Ezekiel 6:1–14 The Judgment Against Idolatry

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Audio Download

Ezekiel 6:1–14 The Judgment Against Idolatry

[Study Aired February 26, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the promise of destruction of the people of Israel for their idolatry, together with the destruction of their idols. The second part focuses on the return of a remnant of the people of Israel to God as they shall exhibit true repentance and reformation. The third part gives direction to Ezekiel to lament on the iniquities and the calamities that have befallen the people of Israel.

Before we go into the details of the study, we need to understand what idolatry entails and how it applies to us. Idolatry means worshiping someone or something other than God. In other words, anything that engages our focus in this life and therefore diverts our attention from the Lord constitutes idolatry. All of us at some point in our lives were worshiping idols before the Lord came to deliver us. It is the truth of the Lord’s words which has the power to help us focus on Christ. However, in our time in Babylon we exchanged the truth of the word of the Lord for the lies of the devil, which became the idols of our hearts in the sense that they diverted our attention from Christ. 

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. 
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

Many of the Israelites were uncomfortable with the idea of an invisible god. They preferred a god that could be represented in some solid, tangible and visible form. In many of the churches of this world, there are many statues of Jesus; His hanging on the cross, etc. These are all forms of idolatry. Aaron building the golden calf was therefore not meant to displace God, but to make the Lord more tangible to the Israelites. Flesh always begets flesh. In our carnal state, we always want something that is tangible or fleshy. However, a sign of maturity is believing even though we have not seen. This was what the Lord told Thomas when he doubted that the Lord had risen. 

Joh 20:26  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 
Joh 20:27  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Joh 20:28  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 
Joh 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Our life in Babylon was characterized by worshiping what we see as tangible. That is why Babylon is dependent on evidential proofs of the spiritual reality portrayed in signs and wonders and gifts of the spirit such as word of knowledge, tongues, etc. As we are aware, it is children who are always looking for gifts from parents. As we mature, we become less dependent on gifts. The fact that many come with signs and wonders must alert us to be wary since these signs and wonders are all rudimentary, as our brother Paul warned us. In his letter to the Corinthians, he told them that it is only love (obedience to the Lord’s words) that will endure. In other words, a mature person is the one who obeys or trembles at the Lord’s words. Other gifts of the spirit such as word of knowledge, prophecies, signs and wonders, are all elementary and as we mature, they become less and less significant. 

1Co 13:8  Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 
1Co 13:9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 
1Co 13:10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 
1Co 13:11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 

What we must understand as we mature in the things of God is that we serve a living God who is hiding Himself in this dispensation and it is only as we worship Him in spirit that we come to appreciate the spiritual reality of His existence, love, care and His wonderful plan of salvation for us. 

Isa 45:15  Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. 
Isa 45:16  They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. 
Isa 45:17  But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. 

One of the typical examples of idolatry in the Bible was when the Israelites worshiped a golden calf that they had made at the foot of Mount Sinai where they had camped to receive the Law from the Lord.

Exo 32:1  And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:2  And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 
Exo 32:4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 
Exo 32:5  And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD. 
Exo 32:6  And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 
Exo 32:7  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

In verse 1, Aaron negatively represents our leaders in Babylon who put a stumbling block of iniquity – idols of the heart – before us and cause us to become worse than before we have started our walk with the Lord.

The idols of the heart, which are represented here as the molten calf, come at a cost. In other words, we exchange the gold we have received of the Lord’s words with false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. This gold of the Lord’s words we have received is the truth of the word of the Lord, and is accompanied by our fiery trials which cause us to learn righteousness. Thus, exchanging the gold we have received for a molten calf or idols of the heart also means our rejection of the fiery trials we must go through in favor of the smooth words in Babylon which exclude our fiery trials. We all at a certain point in our walk with Christ worshiped or bowed down to the molten calf (idols of the heart) instead of Christ’s words. 

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 

Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: 
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 
Isa 30:11  Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 
Isa 30:12  Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 
Isa 30:13  Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 

As we go through today’s study, we shall learn more about our idolatrous state when we were in Babylon and how the Lord is gradually delivering us to become His remnant. 

