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Ezekiel 6: Against the High Places

Ezekiel prophesies to the very mountains of Israel, where idol altars stand, declaring that the high places will be ruined yet a remnant will remember and loathe their sins.

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Ezekiel 6 (WEB)

1 Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy to them,

3 and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places.

4 Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense altars shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.

5 I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones around your altars.

6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

7 The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

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

9 Those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations where they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the prostitute after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

10 They shall know that I am Yahweh: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.

11 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say, Alas! because of 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 who is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he who is near shall fall by the sword; and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath on them.

13 You shall know that I am Yahweh, when their slain men shall be among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered pleasant aroma to all their idols.

14 I will stretch out my hand on them, and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations: and they shall know that I am Yahweh.

Summary

God tells Ezekiel to set his face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them, for it is on the hills and high places that the people have built their idol shrines. The Lord declares he will bring a sword on these high places, destroying the altars, smashing the incense stands, and casting the slain bodies of idol-worshippers before their lifeless idols, so that the land will be laid waste and the people will know that he is Yahweh. Yet in the midst of this judgment God promises to leave a remnant: some will escape the sword and be scattered among the nations, and there they will remember the Lord, grieved that their adulterous hearts and idol-loving eyes had turned away from him, and they will loathe themselves for the evils they have committed. God commands Ezekiel to strike his hands and stamp his feet and cry “Alas!” over the abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword, famine, and plague. The repeated refrain—“they shall know that I am Yahweh”—runs through the chapter like a drumbeat. Even the harshest judgment has a redemptive aim: that a humbled remnant might truly know their God again.

Main Characters

  • Ezekiel — The prophet commanded to set his face toward the mountains of Israel and proclaim judgment on the idolatry practiced on the high places.
  • The Lord Yahweh — The God who judges Israel's idolatry yet preserves a remnant, working even through judgment so that his people will know that he is Yahweh.
  • The idolatrous house of Israel — The people who built altars and high places to false gods, who will fall by sword, famine, and plague, though some will survive to repent.

Key Verse

Ezekiel 6:9 (WEB)

Those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations where they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the prostitute after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

Lessons Learned

  • Idolatry grieves the heart of God, who describes himself as broken by his people's unfaithfulness.
  • What we exalt in worship—our high places—God will tear down if it rivals him.
  • God's judgments are aimed at a saving end: that people would finally know that he is the LORD.
  • True repentance includes remembering God, grieving over sin, and loathing the evil we once cherished.
  • God's heart is wounded by idolatry. “I have been broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me” (Ezekiel 6:9, WEB). Our unfaithfulness is not merely rule-breaking; it grieves God.
  • God removes rival altars. “I will destroy your high places” (Ezekiel 6:3, WEB). He loves us too much to leave the idols that enslave us standing.
  • Judgment aims at knowledge of God. Again and again, “you shall know that I am Yahweh” (Ezekiel 6:7, WEB). Even severe discipline is meant to bring true knowledge of the Lord.
  • Repentance loathes the old sin. The remnant “shall loathe themselves… for the evils which they have committed” (Ezekiel 6:9, WEB). Genuine turning hates what it once loved.
  1. Why does God direct this prophecy against the mountains and high places specifically?
  2. What does it reveal about God that he describes himself as “broken” by his people's idolatry?
  3. How does the repeated phrase “you shall know that I am Yahweh” shape the meaning of the judgment?
  4. What marks the repentance of the surviving remnant in verse 9?
  5. What are the “high places” in your own life—things you exalt or trust above God—and how might he be calling you to tear them down?
  1. The high places were the hilltop shrines where Israel worshiped idols (6:3-4). By prophesying against the mountains, God targets the very centers of false worship. The judgment is not arbitrary; it strikes precisely at the sin that has corrupted the people's devotion.
  2. God speaks like a wounded spouse, “broken” by hearts that have committed spiritual adultery (6:9). This reveals that idolatry is relational betrayal, not just legal violation. The God who judges is also the God who feels the pain of his people's unfaithfulness—astonishing tenderness within severity.
  3. The refrain shows that the goal of judgment is knowledge—true, humbled recognition of who God is (6:7, 10, 13-14). The Lord is not merely punishing; he is teaching a people who had forgotten him. Mercy hides inside the very purpose of the judgment.
  4. The remnant remembers God, recognizes how they grieved him, and loathes themselves for their abominations (6:9). Real repentance is more than regret; it turns from sin with grief and self-honesty. Help the group see repentance as a gift that restores relationship with God.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name, even quietly, what competes for the trust and devotion owed to God, and to ask his help in dethroning it. As leader, point to the remnant's hope: God tears down idols to draw us back to himself, not to abandon us.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.