What are the “high places” and “Bamah” mentioned in this passage?

The “high places” were hilltops or raised areas, often with groves of trees, where people set up altars and shrines. Instead of worshiping God where He chose, Israel copied the nations and used these spots for sacrifices, incense, and drink offerings. “Bamah” is a word that means “high place.” God asks, “What is the high place whereunto ye go?” to make them think about what they are doing. The name staying “Bamah to this day” shows how attached they were to this kind of worship.

Why does God say Israel’s fathers blasphemed Him in this passage?

God had brought their fathers into the land He promised, caring for them and keeping His word. Instead of worshiping Him as He commanded, they turned to idols on every high hill and under thick trees. By doing this, they treated His goodness and His warnings as if they meant nothing. Their sacrifices at those places did not honor God but “provoked” Him. This ongoing, stubborn idolatry is called blasphemy because it speaks badly of God’s name and rejects His rule over them.

Why does God refuse to be “inquired of” by the house of Israel here?

The elders came as if they wanted to hear from God, but their lives showed a different story. They were still offering gifts at forbidden places, clinging to idols, and even making their sons pass through the fire. God asks, “Shall I be enquired of by you?” and then swears, “I will not be enquired of by you.” This means He will not answer or guide people who pretend to seek Him while holding on to the very sins He has clearly condemned. Their religion was outward, not sincere.

What does it mean that they made their sons “pass through the fire”?

Making sons “pass through the fire” refers to a horrible practice tied to idol worship, where children were dedicated or even killed by fire to please a false god. God calls this one of their abominations. It shows how far their hearts had gone from Him, because they were willing to harm their own children in the name of idols. By doing this, and by offering other gifts to idols, they deeply polluted themselves. This was not a small mistake but a shocking sign of deep rebellion.

Why did Israel say, “We will be as the heathen… to serve wood and stone”?

The people wanted to avoid standing out as God’s special people. They thought that if they became like the surrounding nations, serving idols made of wood and stone, they would fit in and be treated like other families in those countries. It was a plan to escape the cost of belonging to God. But God answers that “that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all.” Their plan to blend in and follow idols would not work, because God would not let His people simply disappear among the nations.

What does this passage teach about God’s view of mixed or corrupted worship?

In this passage, God shows that worship mixed with idolatry is not acceptable to Him. Israel still brought offerings and used language of sacrifice and “sweet savour,” but they did it in forbidden places and tied it to idols. Instead of pleasing Him, these offerings “provoked” Him. God will not share His glory with idols, and He will not be treated as one option among many. Outward acts of worship mean nothing if the heart is running after other gods or clinging to sins He has clearly exposed.

How does this passage apply to people who want God’s help but ignore His commands?

The elders wanted answers from God while they kept the same sins their fathers had loved. God’s response shows that seeking Him only on the surface, without turning from known sin, is empty. It warns against trying to have both: God’s guidance and the comfort of our own idols or compromises. For anyone today, it points to the need for honest repentance, not just religious talk. God looks for people who will turn from what He calls pollution and come to Him with a sincere heart.

What was happening when God spoke these words through Ezekiel?

These words were spoken while many from Israel were already in exile, taken away from their land because of long years of sin, especially idolatry. Some of the elders had come and sat before Ezekiel, wanting to ask God about their situation. Instead of giving them the answers they expected, God walked them through their history, showing how their fathers had rebelled in the land and how they themselves were walking in the same path. It is a rebuke meant to humble them and expose their hearts.

Ezek.20.27

Ezekiel 20:27

KJV GOD

¶ Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.

Israel’s Rebellion in the Land

¶ Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.

For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.

Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.

Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?

For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.

And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.