Ezekiel 6:1

Ezekiel 6:1 says, And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  It would seem that this was a different prophesy than the following two, and I know that God continues to speak to us after we become a Christien, so we need to always be listening to Him.   

Verse two adds, Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,  Ezekiel was told to set his face towards the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.  Isreal here referred to all twelve tribes and not just the ten that were often referred to as Israel with the other two being referred to as Judah.  The mountains woold have been the highest points Ezekiel would have had any possibility of seeing from captivity, and they would have also been seen as unmovable, but God could shake them.  The people of Israel felt that since they were called God’s chosen people that they should be unshakeable, but God was letting them know that when they failed to obey Him that this was not true.  The same is true for those who profess to be Christians today but are so in name only.  

Verse three continues, 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.  God then proclaimed quite clearly that He was going to bring judgment on Israel with the sward of war and that He would destroy their high places, or places where they worshipped false gods.  God had been protecting and empowering them, and He was no longer going to do that.  If we as followers of Christ begin to turn away from doing His will, we should no longer expect Him to strengthen and empower us.   

Verse four states, And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.  Ezekiel said that God said that their altars would be desolate, their images or false gods would be broken, and He was going to cast their slain men down before their worthless idols.  If we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we should then cast down any idols that we may have worshipped before.  If we allow them to come back into our lives, we need to repent and ask God to help us cast them down once more.   

Verse five adds, 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.  God said that children were going to be killed as well as adults and this is often the case in war.  He then said He would lay their dead bodies around their altars to their idols.  The idols that they had looked to for help would be shown to be worthless, just as any idol that people put their faith in today will one day be shown to be worthless.   We need to pray that we come to understand this before we die and put our faith in Jesus Christ before it is too late.   

Verse six continues, 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.  God said that all their idols and dwelling places would be destroyed and become desolate.  Ever idol that we may have worshipped before coming to God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ must be destroyed and we must worship Him alone.   

Verse seven concludes, And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.  God said that when their slain fell in the midst of them that they would know that He was God. When we know that God is God, which happens by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we must allow all the idols in our life to be slain and thrown down.   

Ezekiel 5:14

Ezekiel 5:14 says, Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.  Ezekiel said God was going to make the people of Israel a waste and a reproach to the world.  They had failed to live by the covenant that they had made with God, so they were no longer to be looked up to by the world but would be looked down on instead.  If a person has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, they are forever a part of His kingdom, but if a person professes to be a Christian without doing so, they will one day face His wrath.   

Verse fifteen adds, So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it.  God said that when He did this that it would an astonishment to other people around them.  The people of Israel had always been viewed as God’s people, and the rest of the world was now going to be amazed that God was allowing them to be punished.  If we are a follower of Christ, people of the world should be able to see that we are different from them in the way our life reflects God to the world.  If we allow sin into our life once again, we may find that God removes His protective hand in our life here, but we are still a part of Hiis kingdom.   

Verse sixteen continues, When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:  This is a further warning that God was going to allow them to suffer a great famine.  God basically said that they would run out of bread.  I know that God has the ability to destroy everything that He created, but I also believe that often He just removes His protective hand and then we suffer from a lack of spiritual nourishment if we sin against Him.   

Verse seventeen concludes, So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee: and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it.  This is another warning of what God was going to do them or allow to happen to them.  I do know that if we sin against God that we will have to bear the penalty unless we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and even then, we will be held accountable for sins that we commit after we do.  We are forever saved, but we will still one day be held accountable for times we have rebelled against God as followers of Christ.  God said this was going to happen because He had spoken it.  We may not believe that what God’s word says is going happen actually will, but His word will always be true, whether we believe it or not. 

Ezekiel 5:11

Ezekiel 5:11 says, Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.  God said as surely as He lived, and He always has and always will, that since the people of Israel had defiled His sanctuary with detestable and abominable things that He would diminish their number.  God had promised that He would make them a great nation with numbers like the sands of the sea if they were obedient to Him.  They had failed to be obedient, so He was going to reduce their number down to only those who were.  If we share the gospel faithfully and are obedient to God’s will, the number of Christians, people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, will grow, but if we begin to pervert the gospel and follow lies instead of God’s truth, the number of Christians will decrease.  This will be true even if the number of people who profess to be Christians but have done so in name only without faith in God alone grows. 

Verse twelve adds, A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. Ezekiel said God was going to allow a third of the people of Israel to die of pestilence, or plague.  God doesn’t need an army to defeat those who rebel against Him, but He can do so by just removing His protective hand and allowing the diseases of the world to kill them. Ezekiel then said that God was going to allow another third of the people of Israel to die by the sword, or to be killed in battle.  Their success when they were victorious had always been because God was with them, and He was no longer going to be.  Our success in overcoming the world today since we are in a spiritual battle will always be because God is with us when we are obedient to Him. Ezekiel concluded by saying that God was to then scatter the remaining third, many of whom would also die by the sword.  God will punish those who refuse to accept His gift of salvation, even if they call themselves Christians but have never accepted His gracious gift of salvation.    

Verse thirteen adds, Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.  God said that after this happened that His anger would be finished and that the world would know that He was God and that His word would always be true.  The people of Isreal were never called to be God’s chosen people because of anything they did, but they were called to be His people and to represent Him in the world because of His grace in calling them. Since they were seen as God’s people, when they did things that made Him look bad or unpowerful in the world’s view, He had no choice but to allow them to be defeated.  It was their disobedience that caused this and not just an arbitrary act of God.  If we refuse to accept God’s gift of salvation, one day we will feel His wrath, but the choice will always be ours.