IDOLATRY IN THE TEMPLE
ezekiel 8:1-18King James Version (KJV)
8 Vision of the Glory of God
And
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.
2 Then 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.
3 And 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.
4 And, behold,
the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in
the plain.
Image of Jealousy
5 Then 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.
6 He 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.
Paintings on the Wall
7 And he
brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the
wall.
8 Then said he
unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall,
behold a door.
9 And he said
unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.
10 So 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.
11 And 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.
12 Then 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.
Weeping for Tammuz
13 He said also
unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they
do.
14 Then 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.
Sun Worship
15 Then said he
unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt
see greater abominations than these.
16 And 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.
17 Then 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.
18 Therefore
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.
The Holy Spirit at
Work Whether the prophetic
revelation is presented symbolically in visions, signs, parabolic actions, or
in human speech, Ezekiel claims for them the power and authority of the Holy
Spirit. In addition, there are numerous references to the Spirit of God in the
book. One might almost characterize the Book of Ezekiel as the "Acts of
the Holy Spirit" in the Old Testament.
8:1–18 Ezekiel is sitting with the elders when
he is suddenly transported in spirit to Jerusalem. In a vision he reports the
idolatry and abominations taking place at the temple, speaks judgment against
Jerusalem and the priests, and describes the throne of god and the departure of
the divine glory from the temple.
8:1 The date is Sept. 17 592 B.C.
8:3 Brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem: Ezekiel had prophesied severe judgment against Jerusalem in chs. 1-7.
Now he is given additional reasons for this judgment. "Visions of God". Image of jealousy: Any image would provoke God’s jealousy. This one, however, seems to
be the image of Asherah, a fertility goddess who may be identified with
Ashtarte (Ashtoteth) and the queen of heaven (see 2 Kin.
21:7; 23:4-6; Jer. 44:17-19).
8:10 Pourtrayed upon the wall round about: Perhaps the type of relief drawings seen on the walls of Egyptian
temples.
8:11 The seventy men: represented the laity and had been appointed by God to guide Israel
against such abominations as idolatry (Ex 24:9,10;
Num. 11:16).
8:14 Tammuz: In pagan practices he was a Sumerian shepherd who married the goddess
Ishtar. When he died, fertility ceased on Earth. Since he was a vegetation
deity, the women of Judah were weeping for him (probably in the spring) in order to restore fertility by bringing him back from the dead.
8:16 The temple at Jerusalem was oriented to the east; to worship the sun one had to turn his back toward the
temple.
8:17 The branch refers to the worship of Tammuz (v. 14), for the cedar branch was a
symbol of immortality associated with the cult of Tammuz. To put…to their
nose, was their attempt to inhale the supposed
life-giving powers of a revived Tammuz.
More of Christ revealed.….. to be cont’d
Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/President/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
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