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Saturday 13 February 2021

Ezekiel 6:8-14 - But I will spare some of you

6:8-10

Ezekiel uses a particular word for “idols”. The word he uses is found 39 or 38 times in Ezekiel, and about 49 times in total in the Bible. It literally means “dung god”, and is highly derogatory. In fact, I guess some more anglo-saxon translation may be equally appropriate. There is utter detestation of idols.

Some of the Israelites would be spared, a small remnant. Some of those who went into exile would eventually remember the Lord. They would realise how they had “grieved” the Lord. There are objective facts about the Lord, and things we must and must not do, but this goes together with a relational aspect. By sinning against God, looking to worthless idols and putting their trust in them, they had grieved the Lord. This was like a husband or wife committing adultery, it is an utter rejection of the relationship, and is equally destructive. They will also see that the threats that God had made through the prophets were very real. 


6:13,14

There are basically two ways that we can know that God is the Lord. We can trust Him and follow Him, or we can suffer His wrath. The Israelites should have known Him through following Him. Indeed, they had experienced enough miracles and interventions in their history. But they had rejected the Lord, so only when many of them died, and their buildings were shattered would they know that the Lord is God. And the places where the idols were worshipped would be where most of the slaughter would take place.


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