“Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them" (Ezekiel 6:2)
The mountains are not to be understood as geographical symbols of the land of Judah, but rather as theological symbols. The mountains were the places where Israel practiced idolatry.
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. (Ezekiel 6:3)
While the mountains were directly addressed, the message pertains to the hills, ravines and valleys as well. All of these areas had been contaminated by the presence of pagan high places.
Remains of such high places have been discovered at Taanach, Gezer, and Petra. The standard features of a Canaanite high place were (1) an altar, (2) standing stones, (3) a wooden pole symbolic of Asherah, and (4) a laver.
Hezekiah in the eighth century, and Josiah in the seventh century, made determined efforts to remove these theological cancers from the nation. Unfortunately later kings tolerated and/or encouraged pagan practices (2 Kings 18:4; 23:5). Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel testify to the resurgence of this corrupt worship following Josiah’s valiant reform effort.
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands in horror, and stamp your feet. (Ezekiel 6:11)
With a dramatic action, Ezekiel was to underscore what he had just said. He was to clap his hands and stamp his feet. These were gestures expressive of intense emotion and excitement generated either by intense joy or sorrow.
Chapters
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 32
- Chapter 33
- Chapter 34
- Chapter 35
- Chapter 36
- Chapter 37
- Chapter 38
- Chapter 47
- Chapter 48