the Lord GOD . Hebrew Adonai Jehovah. See note on Ezekiel 2:4 . rivers: or, ravines . Compare Ezekiel 36:4 , s. Hebrew aphikim. See note on "channels", 2 Samuel 22:16 . Behold , Figure of speech Asteriemos. App-6 . bring a sword . See note on Ezekiel 5:17 . destroy your high places . Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:30 ). read more
Ezekiel 6:3. To the mountains, &c.— Every part of the country had been defiled with idolatry. The altars built for idol worship were generally placed upon mountains and hills: the shady valleys and river-sides were also used for the same purpose, particularly for the sacrificing of children to Moloch: so that the prophet denounces a general judgment against the whole defiled and idolatrous country. By the mountains of Israel, says Houbigant, we are to understand the whole country. The... read more
3. rivers—literally, the "channels" of torrents. Rivers were often the scene and objects of idolatrous worship. read more
Ezekiel was to announce to his audience of exiles that God would bring warriors against Israel’s mountains, hills, ravines, and valleys, namely, the places where the people worshipped at pagan shrines (cf. 2 Kings 23:10). The object of His judgment would be the high places of worship that stood throughout the land. [Note: See Dyer, "Ezekiel," p. 1238, for a brief history of the high places in Canaan.] God would destroy the altars, and the people who worshipped before them would fall slain... read more
A Prophecy against the Mountain Land of IsraelThe coming judgment is here announced to the land of Israel, which is identified with the people. Ezekiel 6:8-9, following up the hint in Ezekiel 5:3-4, speak of a remnant of the nation which will be led to repentance in exile.2, 3. The physical features of the land are described, not only because their variety was in strong contrast to the monotony of the Babylonian plains where Ezekiel lived, but also, and chiefly, because they were associated... read more
(3) To the rivers, and to the valleys.—These words stand to each other in the same relation as “mountains and hills,” that is, they are specifications of the same general character. The word frequently occurring, and uniformly translated in Ezekiel rivers, would be better rendered ravines. It is a deep sort of valley, along which, at times, a stream might run. Such places were also favourite places for idolatrous rites (see 2 Kings 23:10; Isaiah 57:5-6; Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 32:35),... read more
Ezekiel 6:7 This sentence recurs again and again in the prophecies of Ezekiel. It is the thought of his mind, the one which gives all the sublimity and all the practical worth to his discourses that the knowledge of God is the supreme good of man. F. D. Maurice. read more
THE END FORETOLDEzekiel 4:1-17 - Ezekiel 7:1-27WITH the fourth chapter we enter on the exposition of the first great division of Ezekiel’s prophecies. The chaps, 4-24, cover a period of about four and a half years, extending from the time of the prophet’s call to the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem. During this time Ezekiel’s thoughts revolved round one great theme-the approaching judgment on the city and the nation. Through contemplation of this fact there was disclosed to him the... read more
Ezekiel 6:1-14 . The mountains of Israel are mentioned first, because they were the places where the people practiced idolatry; they were the high places so often mentioned in the historical books. (Read Leviticus 26:30-33 .) Hundreds of years before, Moses wrote these words; and now they were all to be fulfilled. But the Lord also promised that a remnant should be left. That remnant would acknowledge the evil they had done. “They shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 6:1-14
The idolatry of Israel (6:1-14)From the time of the judges (the period that followed Israel’s settlement of Canaan) the people of Israel had copied Canaanite religious practices. Canaanite gods, collectively known as Baalim (plural of Baal) were gods of nature, and Israelites used the Canaanite shrines throughout the countryside as places to offer worship to Yahweh. These shrines were called ‘high places’ because they were usually built on the tops of hills and mountains. Israel’s false worship... read more