins, for nothing was lacking to complete their impiety when they so rejected His law.

Therefore, when the prophet says that they did not walk in the law, he takes this principle for granted: that the law was not given in vain. In it, the Jews were faithfully and clearly taught the right way, as Moses also says, this is the way, walk ye in it. There is no doubt that Ezekiel referred to that sentence of Moses when he said that the Jews did not walk in the law and did not perform the judgments of God (Deuteronomy 5:33; Isaiah 30:21).

Since, therefore, God had shown them the way, so that they had no excuse for wandering, how great was their ingratitude in leaving the way and willfully casting themselves into wanderings?

Now, a comparison aggravates their crime, when the prophet says that they preferred the judgments and rites of the Gentiles who were around them. Because they had unbelieving neighbors, God had set His law like a rampart to separate them from the profane Gentiles.

Since, therefore, they had gone so far as to approach these detestable rites—and that by utterly rejecting the law of God—do we not perceive that they were worthy of severe punishment?

Meanwhile, let us observe that when God has borne with us for a long time, if we persist in our obstinacy, nothing else remains but the extinction of the light of doctrine, and God showing Himself in some other manner.

For the Prophet’s discourse is like a mirror in which God reveals Himself. But when we shut our eyes, throw down the mirror, and break it, then God shows Himself in some other manner.

That is, He no longer deems it right to show us His face, but teaches us by His hand, convincing us of our impious obstinacy by a demonstration of His power, because we were unwilling to submit to His teaching.