Ezekiel 6:14

My Notes

What Does Ezekiel 6:14 Mean?

God promises desolation beyond measure: "I will make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath." The comparison isn't to a mild desolation. It's to the worst known wasteland (the wilderness near Diblath — likely a location in the Syrian desert known for extreme barrenness). The land of Israel will become worse than the worst desert anyone has seen.

The word "desolate" (shemamah) appears twice: desolate, more desolate. The doubling intensifies: not just empty but emptier than empty. Not just barren but more barren than the most barren landscape they know. The comparison to an extreme establishes that Israel's desolation will exceed the existing standard for desolation.

The hand-stretching — "I stretch out my hand upon them" — is the cause: God's extended hand produces the desolation. The same hand that parted the sea, that wrote on the tablets, that sustained the nation through the wilderness — extended now to devastate. The hand hasn't changed. The direction has.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does the exceeded comparison (more desolate than the worst known desert) teach about judgment surpassing natural standards?
• 2.How does God's hand producing desolation (same hand that once produced blessing) demonstrate reversible sovereignty?
• 3.What prosperous territory in your life exists because of God's blessing — and how vulnerable is it?
• 4.Where might God's extended hand be changing direction from blessing to judgment?

Devotional

More desolate than the desert toward Diblath. God promises to make the land emptier than the emptiest place anyone knows. The comparison to the most barren wilderness available is exceeded: your land will be worse than that.

The double desolation (shemamah... shemamah — desolate, more desolate) creates an escalating comparison: the first desolation establishes the category. The second exceeds it. It's not enough to say the land will be a desert. The land will be more desert than the desert. The wasteland that's the standard for desolation will be surpassed by what Israel becomes.

The wilderness toward Diblath (likely in the Syrian steppe, one of the most barren landscapes accessible to Ezekiel's audience) is the comparison point everyone understands: you've seen that wasteland. You know what desolation looks like. What's coming to your land is worse. The reference point is selected for its extremity — and then exceeded.

The hand of God producing the desolation is the theological foundation: the same hand that built is the hand that destroys. The hand that planted vineyards in the land of promise now uproots them. The hand that watered the fields now dries them. The hand that filled the cities now empties them. The hand hasn't changed its capacity. It's changed its direction.

The exceeded-comparison principle should sober every community living in covenant territory: the land God gave can become more desolate than the worst wasteland you've ever seen. The prosperity that characterizes the covenant's blessing can reverse into desolation that exceeds the natural baseline. The further you were above average in blessing, the further you can fall below average in judgment.

What prosperous ground in your life could become more desolate than the desert — if the hand that blessed it stretches out for judgment?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture