Ezekiel 6 records words of judgement against Judah’s idolatry. Idolatry was one of the major reasons that Jerusalem was destroyed in the first place. Generations earlier, God had warned his people of the dangers of idolatry. For generations, Israel’s kings and priests had had the responsibility to purge the land of idolatry. While some kings had tried, their reforming efforts had never proven to be enduring. God would now step in to do what his people had failed to do for centuries (vv. 5–7).
In ancient times, scattering human bones or ashes on an altar defiled the altar. God promised the scatter the bones of dead idolaters on the idolatrous altars themselves as an act of judgement—as a way to finally deal with the problem of idolatry in the land. From the perspective of overt idolatry, that’s precisely what he did. After the return from exile, the Jewish people never again gave themselves to wholesale, overt idolatry.
In the removal of the high places, however, God was driving at something more significant than the simple banishment of overt idolatry. Idolatry, at its core, is a superficial view of God. In his anger against idolatry, God was expressing anger that his people did not believe rightly about him. It mattered profoundly to God what his people believed about him. It still does.
As a church, we have been working for some time through the New City Catechism. Question 2 of that catechism asks, “What is God?” It answers, “God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.” Question 3 then addresses the doctrine of the Trinity: “How many persons are there in God?” The catechism answers, “There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”
These are profound truths and the answers to these questions contain difficult words. Some might wonder, is there real value in teaching children these truths? Must we really focus children on concepts like God’s eternality, infinitude, and immutability? Must children be taught about his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice and truth? Should we try to teach children about the truth of the Trinity when we ourselves cannot fully grasp it?
The answer is a resounding yes because God cares deeply what we think of him. He has revealed himself to us and we can only know him to the degree that we rest on his self-revelation. And we can be sure that everything that he has revealed about himself is important to know.
A few years ago, a raging debate broke out between evangelicals about what was called “the eternal subordination of the Son.” The debate centred on whether or not the Son was eternally subordinate to the Father, or whether the Son’s submission to the Father was unique to the incarnation. This may seem like an academic question, but it is profoundly important that we get it right. We must believe what God has revealed about himself. Good theology is crucial.
We cannot know everything there is to know about God because our finite minds are incapable of grasping his infinitude. But we must strive to know everything that he has revealed about himself because our understanding of God will affect our worship and our lifestyle. A wrong view of God is an idol—for we have then fashioned a god of our own imagination—and God is determined to cast down our idols.
God’s people would know who he is when their idols were destroyed (vv. 13–14). Only when their superficial views of God were dealt the death blow would they grasp the magnitude of who God is. Only then would they worship him as he expected. Only then would they be able to walk before him as he required. The same is true of us. Proper theology is essential to proper worship—both personal and corporate.
As you meditate on Ezekiel 6 this morning, ask God to reveal himself to you through the Scripture and for the grace to believe and affirm what you learn so that your worship will be acceptable to him.
