The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel 8
Chapter VIII · Vol. III, pp. 1321–1322
1 Ezekiel, in a vision of God at Jerusalem, 5 is showed the image of jealousy, 7 the chambers of imagery, 13 the mourners for Tammuz, 16 the worshippers of the sun. 17 God's wrath for their idolatry.
1 And it came to pass in the asixth year,1 in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the belders of Judah sat before me, that cthe hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.
2 Thend 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.
d ch.1.26,27,4. Re.1.14,15. Is.66.15-17.
3 And he eput 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 gbrought me2 in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the hinner gate that looketh toward the north, iwhere was the seat of jthe image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
e Da.5.5. ch.1.3; 3.12,14,22; 40.1; 11.24. Ac.8.39. 2 Ki.2.16, or 5.26; 6.12. Col.2.5. 2 Co.12.4.
g ch.40.2.
2 Whether this removal was actual, as in the case of Elijah, Philip, and Paul (1 Ki.18.12. 2 Ki.2.16. Ac.8.39,40. 2 Co.12.2-4), or merely in 'the visions of God,' it is impossible decisively to say. Both modes of revelation are alike easy to God. The three examples cited render the actual transport probable, but the digging described, ver.8, seems to favour the opposite view. The Lord knoweth.—C.
h ver.5; ch.7.24. 2 Ch.4.9. 2 Ki.16.14.
i Je.32.34.
j ch.5.11. 2 Ki.21.7. Je.7.30. Ex.20.4,5. De.32.16,21.
4 And, behold, kthe glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
k ch.3.22,23; 1.26-28; 10.1-22; 43.2,3. Da.10.5,6. Re.1.10-18. Ex.3.1-4.
5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, llift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. nSo I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold, northward at the ogate of the altar, pthis image of jealousy in the entry.
l Ps.48.2. Ge.13.14; 31.12. Ex.3.3. Jos.5.13.
n Ps.119.59. Ga.1.15,16. Ac.26.19.
o 2 Ki.16.14.
p ver.3; ch.5.11.
6 He said, furthermore, unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even qthe great abominations that the house of Israel rcommitteth here, that I should go far off3 froms my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see tgreater abominations.
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 vwicked abominations that they do here.
A.M. cir. 3411. B.C. cir. 593.
v ch.20.8.
10 So I xwent in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts,5 and all the idols6 of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.
x Je.23.11.
5 Beasts, even unclean ones, worshipped as gods, Le.xi. De.xiv. Ps.106.19,20. Ro.1.23, with De.4.17,18. Nu.33.55.
6 Heb. dung gods, Le.26.30. ch.6.4,6.
11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel,7 and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan,y withz 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 ancients8 of the house of Israel do ain the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, bThe LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.9
8 Or, elders, ver.11; ch.14.1; 20.1.
a Ep.5.12. ver.7,8; ch.16.51. Jn.3.20.
b ch.9.9. Ps.94.7. Job 22.13. Je.44.18. Is.29.15.
9 See note * below.
* The senseless and abominable idolatry of the Israelites is here depicted with great graphic power. God's purpose in exposing it is to show the cause of those terrible judgments pronounced upon both an infatuated people and a polluted land. The representation is here symbolic; but the evils which it symbolizes are real. The people looked for help to Egypt, and in order to secure it they seem to have conformed to the grossest forms of Egyptian idolatry. Instead of trusting in Jehovah, whose infinite mercy and omnipotent power had been so wonderfully displayed during the whole course of their national history, they turned from him to the vile idols of Egypt.—P.
13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see cgreater 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;1 and behold, there sat women weeping2 for Tammuz.3
1 Northward of the temple.
2 In a lewd and beastly manner, bewailing the death of that deified monster of lewdness, Nu.25.3. 1 Ki.11.5,7.
3 Tammuz, or Adonis, was a beautiful youth who dwelt as a hunter in the wooded heights of Lebanon. He was killed by a wild boar near the great fountain at Apheca. Venus, who was enamoured of him, caused him to be deified; a temple was erected in honour of him, and the stream beside which he fell was called by his name. Yearly, on the day of his death, a high festival was held, and Syrian females assembled from far and near to weep for him, and to indulge in lascivious rites. What a terrible picture does it give of the corruption of the whole Jewish people, that they engaged in such orgies within the sacred precincts of God's temple!—P.
