Ezekiel 20:30Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Therefore, proclaim to the house of Israel that the Lord God declares, “You have defiled yourselves by following in the footsteps of your forefathers, engaging in their abominations and committing acts of sexual immorality. By offering your gifts and sacrificing your children by fire, you continue to pollute yourselves with your idols even to this day. Shall I respond to you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not provide you with an answer.” You are mimicking the sinful actions of your ancestors and are treading the same path, thus bringing upon yourselves the same just retribution for your transgressions. You have become so entrenched in wickedness that you dedicate your offspring to demons through fire, and this is not an act you commit only once.

At the outset of your efforts and within your community, when your children walk through the flames, you contaminate yourselves with your thoughts even to this day. Will I respond to you, O house of Israel? Should I respond, and should these matters be cast upon your heart, amidst the fatherly sins and evil actions that dwell among you, you still presume to pursue all that I have outlined. Do you expect to receive an answer from Me? Do not deceive yourselves; it is futile to seek guidance from Me while engaged in such wrongdoing. Yet, through your actions, I implore you to abandon this false hope. I made this clear when I stated, 'And if these things come upon your spirit.'