“I Will Accept You.”

“Then on the eighth day and afterward, the priests will offer your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar, and I will accept you.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.” – Ezekiel 43.27 (CSB)

“…and I will accept you.”

This is not the usual overtone of the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel’s prophetic book is not full of lavish compliments or deeply poetic stanzas of adoration from God to his people. Instead, it’s a book of warning from God to Israel, once again calling them to repent from their sinful lives to return to him.

But look at how “successful” Ezekiel’s ministry would be:

“But the house of Israel will not want to listen to you because they do not want to listen to me. For the whole house of Israel is hardheaded and hardhearted.” – Ezekiel 3.7 (CSB)

How would you feel if you were told to do something that seemed unattainable and then told right after that that you wouldn’t be able to get it done? That’s what Ezekiel was called to. God’s people would be stubborn and hard-hearted toward the things of God, and still, God sent him to speak to them. Why? Because God is constant and relentless in pursuing his people.

In Ezekiel 16, we see many things God did for his people, Israel.

8 “ ‘Then I passed by you and saw you, and you were indeed at the age for love. So I spread the edge of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged myself to you, entered into a covenant with you—this is the declaration of the Lord GOD—and you became mine. 9 I washed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and provided you with fine leather sandals. I also wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. – Ezekiel 16.8-12 (CSB)

And what was Israel’s response to all that God “spoiled” them with?

“ ‘But you trusted in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame. You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by. Your beauty became his.’ “ – Ezekiel 16.15 (CSB)

In other words, they cheated on God, with whom they were in a covenant relationship. This is the kind of dialogue and accusations that are made throughout the book of Ezekiel. And so when we come across Ezekiel 43.27, hearing the heart of God behind what he is telling his people through his trusted prophet, “I will accept you,” it comes across as a shock. But then we might think that God will accept them like we accept each other today. But that’s not the case.

In Isaiah’s prophetic writings, in chapter 55, we are introduced to the “otherness” of God—the fact that God is holy and therefore is nothing like us. And while I’ve taught that passage often to convey God’s transcendence above all things, which I believe can be used to do, the context of that statement in Isaiah 55 causes the eternal traits of God to become even more unimaginable. Isaiah is a prophet sent by God to Israel to call them to repentance once again. And their response to him is the same response Israel gave every prophet: ignore him and rebel even more. And so, while Isaiah is reminding the people of Israel about their rebellion but God’s desire to have them in fellowship with him, he pens these Holy Spirit inspired words:

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call to him while he is near. Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, so he may have compassion on him, and to our God, he will freely forgive. – Isaiah 55.6-7 (CSB)

But how could God want them back? They cheated on him with other gods. They rebelled against him even though they were in a covenant relationship. In our world’s hate-driven and compassionless “cancel culture” society (which, Christians, we are guilty of treating each other in this same oftentimes), this makes no sense. I wonder how many people would consider God weak or co-dependent because of his “inability to let Israel go.” But praise God, he is not like us in the least. Praise God that he is not weak or co-dependent. Praise God that he is different than us. How could God still pursue his people and desire fellowship with them once again? He answers this question.

“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.’ This is the LORD’s declaration. For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55.8-9 (CSB)

God could go after them again because he is entirely different from us. And because of that, we too can praise God because it was while we were sinners that Christ died for us to have us back (see Romans 5.6-11). It becomes, at times, effortless to look down on those who rebel against God in such strong ways while forgetting that we are no better. Followers of Jesus, may we be careful not to forget the depths from which we fell (i.e., our complete moral depravity) only to receive Christ because of the mercy and grace of God.

So now, back to Ezekiel. The people of Israel have not repented. They were rebelling against God, and God was drawing them back to himself. But he conveys his heart for his people in that one statement:

“…and I will accept you.”

Accept. This small word comes alive when we examine what that Hebrew word means.

• be pleased with; satisfy; be acceptable; accomplish, set affection; approve; take pleasure in; be favorable to someone; accept with pleasure, delight; enjoy; become friends.

Do you believe it? Doesn’t it seem too good to be true, though?

“But what’s the catch? What must I do for God to accept me like that?”

That’s the beauty of it. Listen to God’s word also in Ezekiel:

“You will know that I am the LORD, house of Israel, when I have dealt with you for the sake of my name rather than according to your evil ways and corrupt acts. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.’” – Ezekiel 20.44 (CSB)

It, too, came back to the grace of God. Think about it. God’s statement of accepting Israel was within his explanation of how to dedicate the altar and once again present acceptable sacrifices on it because he chose not to deal with them according to their evil deeds but rather in accordance with his holy character. It was never merely about behaving correctly. Instead, it was based upon the sacrifice offered to God on behalf of the people of Israel by the priests from a heart fully devoted to him. And it is still wholly based upon the work of Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (John 1.29). It’s not about our self-righteous works that make us acceptable to God. Instead, it’s the acceptable and beautifully tragic sacrifice of Jesus that we fully rely upon to be acceptable to God. And those sacrifices that we are to offer to God today look different.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. – Romans 12.1 (CSB)

It’s heartfelt worship. It’s presenting ourselves who have been justified and cleansed by the blood of Jesus as acceptable sacrifices to God. And if you have surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus, these words ring loud and true from God to you:

“…and I will accept you.”

O, how beautiful and wonderful is our God.