Neville Goddard on Ezekiel 20:5-17 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ezekiel 20 in context

Scripture Focus

5And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;

6In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:

7Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

8But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

9But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

10Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

11And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.

12Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

13But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

14But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.

15Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;

16Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

17Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.

Ezekiel 20:5-17

Biblical Context

Ezekiel 20:5-17 portrays God's choice of Israel, the giving of statutes and Sabbaths, and the wilderness journey marked by rebellion and mercy; it highlights the inner call to holiness and the consequence of attachments.

Neville's Inner Vision

From this inward scripture, the God who speaks is not a distant ruler but your own I AM waking. The day I choose 'Israel' is the moment you decide that you, not lack or fear, belong to the land of milk and honey within. The 'abominations of their eyes' are the clinging thoughts and pictures you still entertain that keep you tied to an old Egypt-state of lack. When you lift up your hand, you lift your awareness, and you begin to move from bondage into a promised land by accepting inner statutes and judgments—principles that keep you alive to reality. Sabbaths become signposts in your consciousness that you are sanctified, set apart, not polluted by old judgments. But rebellion and defilement show up as doubt, habit, or attachment; yet the text says, 'my eye spared them'—mercy in your own awareness, sparing you from total ruin when you return to stillness. The journey is your inward conversion: from fear-driven reactions to a disciplined mind that assumes the good and dwells in abundance.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and declare, 'I AM the LORD of my consciousness,' and imagine leading the inner Israel through the wilderness into abundance, dissolving idols as you revise: 'I cast away the abominations of my eyes.'