What is the meaning of Ezekiel 6:14? I will stretch out My hand against them God’s outstretched hand is a picture of direct, personal intervention—always decisive, never merely symbolic. • Exodus 7:5, Isaiah 5:25, and Ezekiel 14:9 show the same phrase used for active judgment. • In Ezekiel’s day this pointed to Babylon’s armies, instruments of the Lord’s own hand. • Because Scripture is literal and accurate, the historical fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC confirms this promise was fulfilled exactly as stated. and wherever they live Judgment would touch every dwelling, proving no refuge exists outside God’s mercy. • Deuteronomy 28:15-19 warns that covenant breaking brings sweeping curses “in the city and in the field.” • Amos 5:3 pictures a remnant so small it barely survives in any town. • Sin is never a private matter; its reach contaminates all locations linked to the offender. I will make the land a desolate waste The land itself suffers when inhabitants rebel, underscoring the bond between people and place. • Leviticus 26:33-35 foretells the land enjoying sabbaths while the people are exiled. • Jeremiah 25:11 calls the ruined land “an object of horror.” • Ezekiel 5:14-15 shows desolation becoming a solemn witness to surrounding nations. from the wilderness to Diblah By naming opposite borders, God marks total coverage. • “Wilderness” points southward toward the Negev (Numbers 21:1). • “Diblah” sets the far northern limit—paralleled by “from Dan to Beersheba” in Judges 20:1 and “from Hamath to the Arabah” in 2 Kings 14:25. • Nothing inside those borders escapes; the whole covenant land is under divine scrutiny. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Judgment’s ultimate aim is revelation—bringing hard-hearted people face-to-face with their sovereign Redeemer. • Ezekiel repeats this refrain (6:7, 10; 7:4) to stress that knowledge of God grows even through discipline. • Exodus 7:17 shows the same purpose in Egypt’s plagues: “By this you will know that I am the LORD.” • A remnant learns, turns, and ultimately testifies to God’s faithfulness (Ezekiel 36:22-23). summary Ezekiel 6:14 declares a literal, comprehensive judgment: God personally acts (“I will stretch out My hand”), touches every locale (“wherever they live”), devastates the environment (“a desolate waste”), spans the whole land (“from the wilderness to Diblah”), and achieves a higher goal (“Then they will know that I am the LORD”). The verse reminds us that the Lord’s holiness cannot ignore rebellion, yet even severe discipline serves His redemptive purpose—compelling hearts to recognize and return to Him. |
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