Ezekiel — Chapter 8
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1And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.
2Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.
3And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
4And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
5Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
6He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.
7And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.
8Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.
9And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.
10So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.
11And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.
12Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.
13He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
15Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
16And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
17Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
18Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
1And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord Jehovah fell there upon me.
2Then I beheld, and, lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire; and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal.
3And he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner [court] that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
4And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the appearance that I saw in the plain.
5Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
6And he said unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but thou shalt again see yet other great abominations.
7And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.
8Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold, a door.
9And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.
10So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about.
11And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.
12Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah hath forsaken the land.
13He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do.
14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Jehovah`s house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz.
15Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen [this], O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these.
16And he brought me into the inner court of Jehovah`s house; and behold, at the door of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.
17Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen [this], O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
18Therefore will I also deal in wrath; mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
1In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting in front of me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord seized me.
2As I watched, I noticed a form that appeared to be a man. From his waist downward was something like fire, and from his waist upward something like a brightness, like an amber glow.
3He stretched out the form of a hand and grabbed me by a lock of hair on my head. Then a wind lifted me up between the earth and sky and brought me to Jerusalem by divine visions, to the door of the inner gate that faces north where the statue that provokes to jealousy was located.
4Then I perceived that the glory of the God of Israel was there, as in the vision I had seen earlier in the valley.
5He said to me, “Son of man, look up toward the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.
6He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the people of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”
7He brought me to the entrance of the court, and as I watched, I noticed a hole in the wall.
8He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and discovered a doorway.
9He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here.”
10So I went in and looked. I noticed every figure of creeping thing and beast—detestable images—and every idol of the house of Israel, engraved on the wall all around.
11Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel (with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them) were standing in front of them, each with a censer in his hand, and fragrant vapors from a cloud of incense were swirling upward.
12He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’”
13He said to me, “You will see them practicing even greater abominations!”
14Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed women sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
15He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!”
16Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about 25 men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, facing east—they were worshiping the sun toward the east!
17He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose!
18Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”
1In the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, the Lord Yahweh’s hand fell on me there.
2Then I saw, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his waist and downward, fire; and from his waist and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal.
3He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the sky, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looks toward the north; where there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.
4Behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the appearance that I saw in the plain.
5Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and saw, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
6He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But you will again see yet other great abominations.”
7He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.
8Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig now in the wall.” When I had dug in the wall, I saw a door.
9He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.”
10So I went in and looked, and saw every form of creeping things, abominable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around on the wall.
11Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood before them. In the middle of them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan stood, every man with his censer in his hand; and the smell of the cloud of incense went up.
12Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery? For they say, ‘Yahweh doesn’t see us. Yahweh has forsaken the land.’”
13He said also to me, “You will again see more of the great abominations which they do.”
14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Yahweh’s house which was toward the north; and I saw the women sit there weeping for Tammuz.
15Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? You will again see yet greater abominations than these.”
16He brought me into the inner court of Yahweh’s house; and I saw at the door of Yahweh’s temple, between the porch and the altar, there were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward Yahweh’s temple, and their faces toward the east. They were worshiping the sun toward the east.
17Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger. Behold, they put the branch to their nose.
18Therefore will I also deal in wrath. My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.”
Summary
God transports Ezekiel in vision to Jerusalem's temple and shows him FOUR escalating abominations happening INSIDE: (1) the image of jealousy at the gate, (2) 70 elders burning incense to wall-carvings in the dark, (3) women weeping for Tammuz, and (4) 25 men worshipping the SUN with their backs to the temple. Each worse than the last. "Son of man, hast thou seen this? Turn yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations."
Authorship & Background
- Transported in Vision to the Temple (vv.1-4)
- Abomination 1: The Image of Jealousy (vv.5-6)
- Abomination 2: 70 Elders in the Dark (vv.7-13)
- Abomination 3: Women Weeping for Tammuz (vv.14-15)
- Abomination 4: Sun Worship with Backs to the Temple (vv.16-18)
Map & Geography
- Jerusalem (v.3): Capital of Judah; the holy city where the Temple stood.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
- Charles Spurgeon: "'The LORD seeth us not.' The elders' theology enabled their idolatry. If God doesn't see — anything is permissible. If God has left — there's no one to offend. Wrong theology always produces wrong living. Fix your DOCTRINE and your behavior follows."
Reflection
- 1. Escalating abomination (vv.6,13,15). Sin doesn't stay at one level — it ESCALATES. "Turn again and see greater abominations." What started small in your life may be growing into something worse while you're not looking.
- 2. "The LORD seeth us not" (v.12). The theology that enables sin: "God doesn't see." But He DOES. He brought Ezekiel in VISION to show him what the elders did in the dark. Nothing is hidden.
- 3. Backs to the temple (v.16). What are you facing INSTEAD of God? What has your attention, your worship, your orientation — while your back is turned on the One who should be central?
- 4. Abominations INSIDE the temple (entire chapter). These sins aren't committed in pagan temples — they're in GOD'S HOUSE. The most dangerous idolatry isn't outside the church but INSIDE it. What abominations are tolerated in sacred spaces?
- 5. "Is it a light thing?" (v.17). We trivialize what God takes seriously. "It's no big deal" is the refrain of those committing the worst offenses. God's question: is it really as trivial as you're pretending?