Ezekiel Chapter 6
1 And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them 3 and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the ravines and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 So your altars will become desolate and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols. 5 I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 In all your dwellings, cities will become waste and the high places will be desolate, that your altars may become waste and desolate, your idols may be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out. 7 The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.
8 “However, I will leave a remnant, for you will have those who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries. 9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations. 10 Then they will know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them.”’
11 “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Clap your hand, stamp your foot and say, “Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by sword, famine and plague! 12 He who is far off will die by the plague, and he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus will I spend My wrath on them. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their slain are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every green tree and under every leafy oak—the places where they offered soothing aroma to all their idols. 14 So throughout all their habitations I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; thus they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
God tells priestly Ezekiel in verses 1 and 2, “set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them”. Just to get us in the right mindset, I would like for us to consider applying this to ourselves. Turn to yourself, (set your face toward yourself) and confront yourself about whatever you might be doing that’s wrong. Okay, not here, right this moment, but I want us to be a little confrontive to ourselves. Some people have no problem confronting others about whatever it is they’re doing wrong.
Matthew 7:1-4 says, 1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Then in verse 3, Ezekiel prophesies toward the mountains of Israel for a reason. The mountains represented the physical land of Israel and the mountains represented the high-places and shrines used by the idol worshipping Israelites.
Then in the second half of verse 3 through verse 7 God goes one step further, he says to the hills, ravines and valleys; which covers everywhere. God denounces idol worshiping Israel and pronounces the judgements to come. The judgments were acted out by Ezekiel in the prior two chapters, but here God plainly said, “your high places will be destroyed, your altars will be empty, and your incense censer will be smashed and you idol worshiping people will receive the death sentence. The people should have known; God warned them in Deuteronomy, just as I read in my personal reading recently.
Deuteronomy 17:2-5 (NKJV) 2 “If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing His covenant, 3 “who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, 4 “and it is told you, and you hear [of it,] then you shall inquire diligently. And if [it is] indeed true [and] certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, 5 “then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones.
The Israelites were responsible for policing themselves. They didn’t quite follow through with that did they.
I want to think through this concept that we are responsible to each other. We aren’t responsible for each other, but we are responsible to each other. That means, there might come a time when we need to address a brother or sister if they are straying from the way of righteousness. This is not easy. This does not come naturally to me, but if I really care about someone, and I consider that person a brother or sister, I need to shoot straight with them (SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE).
Has any of you ever had to confront a brother or sister about a habit or practice or a sinful act that they’ve committed? I don’t want you to reveal the who or the what, but I want to hear about your experience. How well did you address the issue, and how well was your rebuke or exhortation received? The proper approach is provided to us in Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Now in verses 8 through 10 God describes how a remnant of the people will be left to be carried off into captivity and dispersed among the nations. We’ve already recounted how Babylon was the main player in this episode, but this wasn’t the only time in history that the Israelites received this type of a penalty. In 70AD, Jerusalem was sacked by the Roman general Titus and the people of Israel were carted off to various points of the Roman empire. The reason for this punishment was that they rejected their Messiah (our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ). In Ezekiel’s time Israel was guilty of gross idolatry. In 70AD what do you think was the sin that kept the Jewish nation from receiving Jesus as their Messiah?
Back to this word remnant; there was a remnant of people who were faithful to God and hadn’t gotten involved in idolatry. But they were affected as well. This remnant was carted off, and they had to experience being forced to leave their native country and their homes and live out the rest of their lives in a foreign land.
This concept of being a remnant is very pertinent to us today. I used to have the misconception that a remnant (like a remnant of carpet) is something that is left over. Some unused, unneeded extra thing that you could buy at a much reduced price. But in our case, we are part of a remnant of people who are devoted to God and we are (I hate to say) a very small minority. We aren’t left over, or unneeded, but we are a small number of people who are chosen by God. We are selected by God. We're the desired apple of God’s eye. We too are affected by other people’s sin and God’s judgement for that sin. This puts us in a place where we look forward to our Savior’s return. We see many many trends and developments in our world today to seem to be setting the stage for our Lord’s return. When I first became a Christian, we used to have yearly prophecy conferences where they would talk about things that seemed to fit the Biblical patterns for the prophetic “end-times”. Back then once a year was enough. Nowadays, things have so accelerated that every single day something that was prophesied is much more immediately possible.
For example; does a day go by without someone mentioning AI (Artificial Intelligence)? When I was in college, I took a class in AI and it was the “stone age” compared with what AI can do today.
Daniel 12:3-5 Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”
We could spend hours analyzing the various financial, monetary, economic trends and see that the beast system where no one can buy or sell without the mark of the beast could easily be made a reality with the current technology.
Or we could look at how various christian churches and entire denominations have strayed away from the Bible as their source of truth and foundation for doctrine and practice. This will lead to a mass falling away (apostacy) and the beast religious system.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
Revelation 13:11-14 (NKJV) 11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
All of that should encourage us as a remnant:
Don’t fear but be prepared in the Word.
Don’t be deceived but be aware of what’s coming.
Don’t be quiet about your faith, but share the Gospel with your loved ones.
