How does Ezekiel 6:2 connect with the First Commandment in Exodus 20:3? Setting the Scene • Ezekiel 6:2 – “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.” • Ezekiel speaks from exile in Babylon (c. 593 BC), addressing the land of Judah still steeped in idolatry. • “Mountains” represent the high places where Israel built altars to foreign gods (1 Kings 14:23; Hosea 4:13). The Mountains and the Heart • High places were chosen for worship because their elevation symbolized nearness to the divine; sadly, Israel used them to worship Baal, Asherah, and other deities. • Ezekiel’s command to “prophesy against” those mountains exposes the heart-issue: Israel has replaced the LORD with substitutes. • Idolatry is not just carved images; it is any rival claim on the loyalty owed solely to God (Deuteronomy 6:14-15). Echoes of the First Commandment • Exodus 20:3 – “You shall have no other gods before Me.” • Both texts confront divided allegiance: ‑ Exodus gives the covenant’s first word—exclusive devotion. ‑ Ezekiel indicts Judah for violating that very word on their hills and mountains. • By ordering Ezekiel to face the mountains, God dramatizes that the “scene of the crime” is also the place of judgment. • The First Commandment is the foundation; Ezekiel 6 exposes what happens when that foundation is ignored. Consequences of Forgetting the Covenant • Ezekiel 6:4-5 describes altars smashed, idols broken, and slain worshipers laid before their false gods—graphic reversal of idolatry’s promises. • Deuteronomy 28:36-37 warned of exile and devastation if Israel chased other gods; Ezekiel confirms those covenant curses are now falling. • Jeremiah 2:11 – “Has a nation ever changed its gods…? But My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols.” Ezekiel echoes Jeremiah’s lament with a judgment oracle. A Call for Undivided Allegiance Today • The First Commandment still stands (Matthew 4:10; 1 Corinthians 10:14). • Just as ancient Judah’s high places were tangible, modern “high places” can be career, pleasure, or self—anything claiming the loyalty due to Christ alone. • Ezekiel’s warning urges believers to examine attitudes, habits, and affections, ensuring that “in everything He might have the supremacy” (Colossians 1:18, paraphrased). • Obedience protects fellowship; idolatry invites discipline. Choosing wholehearted devotion fulfills the First Commandment and answers Ezekiel’s call, keeping the mountains of our lives for the LORD alone. |
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