Ezekiel 6: 1 – 14
‘Tree huggers’
1 Now 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, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: “Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. 6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7 The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the LORD.8 “Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries. 9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.” 11 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Pound your fists and stamp your feet, and say, ‘Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! For they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 He who is far off shall die by the pestilence, he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine. Thus will I spend My fury upon them. 13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain are among their idols all around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every thick oak, wherever they offered sweet incense to all their idols. 14 So I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land desolate, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblah, in all their dwelling places. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”
Have you ever heard of the term ‘tree hugger’? There is a tone of mockery in the label. There is nothing wrong with caring for the environment. Remember, we live in a cursed world. And yet, our Holy God in His Great Mercy still provides us with things of beauty and necessities.
Stop and ponder how Gracious our God Is to us. We do not deserve anything. Think of all the people who have lived before us. The land still provides for us fruit and vegetables. God also provides food from the land for the animals we eat. We derive still to this day fuel and precious metals. Even His creation of mountains and rivers provide natural protection. Out God Is Awesome!
In chapter 6 of the book of Ezekiel we read of a dramatic change in direction by the Lord. ‘And the word of the Lord came to me’, thus signifying a new prophetic message. Here we see that God now instructs His prophet to speak to the land and not the people. How come?
Well for one thing we have read in the previous chapters how the people were not listening to the Lord. So now the Lord speaks to His creation, which would listen to Him. Does this seem strange? Perhaps there is a great mystery here. Look at these statements;
Isaiah 45: 18 tells us, “18 For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “ I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
Colossians 1: 15 – 18 reports this, “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”
Romans 1: 20 says, “20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”
Romans 8: 22 also reveals this, “22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”
Many of you are familiar with Luke 3: 8, “8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”
Lastly one last reference in Luke 19: 40, “40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
The land of Israel was designed and given to the Jews by God forever. They are still entitled to it today regardless of what you see or read in the media.
Isaiah 65:9 reports, “9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there.”
Exodus 15: 17 also says, “17 You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.”
The Lord greatly and completely described the entire land of Israel by His use of the words, Mountains, hills, watercourses, and valleys. Why were all these terms used? They were the locations of all the terrible abominations. In these areas the people had built shrines and altars to idols. This was basically worship of demons. King Solomon started this problem. 1 Kings 11: 1 – 11 explains this to us,
“1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.9 So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded. 11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant”.
The Israelites, although having been thoroughly warned, adopted the worship of idols from pagan nations. Our Holy God prescribed how He was to be worshiped and that this was to be to Him Alone. The worship of these false gods included horrible practices such as sexual deviancies, use of drugs, spiritism, and even the murder of their children.
It wasn’t that long ago in the Jews history that they were set free from slavery in the land of Egypt. A requirement the Lord gave to them as they entered the ‘Promised Land’ was to destroy all idols and their locations.
Numbers 33: 52 reports, “52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places,”
Can you see by now how much the Lord hates idol worship? He even made this act a capital crime. We read here our God telling the people that He alone has to step in and destroy these abominable places because His people were fully given over to them.
3 “ But come here, you sons of the sorceress, you offspring of the adulterer and the harlot! 4 Whom do you ridicule? Against whom do you make a wide mouth and stick out the tongue? Are you not children of transgression, offspring of falsehood, 5 Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? 6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is your portion; They, they, are your lot! Even to them you have poured a drink offering, you have offered a grain offering. Should I receive comfort in these? 7 “ On a lofty and high mountain you have set your bed; Even there you went up to offer sacrifice. 8 Also behind the doors and their posts you have set up your remembrance; For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me, and have gone up to them; You have enlarged your bed and made a covenant with them; You have loved their bed, where you saw their nudity.9 You went to the king with ointment, and increased your perfumes; You sent your messengers far off, and even descended to Sheol. 10 You are wearied in the length of your way; Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’ You have found the life of your hand; Therefore you were not grieved. 11 “ And of whom have you been afraid, or feared, that you have lied and not remembered Me, nor taken it to your heart? Is it not because I have held My peace from of old that you do not fear Me? 12 I will declare your righteousness and your works, for they will not profit you. 13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry them all away, a breath will take them. But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy mountain.”
