John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 7:20

"As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations [and] their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it unto them as an unclean thing." — Ezekiel 7:20 (ASV)

I do not doubt that Ezekiel strengthens what he had just taught with other words: namely, that the people’s silver should be cast away because it had been unworthily abused for luxury, empty displays, and superstitions. Some explain צבי עדיו (tzebi-gnediu) as referring to the temple; and I certainly confess that the temple was the chief glory of the Jews, so that they might boast of it, if they had rightly and properly worshipped God there.

Therefore, God bestowed great glory on the Jews when he desired a temple to be built for himself among them, which would be, as it were, his earthly dwelling-place. But I do not see why we should interpret these words as referring to the temple, because the Prophet explains his own discourse: for he mentions gold and silver. He said there would be no use for gold and silver, because everyone would cast it into the mud, since they would cast away all hope of life and safety.

He now continues the same thought; he shows the lawful use of gold and silver: it was, he says, the glory of his ornament. For whatever God has given to humankind is a testimony of his paternal favor; therefore, God’s generosity shines brightly in us when he enriches us with his gifts.

If, therefore, riches are a glory and ornament, so also are bodily health, honors, and things of this kind. Since, therefore, God wishes his favor to be conspicuous in all his gifts, by which he adorns and distinguishes people, the Prophet properly says that the Jews were adorned with gold and silver.

But he accuses them of ingratitude because they turned such glory into pride. For גאון (gaon), I here interpret in a negative sense, as in many other places: it sometimes signifies excellence, but I have no doubt that the Prophet here blames the Jews because they were proud of their wealth, which they regarded as a testimony of God’s favor.

Therefore, he says, he turned the beauty of their ornament, he turned it to pride. It follows, and the images of their abominations and of their detestable things (or of their idols, for the Hebrews sometimes speak this way of idols) they made with it. Here ב (bet) is used as if it were מ (mem), as often in other places, and thus it indicates the material; for he says that the Jews made their images (which were so many abominations before God) out of gold and silver.

This was a second profanation of God’s gifts. The first was in pride, when the Jews, through self-indulgence and abundance, began to be insolent toward God; thus they profaned the glory with which they had been adorned.

But another defilement is also added: namely, that they made their idols of gold and silver and offered gifts and sacrifices to them. As God complains in Hosea 2:8, they converted whatever he had bestowed upon them into impious worship: I had given, he said, My corn, and wine, and oil; but they adorned their idols. This, indeed, was their thanksgiving: that, blind to My generosity, they offered sacrifices to their idols with My corn and oil and wine.

Ezekiel discusses this matter more fully in Ezekiel 16. But he now says that they made images of their abominations out of that glory by which he had distinguished them. And at the end of the verse he confirms what we have recently seen: therefore, he says, I will make it (namely, that beauty) a castaway to them.

We see the same thought repeated which he had expressed before; but he here states the reasons why the Jews would disregard their gold and silver in the day of God’s wrath, since they had unworthily defiled these gifts of God in which his grace and paternal favor shone forth. I will make, he therefore says, their gold or beauty as a castaway. He had said the same thing before, but had not yet expressed the reason for God’s wrath.