Idolaters and the Faithful Remnant
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,
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.
Ezekiel in Babylon is told to face the distant mountains of Israel and to prophecy against them, also the hills rivers, and valleys. The land was full of idols. He will bring a sword against them, by sending the Chaldeans into the land.
High places, bamah: high places (as places of worship)
There were four kinds of high places in Ezekiel's time:
1.altars for sacrificing animals
2. incense altars for offering incense to false gods
3. idols for false worship, representing a god
4. human sacrifices to Molech
Jer 32:34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.
Jer 32:35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
Children were offered to be burned alive to the false god of Molech. Today children are being killed in the womb to the god of self choice. The baby has no choice but to live until death do they part. Life is a right from God; many people have lost their fear of the true God, just as in the days of sacrificing to Molech. Molech didn't kill the children, the parents did who offered them up. The LORD had a covenant with his people that they swore to: blessings for obedience and curses for rebellion. They had chosen to rebel. We have those who say pro life, meaning let the babies live and we have those who say pro choice, which means they want it legal to kill babies in the womb. From the beginning pro choice always meant sin and death. Spiritually, pro life should be to obey God's commands.
Results of rebellion and breaking their covenant:
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.
Lev 26:31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
Lev 26:32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
Lev 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
Death is the final act of God to a rebellious people. He warns them in his word, his prophets and preachers to repent. Sometimes a people will sin as a nation for hundreds of years in open defiance of God. If they still continue in disobedience, then they must be removed from the land. God's people would be removed from their covenant land. Many hundreds of years have passed and again Israel blooms and are the people of God through the covenant of Moses. We, the church are his people, born again of his spirit by the blood of his son Jesus Christ, the one Israel looks for; their Messiah. Soon all Israel shall receive their Messiah. Choose life and be blessed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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.
idols, root word galal, to roll, a derogatory term meaning "little dung balls"
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.
Eze 6:6 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.
Eze 6:7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Zep 1:4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;
Zep 1:5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;
Zep 1:6 And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.
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. p remnant, yathr, to be left over, to remain over, to save over, preserve alive, p Jer 44:28 Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.
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.
They have repentant hearts.
Psa 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Psa 137:2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
Psa 137:3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
Psa 137:4 How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?
Applying this to the people today who have not bowed to the idols; we do not trust in government more than the LORD? We do not worship money or self; we are not out of the closet in open rebellion to God's will. If we sin we confess our sins to God and are forgiven. We can take our harps off of the willows, dust off our instruments, clap our hands and sing the praises of our LORD. The Remnant, those who love the LORD should not be walking around in fear and gloom about what is coming to the nations. We are to stay close to God, abiding in the vine that is Jesus and we are to have good fruit. We are over comers in a time of darkness and despair.
Php 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Php 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
Php 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
If we put God first, he will take care of our needs. We are victorious in Christ Jesus.
Stamp your foot
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.
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.
Strike your hand and stomp thy foot, the LORD means what he says and the prophet must sound like he means it too. Get their attention, look alive! This is good advice for any preacher of God's word. Speak as the oracle of God.
1Pe_4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Eze 21:12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.
Eze 21:13 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 21:14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.
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.
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.
Jer 2:20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.
Isa 57:3 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
Isa 57:4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,
Isa 57:5 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
Isa 57:6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?
Isa 57:7 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
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.
Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Isa 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Isa 5:22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Isa 5:23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Isa 5:24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 5:25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
They must face his correction, but the nation is still his people. Those who punish Israel and enjoy it, would be punished themselves. We should never seek our own vengeance.
Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
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