As we saw yesterday, Ezekiel was amongst the first wave of captives taken from Jerusalem before the great destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and the second wave of captives. As such, when Ezekiel prophesies coming destruction in this text (the same destruction we saw recounted in Jeremiah and Lamentations) it’s still chronologically a future thing at this point; however, it is soon to come.
When God gives His word through Ezekiel, He certainly doesn’t pull any punches. We not only see the surety of judgement in these chapters, but we also see the reason for its coming: the sin of the people, especially their idolatry. The Lord says He will vent and spend His fury on them and that they will know that He’s spoken in His jealousy (5:13). Judah will become an example to the nations of God’s judgment and a warning to them (5:14). Their bodies will lie dead before their idols and altars (6:5) and there will be those who die of pestilence, of famine, and of sword (6:12).
“And you shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing aroma to all their idols”
Ezekiel 6:13, ESV
The very first commandment of the 10 Commandments is, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). God is a jealous God. He doesn’t want any competition. He doesn’t want to share the hearts of His people with other lovers. We’ll see in different places in the prophets how idolatry is likened to adultery. It’s as if the people were cheating on God with their idols. God tolerated it for a time and gave them opportunity to repent by sending His prophets, but because the people wouldn’t turn from their sin eventually the sword of judgment came. In this text, we see that their bodies will lie dead beside the altars and idols, showing that these false gods couldn’t save them.
We might not serve Baal today, or set up an Asherah pole, or sacrifice to Molech, but if we aren’t careful, we can fall into other forms of idolatry. Success can be an idol we try and serve. Hobbies can become idols we serve. Our career can become an idol we serve. Materialism runs rampant in America and is certainly a form of idolatry. We might not have altars dedicated to them on the high places, but we can still search our hearts and ask, “Do I have any other gods in my life?”
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