15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see dgreater abominations than these.
16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house; and, behold, eat the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar,4 were about five and twenty men, gwith their backs5 toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
e 2 Ch.7.7. 2 Ki.16.14. Joel 2.17. 1 Ki.6.3. ch.11.1.
4 The place where the Jewish priests invoked the mercy of Jehovah, Joel 2.17.—C.
g 2 Ch.29.6; 33.3-5. Je.2.27; 32.33; 44.17. 2 Ch.24.18. De.4.19; 17.3. 2 Ki.23.5,11. Job 31.26.
5 Their backs. Turned from the Shekinah, and the holy of holies, and towards an idol that could not save.—C.
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 commit6 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.7
6 Or, Is there any thing lighter than to commit, Ps.106.19,20. Mi.6.12,16. Je.ii.-xix.
7 ver.16. De.32.21. ch.15.6. Or, smell or kiss flowers or boughs, in honour of idols.
Notes
Ver. 2. Fire—the emblem of power to consume in judgment, 2 Pe. 3. 7.—Brightness—the excellence and glory of Christ.—Amber—neither as fire to consume, nor bright as light, but a chastened radiance which the eye might look upon with pleasure, Is. 45. 22; Jn. 1. 14; He. 12. 2; 1 Jn. 1. 1-3. C.
Ver. 3. The seat. The niche or pedestal on which the image was placed. It is called 'image of jealousy,' because it provoked the LORD, who is 'a jealous God'—jealous of his own honour; jealous of any perversion of his truth or degradation of his worship; and jealous lest any base idol or abominable lust should steal away from him the love of his children—the allegiance of his subjects—the fidelity of the church he had espoused in the bonds of the everlasting covenant. C.
Ver. 10. The Egyptians worshipped 'creeping things,' such as the beetle, and 'abominable beasts,' such as the crocodile, &c. And the strong propensity of Israel about this time to return into Egypt, renders it highly probable that they had adopted their idolatry. The subterraneous tombs of Egypt present upon their walls exactly such paintings as the prophet here describes. C.
Ver. 12. Forsaken the earth—the land of Judea. This seems to have been, not a figurative expression, but an actual opinion. Jaazaniah and his coadjutors in idolatry did not attempt to undeify Jehovah; they merely asserted he had 'forsaken the land,' and left them at liberty to choose another tutelary god. C.
Ver. 14. Tammuz. Adonis, whom the heathen fabled to have been beloved of Venus, the goddess of licentiousness—for heathenism deified and worshipped every form of wickedness—who, when he was killed by a wild boar, wept for him. And this her lamentation was annually observed with affected weeping both by men and women. C.
Ver. 17. They put the branch to their nose. Each heathen deity had his dedicated tree, of which a 'branch' was presented in the hand during worship; to which custom this is supposed to be an allusion. The passage, however, has been translated:—'And, lo, they send forth a scornful noise through their nostrils' (Newcome).—They mock the worship of Jehovah, upon whose temple they have turned their backs. C.
Reflections.—God keeps a particular account of every message that he sends us, and will shortly call us to account for them. And when we are faithful and active in improving the discoveries which God hath bestowed upon us, we may expect more. The more we retire from the world into our own heart, and fix our attention on things above, we may more reasonably hope for still further communications from God. And to see his glory is an excellent mean of discovering to us the infinitely odious nature of idolatry and other wickedness, which turns his truth into a lie, and his glory into shame. What multitudes of abominations crowd together! If one be found, we may reckon of thousands which still lie hid. But it will require a diligent search to find them out, either in ourselves or others. And nowhere may we expect greater or more heinous abominations than in connection with the worship of God. Many make a fair show in God's house in public, who, if followed to their secret chambers, would be found sunk in filthiness and impiety. And seldom can any be found worse than evil ministers and magistrates. Nothing more encourages men to indulgence, or even impudence, in sin, than a practical disbelief of God's all-seeing knowledge and all-present majesty. If once women transgress the natural modesty of their sex, they bid fair to stick at nothing horrid or obscene. And if men once turn their back upon God's institutions, they bid fair endlessly to wander after their own inventions. But shortly shall the most secret abominations be discovered, and the most shocking and daring be sufficiently punished.