Ezekiel 6:11-14

Ezekiel 6:11-14

[11] Thus saith  the Lord  Smite  with thine hand,  and stamp  with thy foot,  and say,  Alas  for all the evil  abominations  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:  thus will I accomplish  my fury  upon them. [13] Then shall ye know  that I am the LORD,  when their slain  men shall be among  their idols  round about  their altars,  upon every high  hill,  in all the tops  of the mountains,  and under every green  tree,  and under every thick  oak,  the place  where they did offer  sweet  savour  to all their idols.  [14] So will I stretch out  my hand  upon them, and make  the land  desolate,  yea, more desolate  than the wilderness  toward Diblath,  in all their habitations:  and they shall know  that I am the LORD. 

What does Ezekiel 6:11-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The people and Ezekiel were to express derision that the sword, famine, and plague (cf. Ezekiel 5:1-3; Ezekiel 5:12; Revelation 6:4-8) would come and judge these evil abominations (cf. Ezekiel 21:14-17; Ezekiel 22:13; Ezekiel 25:6; Lamentations 2:15; Nahum 3:19). These three instruments of judgment, summarizing the full range of divine punishment (cf. 2 Samuel 24:13; Jeremiah 27:13; Jeremiah 29:17), would affect various parts of the people and touch them all. The people would recognize Yahweh at work in judgment when they observed so many Judahites slain beside their pagan places of worship. He would make the land of Judah more desolate than the wilderness near Diblah. "Diblah" appears only here in the Old Testament. It may be a variation of "Riblah," the border town near Hamath where the Babylonian soldiers took King Zedekiah ( 2 Kings 25:5-7; Jeremiah 39:6-7; Jeremiah 52:8-11; Jeremiah 52:26-27). The Hebrew letters for "d" and "r" are very similar in shape. The purpose of God"s judgment was to restore the people to their proper relationship with Him ( Ezekiel 6:7; Ezekiel 6:10; Ezekiel 6:13-14). The expression "they will know that I am Yahweh" appears about65 times in Ezekiel and was one of the major purposes of God for His apostate people.
"In every generation God"s judgment and discipline is misunderstood by most people. God"s chief desire is to bring people to himself-or back to himself. When mankind willfully refuses to turn to him, God mercifully uses discipline and judgment to cause the people to recognize that he is the only true God, always faithful to what he has said in his word!" [1]