Ezekiel 6:1-7 – To know the LORD alone!

Ezekiel 6 is the prophet’s second discourse after the silent dramatization described in chapter 4. The first discourse is found in chapter 5, where he elaborated on what made God’s judgment on the house of Israel necessary and the three impacts it made. In the second discourse in Ezekiel 6, we cannot get away from God’s one desire – “that you shall know that I am the Lord.”  

The people of Israel had broken the commandment to honor Him as their only God. They had allowed themselves to be influenced by the nations. They participated in the idols of the foreign nations and worshipped them. Upon the mountains, the hills, the ravines and the valleys, Israel had venerated idols and worshipped false gods in their high places. Alongside God, they venerated other gods in their high places.  So, the Prophet Ezekiel was instructed to call out their sin of idolatry. During King Josiah’s godly reform, he had gotten rid of them but soon after his death, the worship of the gods at these high places mushroomed.  Here through Ezekiel, God declared what He was about to do to these high places. He was asked to set his “face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them.” God was going to “bring a sword” against them, to punish them.  

Verses 4-7 detailed what God was going to do. Altars shall become desolate, incense altars shall be broken, the slain cast down before the idols. Dead bodies of Israel would be strewn before their idols and their bones scattered before those altars. Verse 6 says, “Wherever you dwell, the cities shall be waste, and the high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined, your idols broken and destroyed, your incense altars cut down, and your works wiped out.” God’s one purpose was so that they would know that He is the Lord.  

God alone deserves worship. Like the People of Israel then, if we are not careful to guard our relationship with Him, we may be influenced to worship other things alongside Him. When that happen, depravity will set in. Overtaken by depravity we will become senseless and illogical. We must always remember that the first of the Westminster statements of faith states: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” We must worship God alone and enjoy Him forever.