Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, when
the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by
their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the
uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon them
for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols
wherewith they had polluted it: And I scattered them among the
nations, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to
their way and according to their doings I judged them. And when they
had entered unto the nations, whither they went, they profaned my
holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord,
and are gone forth out of his land (verses 16-20).
It needs no lengthy comment to explain this paragraph. The whole history
of that nation bears witness to it. They were an unclean, a stiffnecked
nation; a nation which rejected His word, yea, Himself, and worshipped
idols. But their crowning sin came when they delivered the Lord Jesus
Christ, their own Messiah-King, into the hands of the Gentiles. His
blood was shed upon the land and they cried, "His blood be upon us and
upon our children." And as a result they were scattered among the
nations, where they also profaned His holy name (Isaiah lii:5; Rom.
ii:24). What then has Israel done to deserve blessing? The rest of the
chapter answers this question.