The Strand Study Bible

EZEKIEL 8:1

EZEKIEL 8:12

1257

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. 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 8 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 9 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, 10 The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

1. Ezk 14:1 & 20:1 2. or, “power of the Holy Spirit” - Ezk 1:3 & 3:14, 22 & 37:1 & 40:1 & II Ki 3:15 & Acts 8:14-25 & 9:17 & 13:1-5 & 19:6 3. Ezk 1:27 4. Ezk 11:1,24 5. Exo 20:4-5 & Deut 32:16,21 6. Ezk 1:1,28

Ezekiel 8 Ezekiel’s vision of Jerusalem’s defiled Temple (Note - This portion of Ezekiel’s prophecy took place in the 6th year of King Zedekiah’s reign) Date - Sept 5th, 591 BC/AM 3409 1 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 1 the elders of Judah sat before me, that the 2 hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me. 2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: 3 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 4 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, 5 which provoketh to jealousy. 4 And, behold, 6 the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. 5 Then said 7 HE unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now theway 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.

7. Ezk 3:22-24 8. Rom 1:22-23 9. or, “grandson” 10. Ezk 9:9

8:3 Chapter 8 begins the second part of Ezekiel’s fourfold call in which he was to inform the captive Jews of Jerusalem’s present condition. Because the Jews over in Babylon thought they were going to be released from bondage and allowed to return to Jerusalem , Ezekiel’s job was to inform them “why” they were not headed home. According to God, within the Temple itself, which was built for the sole purpose of worshiping the one and only true God, were all kinds of idolatrous worship being practiced. While all other sins are against lower forms of creation (man), idolatry is against the Creator Himself. The first place Ezekiel visited in spirit was the door of the inner gate within the court of the priests outside the Temple area (vs 3-5). There he witnessed what the common people would have witnessed –the image of jealousy, which may have been the image of the goddess Asherah (II Ki 21:7). The second place Ezekiel was allowed to visit, which in God’s eyes was worse than the first, was the door of the court (vs 6-12). There he witnessed a secret chamber and what the elders of Israel were worshipping –every idol known to Israel. The third place Ezekiel was allowed to visit, which in God’s eyes was worse than the first two places, was the door of the gate of the Lord’s house (vs 13-14). There he witnessed what many of the women of Israel were worshipping –Tammuz, an ancient Babylonian deity, an idol of worldliness. The fourth place Ezekiel was allowed to visit, which in God’s eyes was worse than the first three places, was the inner court of the Lord’s house (vs 15-18). There he witnessed what the ministers of God (priests) were worshipping –the sun. NOTE – God holds His ministers accountable first and foremost; then women; then spiritual leaders (ministry leaders, assistant pastors and deacons); and lastly the people as a whole. What’s interesting is how accountable God holds women spiritually. The reason God holds women so accountable, second only to His ministers, is because women have more power over men than even God has (Gen 3:6 & 16:1-4, Num 12:1-10, Judges 14-16, II Sam 11, I Ki 11:1-4 and I Pet 3:1), plus they are more vulnerable spiritually to Satan’s devices ( Gen 3:1a ). A woman, who is a believer, should know her strengths and weaknesses so that the Evil One cannot misuse her against God. Some of the false religions of the world were either started by women ( Seventh Day Adventists, New Age, Christian Science, The Unity School of Christianity, etc . ) or initiated by one ( Islam – Gen 16:10 ). This is why the false religious system of the world (Rev 17:1) is called the great whore. Even God understands the power that women have over men. 8:11 Shaphan had been a leader during Josiah’s reformation (II Ki 22:8). Jaazaniah’s brothers, Ahikam and Gemariah were friends of Jeremiah (Jere 26:24 & 36:10,25).