“In Gilead,
There is iniquity.
They shall surely come to nothing.
In Gilgal,
They sacrifice bulls.
Thus,
Their altars shall be
Like stone heaps
On the furrows
Of the field.”
The various idol worship places in Gilead and Gilgal will become useless. Their iniquity will amount to nothing. The altars where they sacrificed bulls in Gilgal will become like heaps of stone in a furrowed field.
“They shall never again
Defile themselves
With their idols,
With their detestable things,
Or with any
Of their transgressions.
But I will save them
From all the apostasies
Into which they have fallen.
I will cleanse them.
They shall be
My people.
I will be their God.”
Yahweh, via Ezekiel, laid down the law. There was to be no more idol worship. They were never again to defile themselves with all these detestable things. There would be no more transgressions. Yahweh was going to save them from the various evil ways or apostasies that they had fallen into. Yahweh was going to cleanse them. Thus, they might be truly his people. Yahweh was going to be their God. There would not be any questions about this.
“The sheep
Were scattered,
Because there was
No shepherd.
Thus,
They became food
For all the wild animals.
My sheep
Were scattered.
They wandered
Over all the mountains.
They wandered
On every high hill.
My sheep
Were scattered
Over all the face
Of the earth.
There was no one
To search
For them.
There was no one
To seek
For them.”
Yahweh, via Ezekiel, said that his sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd to lead them. Thus, these sheep became food for all the wild animals, perhaps an allusion to the attacks of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. The sheep of Israel and Judah were scattered, so that they wandered into the mountains and the high hills, perhaps an allusion to the high places of idol worship. His sheep were scattered all over all the face of the earth, perhaps an allusion to the captivity. Finally, there was no leader or shepherd to go out to search and look for them. They were the lost sheep of Israel.
“They have committed
Adultery.
Blood is
On their hands.
With their idols,
They have committed
Adultery.
They have even offered up
To them
For food
The children
Whom they had borne
To me.
Moreover
This they have done
To me.
They have defiled
My sanctuary
On the same day.
They have profaned
My Sabbath.
When they had slaughtered
Their children
For their idols,
On the same day,
They came
Into my sanctuary
To profane it.
This is what they did
In my house.”
Yahweh explains to Ezekiel about the adulterous behavior of these two sisters, particularly Jerusalem. They had turned to idol images instead of Yahweh. Thus they have committed adultery. Blood was on their hands because of their idol worship. They had even offered up Israelite children for food for these idols. Not only did they sacrifice their own children, but on the same day they defiled the sanctuary of the Temple and profaned the Sabbath. They had slaughtered their own children for their idols. What kind of adulterous behavior was this?
“The customs of the people
Are false.
A tree from the forest
Is cut down.
It is worked with an ax
By the hands of an artisan.
People deck it with silver.
They deck it with gold.
They fasten it with a hammer.
They fasten it with nails.
Thus it cannot move.
Their idols are
Like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
They cannot speak.
They have to be carried.
They cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them!
They cannot do evil.
It is not in them to do good.”
This section is a lot like that of Second Isaiah, especially chapters 40-44, against false human made idol gods. Thus this probably also comes from the later exilic times. Many people have this false custom of idol worship. He reminded them that these wooden idols come from a tree. Someone cut down the tree in the forest. Then an artisan or wood carver axed or created an image with a hammer and nails. Then they put silver and gold on it. Thus these false wooden idols cannot move. They are more like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch. They cannot talk or walk, since they have to be carried around. No one should be afraid of these scarecrow idols, since they cannot do any evil to you. However, they also cannot do any good for you either. Once again, this is an argument against the false wooden idol gods and their human makers.
“Upon a high lofty mountain
You have set your bed.
There you went up to offer sacrifice.
Behind the door,
Behind the doorpost
You have set up your symbol.
In deserting me,
You have uncovered your bed.
You have gone up to it.
You have made it wide.
You have made a bargain
For yourself with them.
You have loved their bed.
You have gazed on their nakedness.”
Third Isaiah speaks out against the sexual immorality of this idol worship. On a high mountain of worship there would be a bed. With the symbol of the idol behind the door or the doorpost, there they opened their wide bed to others. Thus, they deserted Yahweh when they offered their sacrifices. They made a bargain with their sexual partners, where they loved and gazed on each other’s nakedness. These were the implications of sexual immoral acts of naked bodies in a bed.
“You shall be ashamed
Of the oaks In which you delighted.
You shall blush
For the gardens
That you have chosen.
You shall be
Like an oak
Whose leaf withers.
You shall be
Like a garden
Without water.
The strong shall become
Like tinder.
Their work shall become
Like a spark.
They shall burn.
Their work shall burn together
With them.
No one will quench them.”
Here Isaiah attacks the pagan practice as well as the practices in Samaria, outside of Jerusalem. These were the places where people worshiped at sacred trees. He wanted them to be ashamed of their oak trees and their wonderful gardens that so delighted them. These worshipers were like dying trees or gardens without water. Soon there would be no water, as the oak leaves would wither away. These strong trees would be like tinder kindling wood. They and their works would burn together in a fire that could not be put out. Thus he called for the destruction of the oak tree idol worship and their worshipers, preferably by an unquenchable fire.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 