What is the meaning of Ezekiel 20:48?

Then all people will see

• God’s works are never done in secret. When He judges or saves, the scope is public, so that “all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:10).

• In Ezekiel’s context the “forest fire” of judgment (20:47) would be visible to surrounding nations, just as later the fall of Jerusalem became common knowledge (2 Kings 25:8-10).

• This open display underscores God’s fairness; no one can claim ignorance of His warnings (Ezekiel 33:33).

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that I, the LORD,

• The covenant name “YHWH” stresses personal relationship and absolute authority (Exodus 6:2-3).

• Every act—whether mercy or wrath—reveals His character. Compare, “You shall know that I am the LORD when I deal with you for My name’s sake” (Ezekiel 20:44).

• By attaching His name, God assures that what follows carries divine weight, echoing “I, the LORD, have spoken” (Isaiah 45:23).

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have kindled it

• The fire is not random calamity; God Himself lights it, fulfilling earlier warnings: “I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 17:27).

• He often uses human agents (Babylon, Ezekiel 21:3-5) yet retains full sovereignty.

• This removes any thought that Israel’s enemies are in control; they are instruments, not initiators (Habakkuk 1:6).

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it will not be quenched

• Once God’s righteous judgment begins, no human or spiritual power can extinguish it (Isaiah 1:31; Jeremiah 7:20).

• The phrase mirrors other irreversible decrees: “My zeal will consume them” (Zephaniah 1:18).

• Yet even this severe word pushes toward repentance; when a remnant turns, God later promises restoration (Ezekiel 36:26-28).

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summary

Ezekiel 20:48 assures that the coming judgment is (1) publicly evident, (2) personally authored by the LORD, (3) purposefully ignited to vindicate His holiness, and (4) unstoppable until it accomplishes His righteous ends. Recognizing this drives us to humble reverence and wholehearted obedience, trusting the same sovereign God whose fires refine as surely as they consume.