Israel punished by heathen nations; a remnant would be left |
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Israel punished by heathen nations; a remnant would be left |
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| Text | Comments |
| 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. |
2 -
Mountains
Characteristic of Palestine (Israel and Judah) in comparison with the flat
land around Babylon where Ezekiel was a captive
ez3601,
mi0602.
Also mountains were favorite places of false worship. de1202,
2ki1710f,
ho0413.
3 - Rivers ... valleys The Valley of Hinnon was a place of sacrifice of children. is5705, je0731. 4 - Images The Hebrew word is used for pagan incense altars 2ch1405and to represent the sun is3026, a common object of worship. 5 - Bones Compare ez3701. |
| 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. |
6 -
Abolished
Or a stronger word like "exterminated."
7 - And ye shall know The term appears 88 times in Ezekiel including v10 and v14 and indirectly in v3 in this chapter. It is the major theme. People had considered the Lord (Yahweh) as one of many gods for them to choose from 2ch2823. They had rebelled until there was no remedy 2ch3616. |
| 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.
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. |
8 -
Remnant
The people charged with truth for the world would not be entirely destroyed.
Above, we saw that there was "no remedy" for the nation. People are saved
as individuals and some may be saved as was the case after the rejection
of the Messiah.
9 - Remember me They were not to forget. Thus they would also share the truth with the nations. 10 - They shall know See on v7. |
| .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.
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. |
..13
- Slain ... among ... idols Do we have idols today? Sorry
to say that many are awed by sports heroes; some love their vehicles or
their addictions more than they love God. Some even bow down or make signs
to images in churches. God showed Ezekiel that there were many ways in
which people were worshipping idols. May God be our our hope – our Lord
and Saviour.
14 - Diblath Archaeology has found evidence of many cities mentioned in the Bible. I'm unaware of anyone reporting evidence for this one. 14 - And they shall know See v13 and on v7. |
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Sorry we don't have them for the whole commentary.
1. How did the Lord express completeness in the first few verses of this chapter and what was complete? 2. What was Ezekiel told to do? 3. Why were they to remember the Lord in the foreign lands? 4. Why clap and stamp? What do those actions represent? (v11). 5. What is the end reason for the curses? God wanted more than their destruction. |