Ezekiel 6

Chapters 1–24 of Ezekiel contain prophecies of judgment against Judah and Jerusalem, and chapter 6 falls in the early part of that section. Whereas the symbolic actions and prophecies through Ezekiel 5 were directed at the city of Jerusalem, this chapter widens its view to the mountains and valleys throughout the land of Israel where idolatry was practiced.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 God commands the son of man to prophesy against the mountains of Israel. A sword will come, the high places (sites of worship built on elevated ground) will be destroyed, the altars and idols will be broken, and the corpses and bones of the slain will be scattered around the idols and altars.
• Verses 8–10 Those who escape the sword and are carried captive among the nations will be left as a remnant. They will remember how, with whorish hearts and eyes, they turned away from God to serve idols; they will loathe themselves and will know that He is the LORD.
• Verses 11–14 The prophet is commanded to clap his hands and stamp his feet in lamentation. Those far off will die by pestilence, those near by the sword, and those who remain under siege by famine. The whole land will be made desolate, from the wilderness to Diblath.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 6:7 "Ye shall know that I am the LORD" — This expression recurs throughout the book of Ezekiel. It shows that the purpose of judgment is that God may be known.
• Ezekiel 6:9 "They that escape of you shall remember me … and they shall lothe themselves" — Even in the midst of judgment, the verse looks ahead to the repentance of the remnant.

People and Places

• Ezekiel: In this chapter he is addressed as "son of man."
• Diblath: A place name marking the limit of the land of Israel. Its exact location is unknown. Some scholars regard it as a scribal error for Riblah in the north.

Points for Reflection

• The language of destroying high places and altars and laying corpses before idols closely parallels the covenant curses of Leviticus 26 (especially verse 30). For this reason, many interpreters read the chapter as describing the consequences of breaking the covenant.
• The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered "sun images" in the Korean Revised Version (KJV "images") is uncertain. Some take it to refer to incense altars.
• In verse 9, idolatry is described as whoredom, likening the relationship between God and His people to a marriage. This metaphor is developed at greater length in Ezekiel 16 and Ezekiel 23.
• The judgment pronounced against the mountains of Israel is reversed in Ezekiel 36 by a promise of restoration addressed to the same mountains.
• The chapter is not directly quoted in the New Testament. Some, however, see a thematic connection with the exhortation to keep away from idolatry (1 John 5:21).