History often repeats itself. Those who have not learned from past mistakes are likely to repeat them. The Israelites should have remembered their past results with idol worship.
Exodus 32 tells us, 1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” 11 Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people. 15 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. 17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said: “It is not the noise of the shout of victory, nor the noise of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing I hear.”19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. 21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” 22 So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.” 25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’” 28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.” 30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! 32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” 33 And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 34 Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.” 35 So the LORD plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.
Our Holy Living and only Lord chose the Israelites to be His chosen group of people. He desired a relationship with them. He chose Moses as His co-shepherd. While giving Moses the covenant and rules by which His people could live a healthy, prosperous, and protected life, the people turned back to false gods. They broke the first commandment about not making any false image to worship. This image was a golden calf that was called Baal. When the two kingdoms were split, the northern kingdom under Jeroboam made and installed two golden calves for the people of Israel to worship as God. They were guilty of a thing called ‘syncretism’. It blended the worship of the only true God with false gods. Have you ever thought or wondered why God would be so upset over people who worship these phony statues? Our Powerful and Almighty Holy One created all things. When men and women honor anything other than the One to Whom all worship, and honor, and praise should go to, then we make Him lower than the thing we created to worship. It is right for Him to be upset over this horrendous insult.
‘And I will lay the carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones round about your altars, so says verse 5. Look at the descriptive action of God’s severe judgment; cast down your slain and lay the corpses down at their idols; and scatter your bones’ Do these words not smack you on the side of the head with irony? In offering their children the people did the same acts as listed here. What they did to their children in sacrificing them, the same things will be done to them. Instead of the sweet smell of the proper burnt offerings to the True and Living God, the people would smell the stench of dead bodies rotting in the sun.
I am shocked all of the time by people who profess that they are Christians and they wind up doing evil, hurtful things to you. Out of the clear blue they harm you through their words and actions. I have learned this in life, that if you are not a child of God, you might possibly get away with committing evil because you are already under the death sentence. This is the best it gets for these individuals – their heaven – so enjoy it while they can. You might just get away for now with the slandering and devious attacks.
I also have come to understand that God disciplines His own. So, what I am saying is that I have seen numerous times when a person had wronged someone, usually they get the same treatment back, and in many cases, more sever. As we see here in the book of Ezekiel, our God’s elect have done horrible deeds and we read here also about our God showing these people what it is feels like to have it done to them.
Some recent archeological reports have come up with these very incense altars that were used to worship statues. It may be that the word Ezekiel used of ‘idols’ may have been put together from a word that means ‘dung’ and we all know what the word ‘dung’ means. Their acts smelled up to the highest heaven.
I guy I use to work with got into a heated discussion with me regarding statues of saints. I asked him why he prays to those statues. He answered me that it reminded him of the real saint. I used his wife as an example to respond to his statement. Did he have to constantly look at a picture of his wife to remember what she looked like? Of course not! He didn’t because he had established a close relationship with her. She was on his mind day and night. So should we be doing in thinking of our Wonderful God.
The unauthorized locations used for pagan worship turned men’s hearts to these false religions and resulted in the Only One and Holy Lord being put on the back burner of their thoughts and minds. Maybe, just maybe, they would cut our Holy King a break and worship Him if they had somehow vacationed in Jerusalem.
We read in verses 6 and 7 the reason for the destruction of Jerusalem and the nation of Judah. It was called forth from God to eliminate the high places, altars, idols, incense slabs, and the behavior that resulted from them – perverted sexual acts, fertility rites, ancestor worship, idolatry, and child sacrifices.
People, often times, argue about how mean God was in destroying everything, men, women, children, and even the animals. They were all wiped out. Sadly, the wretched vile acts had caused God to clean house. There was no other way to deal with this cancer.
For over 400 years the citizens of Judah had clung to this deplorable life style and refused to give it up. Even when a couple of good kings rid the nation of this evil, when they passed away the people quickly re-established these acts again. The very things and acts that the people had given their hearts to, would now, in like manner, destroy them.
Ezekiel is a hard book to review. Wave after wave of pain and suffering are listed. Yet, we read in verses 8 through 10- a refrain from all this hardship occurs. A ray of light appears out of the darkness. God would spare some people - - a remnant.
