The Bible

 

Ezekiel 6

Study

   

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 Son of man, set thy face towards the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them.

3 And say: Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus Faith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the rocks, and the valleys: Behold, I will bring upon you the sword, and I will destroy your high places.

4 And I will throw down your altars, and your idols shall be broken in pieces: and I will cast down your slain before your idols.

5 And I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before your idols: and I will scatter Sour bones round about your altars,

6 In all your dwelling places. The cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be thrown down, and destroyed, and your altars shall be abolished, and shall be broken in pieces: and your idols shall be no more, and your temples shall be destroyed, and your works shall be defaced.

7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you: and you shall know that I am the Lord.

8 And I will leave in you some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when I shall have scattered you, through the countries.

9 And they that are saved of you shall remember me amongst the nations to which they are carried captives: because I have broken their heart that was faithless, and revolted from me: and their eyes that went a fornicating after their idols: and they shall be displeased with themselves because of the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

10 And they shall know that I the Lord have not spoken in vain that I would do this evil to them.

11 Thus saith the Lord God: Strike with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say: Alas, for all the abominations of the evils of the house of Israel: for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence.

12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence: and he that is near, shall fall by the sword: and he that remaineth, and is besieged, shall die by the famine: and I will accomplish my indignation upon them.

13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when your slain shall be amongst your idols, round about your altars, in every high hill, and on all the tops of mountains, and under every woody tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they burnt sweet smelling frankincense to all their idols.

14 And I will stretch forth my hand upon them: and I will make the land desolate, and abandoned from the desert of Deblatha in all their dwelling places: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

   

Commentary

 

Altar

  

The first altar mentioned in the Word was the one built by Noah after he came out of the ark, after being saved from the great flood. On that altar, he sacrificed clean animals to the Lord.

Mountains represent the Lord because of their height; we need to raise our thoughts above worldly things when "talking" with the Lord. An altar is a small artificial mountain. When it's used in worship, it can call to mind this raising of thought. The fire and smoke that rise from an altar are symbolically being sent to the Lord.

Most altars were made from unhewn stones. Stones represent truths. Unhewn stones - ones that have not been shaped by men - represent truths from the Word, truths that have not been adulterated.

The clean beasts to be sacrificed represent good things, charitable acts done because they are right. The clean birds represent thoughts about doctrine and actions, and about what is right. Presenting these things is an acknowledgment that we have them from the Lord, and a giving thanks to Him for them.

In the Israelitish Tabernacle, the altar of burnt offering represented the acknowledgment of good and the altar of incense that of truth. For this reason this larger altar, which was outside by the door, was made of brass which signifies natural good, while the altar of incense was made of gold, which signifies love to the Lord from whom comes truth.