Do you feel chosen? Do you feel selected? Do you sense God’s favor in your life? I hope you do, because you are if you have committed your life to the LORD and walk with Him through life?
This section is capped off by verse 10 which says, “10 Then they will know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them.”’
“They will know that I am the LORD and they will know that I mean what I said.” Who is the “they” referring to in verse 10? The Jewish people under this judgement? The surrounding nations? Someone else?
This last section of this chapter, verses 11 through 14 says, 11 “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Clap your hand, stamp your foot and say, “Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by sword, famine and plague! 12 He who is far off will die by the plague, and he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus will I spend My wrath on them. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their slain are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every green tree and under every leafy oak—the places where they offered soothing aroma to all their idols. 14 So throughout all their habitations I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; thus they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
This action of clapping the hand and stamping the foot, we associate more with celebration, but this was no celebration. It says, “Alas”, this is an expression of grief or surprise, upon seeing the destruction and the cause of the destruction being such “evil abominations”. The reason for God’s judgement, again is so that “They will know that I am the LORD”.
We know the LORD by His love. We know Him by His mercy. We also know Him by His holiness and His justice. So many people don’t accept the knowledge of God in the entirety of His character and nature as portrayed in the Bible. Yes, He is kind, and gentle like a mother hen, but He is fierce like a mother bear. You do not want to get between a mother bear and her cub. Likewise, you do not want to get between a Holy, Righteous God and His justice for evil.
Chapter 7
Punishment for Wickedness Foretold
1 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel, ‘An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. 3 Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you. 4 For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will know that I am the Lord!’
Notice; the word ‘Moreover’ at the beginning of this chapter connects this chapter with chapter 6. I want to emphasize Ezekiel’s title, given to him by God, ‘son of man’. What do you think this title means? The very obvious answer is that Jesus called Himself “the son of man”, so Ezekiel, in some way represents Jesus. But specifically, what do you think “son of man” means?
‘Son’ - A son represents his father
Matthew 9:6 6 "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home."
Matthew 16:27 27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.
‘Man’ - Humanity (as distinct from God)
Numbers 23:19 19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Jesus had to be a man to pay the death penalty for the sin of mankind. Mark 10:45 45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
When it says, “The end is coming on the four corners of the land” in verse 2, does this literally mean the land is square in shape? No, this is obviously a literary device to mean the entire land in every direction. When God says “the end is upon you”, that should send shivers down your spine.
When the word ‘abominations’ is used twice in this paragraph, it is saying you guys have been involved in the most egregious sin. You all have committed the most heinous of violations of God’s laws. Not only that, but it is as if God is saying, if it were just a mistake, or you had any humility, or any contrition at all, I could pity you. But I can’t.
The ultimate reason for or the result of this punishment is what? Not the destruction of Israel, but that they may know the LORD is who He says He is.
Back to chapter 7, verse 5 “Thus says the Lord God, ‘A disaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming! 6 An end is coming; the end has come! It has awakened against you; behold, it has come! 7 Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come, the day is near—tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains. 8 Now I will shortly pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; judge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations. 9 My eye will show no pity nor will I spare. I will repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the Lord, do the smiting.
10 ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth; the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. 11 Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their people, none of their wealth, nor anything eminent among them. 12 The time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for wrath is against all their multitude. 13 Indeed, the seller will not regain what he sold as long as they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his iniquity.
14 ‘They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all their multitude. 15 The sword is outside and the plague and the famine are within. He who is in the field will die by the sword; famine and the plague will also consume those in the city. 16 Even when their survivors escape, they will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, each over his own iniquity. 17 All hands will hang limp and all knees will become like water. 18 They will gird themselves with sackcloth and shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces and baldness on all their heads. 19 They will fling their silver into the streets and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their appetite nor can they fill their stomachs, for their iniquity has become an occasion of stumbling.
Here is much more of this strong language indicating the LORD’s great displeasure toward His people who have turned their backs on Him. Justice in this case seems so extreme and severe. Nothing will be left as it was. Nothing of value will remain (i.e. the gold and silver will become an abhorrent thing.) There will be no strength left in the people to be able to go to battle.
Verses 20 through 27, They transformed the beauty of His ornaments into pride, and they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them. 21 I will give it into the hands of the foreigners as plunder and to the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will profane it. 22 I will also turn My face from them, and they will profane My secret place; then robbers will enter and profane it.
23 ‘Make the chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. 24 Therefore, I will bring the worst of the nations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the pride of the strong ones cease, and their holy places will be profaned. 25 When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none. 26 Disaster will come upon disaster and rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but the law will be lost from the priest and counsel from the elders. 27 The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. According to their conduct I will deal with them, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.’”
In this section the temple itself will be profaned. It is so sad that even something meant to bring glory to God will be overrun. The prophets will be out of commission. The priests will be out of a job. The people will tremble. Have you ever been so scared you just trembled. Again, the ultimate goal of all this judgement is not the destruction of Israel, but that the people would “know that the LORD is who He says He is.”
I want us to take a moment and meditate on the LORD.
How do we know Him?
How can we trust He is who He says He is?