Some people will argue with me why God would spare only a few individuals. Matthew 7: 13 – 14, 13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
My answer to them is that I find it not so surprising that only a few would be saved, but that God in His Great Mercy would save any one of us. We all deserve death based on our sinful existence..
Some people would be spared but only after they had learned some hard lessons. We read in Jeremiah 4: 3 – 4 this, ‘3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. 4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.”
Have you ever witnessed ground that hasn’t had any rain for a while? It is a hard as a rock. If it does rain nothing benefits the hardened soil. The rainwater just rushes off the ground with hardly any impact. To help the soil receive the liquid nourishment it first must be broken up and then it will receive the water greatly. Likewise is the human heart. The Holy Loving Lord sometimes has to break a person in order for Him to turn them around from following an evil destructive pathway of life. Isn’t it true that people will hardly come around or turn their lives around back to God? He loves us so much that He will allow humiliation, pain, suffering, and defeat to break us. Are you experiencing any of these problems? God is not punishing you. He Is working in your life to change you.
1 Peter 4: 1 – 6 tells us, “1Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
1 Peter 4: 12 – 19 also says, “12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now “ If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”
You can learn a lot about who we are by watching a child. Even though we are suppose to be a mature adult we sometimes act with emotions that out pace a child’s temper tantrum.
Clapping with the hands and stomping with the feet are a display of great gladness and rejoicing. We read here a different emotion – ‘smite your hand and stomp your foot’. We can see two possible outcomes here. The word ‘Alas’ can also mean ‘Ah’ or ‘Aha!’ Israel’s enemies are jumping up for joy as they witness the terrible actions taken against the Jews. I do not know if you remember after 9/11, the videos of Muslims jumping for joy when the twin towers in New York City was destroyed. We read later on in this book of Ezekiel, God bringing down a future punishment on those countries that jumped for joy when Jerusalem was destroyed.
Ezekiel 25: 1 – 7 tells us, “ 1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, 4 indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.”6 ‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, 7 indeed, therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
The other possible meaning is an expression of anger or a temper tantrum. The people are in a fit of rage for all these sufferings.
I have heard some people comment on why does the Holy Spirit list the same points over and over and over again. The constant repetition is because of the hardness of people’s hearts. They still believed that God wouldn’t allow Jerusalem to be destroyed. Remember the punishment Ezekiel had to serve for his countrymen. – 430 days on his sides. If you are willing to do some research into history, you will find that most countries stay powerful for about 400 years. Due to pride and the forsaking of God, these nations cease to exist or they wind up being a second or third-rate country. The development of a nation usually begins through bondage, then to battles, then to freedom, then to prosperity, then to powerful, then to prideful, then back to bondage
In 1607 we started America’s path. We have now exceeded 400 years. How do you evaluate our current lifetime and condition?
Jerusalem had been around as a tourist attraction for centuries. Why would God destroy it now? God is Love. Yes He Is. Yet, He Is also a Righteous and Just God. If He continued to allow this sham of religious expression to go on any further, He would have to go against His own nature.
You will note that it had gotten so bad that these degenerate acts were being committed on ‘every high hill’, ‘in all the tops of the mountains’, and ‘under every green tree’. This was going on in every place.
The people had rejected the only true and living God and replaced Him with dead idols. Let them rescue the people. We read that the destruction will be from the wilderness to ‘Diblah’. Diblah is nowhere else mentioned in the bible. It appears from the similarities of a ‘d’ and an ‘r’ that the city is suppose to be Riblah. This would make sense. Riblah was the place where king Zedekiah and his sons and nobles were brought to the king of Babylon.
2 Kings 25: 18 – 21 says, “6 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. 7 Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.”
Here the king was blinded after he witnessed his sons slain. Others also would be brought to this same spot and slaughtered after the destruction of Jerusalem
2 Kings 25: 18 – 21 goes on to report, “18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. 19 He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, five men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. 20 So Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.”
Riblah was seen as the farthest reaches of the land.
Amos 6: 14 tells us, 14 “ But, behold, I will raise up a nation against you, o house of Israel,” says the LORD God of hosts; “ And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the Valley of the Arabah.”
So, it would be seen as the farest reaches of the land from the south to the north. The entire land would be laid to desolation and waste.
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