CHAPTER 6

1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 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. 4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 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.

Through every prophet, including Ezekiel, God made sure that the people knew the REASON for the coming captivity: IDOLATRY!

The land had been filled with idols and altars for worship when they conquered it. God's instructions had been to destroy all the altars, and to worship Him alone. But through the years, they had incorporated the worship of idols into their lives.

Our God is a "jealous" God (Exodus 20:5), and justly so. He is the only REAL God!

6 In all your dwellingplaces 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. 7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 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.

Not only were altars secretly hidden in the hills and mountains, but some were even in homes. God was saying that He would destroy them also.

Yet there is a note of hope in verse 8. God would save a small portion of the nation to carry on the work for which they had been called.

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. 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. 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.

And the "remnant" that was saved would KNOW that there is only ONE real and living God (verses 9-10).

God told Ezekiel to "smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot." Ezekiel is to be EMPHATIC in his preaching. Those who insisted upon maintaining worship of idols would die in three ways: sword, famine, and pestilence (sickness).

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. 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. 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.

God IS God! There is no place a person can run from Him. Those who ran away before the seige would be destroyed by sickness (verse 12A). Those that remained in the land would be destroyed by either "sword" or "famine."

When God had completely destroyed all those idols people had hoped in, they would KNOW that He alone is God! (verse 13)

Friends, all glory, honor and praise is due to God.
All needs should be expressed to God.
And all thanks should be to God for every thing that happens in our lives.

Some people will give credit to their own works for a promotion they have received. But Who gave the ability for the work? God.

Some people express need by worshipping luck and gambling. But only God can satisfy the soul.

We should get rid of our idols before God gets rid of us!

CHAPTER 7

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. 4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. 6 An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. 7 The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains. 8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. 9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth. 10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. 11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them. 12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. 14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 15 The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

The Lord God had brought them into the land, and by His power had driven out the inhabitants. They had received an "inheritance" from God. Then they had lived in prosperity because of God's grace. God had continually protected them from other nations.

But now, the "end" would come to God's grace and protection. And along with it would come the "end" of their giving thanks to idols for their prosperity.

The "morning" (verse 7) is a time of anticipation for what the day might bring. But the morning they would see was the awfulness of destruction because of their spiritual promiscuity.

The "buyer" (verses 12-13) usually rejoiced because he had made a good deal. Too often buyers attribute their success to themselves or "luck." Now, he could not rejoice because everything possessed would be lost! Also, the "seller" would not have to "mourn" because he had been forced to sell.

When a nation's government is corrupted it falls. Along with it falls the prospect of any mercantilism.

16 But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. 17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. 18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. 19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity. 20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.

The "remnant" (see Chapter 6:8) would feel disgrace and shame. They would know that the loss experienced was due to idolatry (verse 20).

The prosperity they had enjoyed because of God's grace was now lost. And the sudden realization of WHY brought conviction to their souls.

How sad it is that some must be brought to such an awful position in order to realize that God alone is GOD!

21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. 22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it. 23 Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. 25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. 26 Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. 27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

God was going to give all they had received of Him to "strangers!" (verse 21) He would even "turn" his head while the "strangers" destroyed the temple!

Spiritual idolatry is a "bloody crime" and causes cities and nations to be "full of violence" (verse 23).

From the king to the commoner there would be mourning and shame (verse 27) because God had taken away His veil of protection and His grace which brought prosperity.

Let us today see the example and remember to worship God ONLY!

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.