The Mountains Shall be Judged

Eze 6:1  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 6:2  Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 

The reason for the mountains of Israel to be the target of Ezekiel’s prophecy was because almost all the mountains or high places of Israel had become places of idol worship. Worshiping idols in high places was how the Moabites worshiped, as shown in the following verses:

Isa 16:11  Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
Isa 16:12  And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail. 

These mountains in Israel used to be the mountains of the Lord. However, over time, the Israelites were influenced by the Moabites’ form of worship of idols on these mountains.

Isa 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 

Isa 65:11  But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.  

Num 33:51  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; 
Num 33:52  Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: 

Lev 26:30  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

The mountains used to be New Jerusalem but in the time of Ezekiel, the holy mountains had been defiled and therefore represent Babylon. When Christ first came to us, we were like the New Jerusalem, but we took the Lord’s words (gold and silver) and turned them into the wisdom and traditions of men when we were in Babylon.

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 

The Lord speaking to the mountains and the hills is the Lord speaking to us, His elect, about the fact that we are to face judgment.

Mic 6:1  Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. 
Mic 6:2  Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. 
Mic 6:3  O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

The mountain signifies the house of the Lord, which is the same as His temple, which we are. Thus, the judgment of the Lord regarding the mountains refers to our judgment since we are the temple of the Lord. 

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 
Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 
Mic 4:2  And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 

Eze 6:3  And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. 

Here in verse 3, the Lord mentioned the mountains, the hills, the rivers and the valleys to hear the word of the Lord. The valleys had all become places where idolatry was committed as shown in the following verse:

Isa 57:5  Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?

The rivers mentioned in verse 3 refer to the false doctrines of Babylon which have become idols of our hearts and prevent us from knowing Christ. When the Lord comes to us with His judgment, He not only destroys our old man but our rivers and valleys.

Eze 6:4  And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 
Eze 6:5  And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.

When the Lord comes with His judgment, He cleanses our temple (our bodies) by destroying everything within us, such as our altars and images, so that Christ can come and sit on the throne of our hearts and mind. 

Mal 3:1  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 3:2  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 
Mal 3:3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

The slain men in verse 5 is the same as the dead carcasses before their idols in verse 6. They refer to the death of our old man through the fire of the Lord’s words. The bones which were to be scattered round about our altars signify our flesh or our old man as seen in the following verse:

Gen 2:23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  

An altar is where we offer sacrifices to the Lord. It is from our heart and mind that we offer a sacrifice of praise to the Lord and offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord.  The altar therefore signifies our hearts and minds which must be cleansed through the Lord’s judgment. The bones to be scattered round about our altars as a result of the Lord’s judgment means that it is through the Lord’s judgment that we come to see how our flesh has dominated our heart and mind such that we cannot offer ourselves to the Lord as living sacrifices.

Exo 20:24  An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. 

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.   

Psa 86:12  I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 

Eze 6:6  In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 
Eze 6:7  And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

It is through the Lord’s judgment that our cities and altars are laid waste, the high places made desolate, our idols broken, our images cut down and our works abolished. Cities either represent the church of the first born or Babylon. In this case, it refers to Babylon. This implies that Babylon within us shall be destroyed. Babylon within us is that which makes us want to worship Jesus but at our own terms. It is therefore destined to be destroyed.

Jer 21:9  He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
Jer 21:10  For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

As we have indicated earlier, the altars signify our hearts and minds where we offer ourselves to the Lord as living sacrifices. However, if our hearts and minds are dominated by the flesh, then our altars become our high places and therefore need to be destroyed through the Lord’s judgment. As shown in verse 6, the Lord shall make our altars and high places desolate. Our idols represent our false doctrines which prevent us from serving the Lord. Through the Lord’s judgment of our old man, our idols of the heart are destroyed.

Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 

Our images represent another Jesus that we worship when we were in Babylon, which must be destroyed through the Lord’s judgment. Our works which must also be destroyed relate to all that we do outside of Christ. 

Exo 23:24  Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

Gen 31:19  And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.

