THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
These statements hold true for those who have faith in Christ.
Ezekiel 20:40Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
In my holy mountain, in the high mountain of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel serve me; all of them I say, in the land in which they shall please me, and there will I require your firstfruits, and the chief of your tithes with all your sanctifications.
כִּ֣י בְהַר־קָדְשִׁ֞י בְּהַ֣ר ׀ מְר֣וֹם יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל נְאֻם֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה שָׁ֣ם יַעַבְדֻ֜נִי כָּל־בֵּ֧ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל כֻּלֹּ֖ה בָּאָ֑רֶץ שָׁ֣ם אֶרְצֵ֔ם וְשָׁ֞ם אֶדְר֣וֹשׁ אֶת־תְּרוּמֹֽתֵיכֶ֗ם וְאֶת־רֵאשִׁ֛ית מַשְׂאוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם בְּכָל־קָדְשֵׁיכֶֽם׃
The Church Fathers on this verse
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Jerome of Stridon
In the high mountain of Israel, declared the Lord God, all of Israel will serve me in my sacred mountain, in the land where they shall be pleasing to me. There, I will require your firstfruits and the tithes of your tithes from all your holy places. I will accept you as incense when I bring you from the nations and gather you from the lands where you have been scattered. I will show my holiness in you before the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Regarding this mountain, where the service of the whole house of Israel to God is fulfilled, both Isaiah and Micah sang in harmony: “The mountain of the house of the Lord shall be revealed in the last days as the chief of the mountains and exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow to it.
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Many peoples shall come and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For from Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2-3; Micah 4:1-2). Again, Isaiah proclaims: “Go up to the high mountain, O herald of good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, O herald of good tidings to Jerusalem” (Isaiah 40:9). This mountain of Zion may represent the Church, which serves as a watchtower standing upon the height of sacred truths, or it may refer to the Lord Savior Himself, through whom our offerings, tithes, and all ministerial acts are transformed into a sweet aroma. As the nations observe the salvation of the Lord's people, they will glorify God, and those who are redeemed will recognize that He is the Lord.
Theodoret of Cyrus
If you choose to follow my commands and refrain from dishonoring my sacred name (for it is from me that you acquire your name, and by living immorally, presenting offerings to idols, and speaking against this evil towards me); you will be restored to your homeland, and you will engage in the everyday responsibilities of your nation, embracing the fundamental blessings you receive, and acknowledging that I too embrace them with approval. For it is written:
Cross references
Passages read together with this verse.
- Isa 56:7I will bring them into my holy mount, and will make them joyful in my house of prayer: their holocausts, and their victims shall please me upon my altar: for my house shall be called the house of prayer, for all nations.
- Isa 60:7All the flocks of Cedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nabaioth shall minister to thee: they shall be offered upon my acceptable altar, and I will glorify the house of my majesty.
- Mal 3:4And the sacrifice of Juda and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as in the days of old, and in the ancient years.
- 1 Pet 2:5Be you also as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
- Ezek 17:23On the high mountains of Israel will I plant it, and it shall shoot forth into branches and shall bear fruit, and it shall become a great cedar: and all birds shall dwell under it, and every fowl shall make its nest under the shadow of the branches thereof.
- Heb 13:15By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God, that is to say, the fruit of lips confessing to his name.
- Isa 66:23And there shall be month after month, and sabbath after sabbath: and all flesh shall come to adore before my face, saith the Lord.
- Ezek 43:27And the days being expired, on the eighth day and thenceforward, the priests shall offer your holocausts upon the altar, and the peace offerings: and I will be pacified towards you, saith the Lord God.