Ezekiel 20

Jehovah

Jehovah — the covenant name of the premortal Christ, 'I AM'

And 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; Ezekiel 20:5–7

Jehovah recalls how He chose Israel and made Himself known to them in Egypt as 'the LORD your God.' Latter-day Saints understand the God who delivered Israel from Egypt to be the premortal Jesus Christ.

How we know: the verse itself names Him

• alludes to Exodus 6:2-3 — God reveals Himself to Moses in Egypt by the name JEHOVAH.

Jehovah

Jehovah — the covenant name of the premortal Christ, 'I AM'

Moreover 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. Ezekiel 20:12–20

The Lord gave the Sabbath as a sign that He is the one who sanctifies, or makes holy, His people. Christ, who is Lord of the Sabbath, is the one who makes us holy, and keeping the Sabbath is a weekly way to remember Him.

How we know: the verse itself names Him

• quotes Exodus 31:13 — Ezekiel echoes Exodus: my sabbaths are a sign, that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
• the same title in Mark 2:28 — The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Jehovah

Jehovah — the covenant name of the premortal Christ, 'I AM'

And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. Ezekiel 20:34–36

The Lord promises to gather scattered Israel and meet them face to face, as He did with their fathers in the wilderness after the Exodus. Latter-day Saints see the latter-day gathering of Israel as the work of Jesus Christ, preparing a people who will see Him face to face.

• alludes to Hosea 2:14 — The LORD will bring Israel into the wilderness and speak comfortably unto her.
• alludes to Deuteronomy 5:4 — The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount.

Good Shepherd

And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: Ezekiel 20:37–38

A shepherd counted his sheep one by one as they passed under his rod. The Lord will count and claim His people one by one, bring them into covenant, and separate out the rebels, as Christ the Good Shepherd knows His own sheep by name.

• alludes to Leviticus 27:32 — Whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
• alluded to by John 10:14 — I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep.
• alluded to by Matthew 25:32 — The Son of man shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.

Jehovah

Jehovah — the covenant name of the premortal Christ, 'I AM'

For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. Ezekiel 20:40–44

Jehovah promises to accept gathered Israel at His holy mountain, not because they deserve it but for His own name's sake. This is grace: the Lord saves His people according to who He is, not according to their corrupt doings.

How we know: the verse itself names Him

• alludes to Isaiah 2:2-3 — All nations flow to the mountain of the LORD's house.