Ecc 1:14  I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

In verse 7, the slain falling in our midst means that the death of our old man is all within us. Just as the kingdom of the Lord is within us, the enemy who fights against the building of the kingdom of the Lord is also within, and that is our old man which must be destroyed. As we see the old man within us die daily, we come to know who the Lord is as indicated in verse 7. 

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 

The Remnant

Eze 6:8  Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. 
Eze 6:9  And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. 
Eze 6:10  And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them. 

The remnant represents the Lord’s elect, who, although they shall go through the Lord’s judgment, they shall learn righteousness and shall hate themselves for the evil they had committed in serving another Jesus (verse 9). The fact that the remnant will escape the sword does not mean that they would not be judged by the Lord. However, as the Lord’s elect, we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear, and the Lord will, in all that we go through, provide a way of escape so that we bear the Lord’s judgment. The remnant escaping the sword therefore means that the Lord will provide a way of escape for us so that we can bear the judgment of the sword.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

It is through the Lord’s judgment that we come to know Him as explained in verse 10. Knowing Him in verse 10 means that we are assured that the Lord will perfect His work in us through His judgment. In other words, what He has started in us, He will surely bring to completion.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 

The Lord will Surely Judge Us

Eze 6:11  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. 
Eze 6:12  He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. 

Here in verse 11, we are told of the use of three of the Lord’s four sore judgments against the house of Israel which represents us. Three of the four sore judgments mentioned are sword, famine and pestilence. The negative aspect of sword refers to words that are spoken which destroy us. The sword refers to the lying words and false doctrines of the adversary. 

2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Psa 64:2  Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 
Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

These negative words spoken is one of the tools the Lord uses to cause people to speak bitter words to us, His elect. 

Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

Jdg 7:22 And the three hundred [men with Gideon] blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host [of the Midianites]: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

Famine as one of the four sore judgments of the Lord means absence of the truth of the word of the Lord which makes us worse off as we wander from sea to sea. 

Amo 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 
Amo 8:12  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
Amo 8:13  In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. 

Through famine, we come to see who we truly are – that is, we are beasts before the Lord. Thus, our proud old man is brought low when the Lord comes to us as we come to cherish the truth of the word of the Lord.

Psa 73:21  Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. 
Psa 73:22  So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 
Psa 73:23  Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 
Psa 73:24  Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

Pestilence comes from the Hebrew word “deber” which means murrain or plague. Murrain means destruction, and the only place the word was used in the Bible was in the fifth plague in Egypt when there was widespread destruction of the cattle of the Egyptians.

Exo 9:1  Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 
Exo 9:2  For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, 
Exo 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

As we learned in the previous study, the root word for the word “murrain” means ‘God speaking.’ Thus, it is the Lord’s fiery words at work in us which shall cause a grievous murrain of our old man, that is, our old man shall be completely destroyed. 

In verse 12, we are made aware of how the Lord uses His four sore judgments to cause us to know Him. The Lord uses pestilence when we have gotten far away from Him. For example, when the children of Israel were in Egypt, the Lord used pestilence to get their attention. The Lord’s use of pestilence means that the people of Israel were given over to the devil, which in this case was represented by Pharoah who caused the people of Israel to be under great affliction.  

Lev 26:25  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

Exo 1:8  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

Exo 1:11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 

Exo 1:14  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in the  morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 

When the Lord got the people of Israel’s attention, He came to help them as the people drew closer to the Lord. Today, the Lord still uses pestilence to get our attention when we have drifted far from Him. For example, in the Corinthian church, Paul gave the man who slept with his father’s wife over to the devil so that he may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.  

1Co 5:1  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. 
1Co 5:2  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. 
1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 
1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 

Unfortunately, as we come out of the world and draw near to the Lord, we end up in Babylon and therefore the Lord uses the sword and famine to get us out of Babylon as He prepares us to be part of the heavenly assembly or the church of the firstborn. 

Eze 6:13  Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. 
Eze 6:14  So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

In verse 13 and 14, we are given to know the end result of our judgment – that is, to know who the Lord really is!!  What a blessing therefore, to be judged in this age so that we can know Christ!!

May His name be praised!! Amen!!

Other related posts