Today’s article looks at the Prophet Ezekiel and one of his divine visions. Ezekiel conducted his ministry in both Babylon and Jerusalem. He was a prophet who had divine visions. His primary purpose was to restore God’s glory before Israel who rejected him in front of the watching nations.

Ezekiel had many visions between Chapters 8 through 11. The vision I would like to focus on comes from Ezekiel Chapter 8, The Abominations at the Temple. Ezekiel’s visions began about a year and half after the captivity of King Jehoiachin.

Ezekiel’s vision transported him supernaturally to Jerusalem. When he looked up he saw a likeness. It was like the appearance of fire from the waist down and a brightness from the waist up. The likeness stretched forth his hand and grabbed Ezekiel by the hair and the spirit transported him to Jerusalem. In this vision, Ezekiel saw four abominations at the Temple. God was showing Ezekiel what was happening in both outwardly and in a spiritual sense.

Image of Jealousy

God instructed Ezekiel to lift his eyes to the North. The North of the altar gate was on the right side. When Ezekiel turned to the North he saw the image of jealousy in the entrance. The North gate was the most honorable of the three gateways. The King would use it when he went in to worship. The image of jealously provoked God to holy jealously.

Behind the Wall

God brought Ezekiel to the door of a court and he saw a hole in the wall. God instructed Ezekiel to dig into the wall, when he dug into the wall there was a door. Behind the wall, God said was worst or an even greater abmonination because it was inside the Temple itself. In the spiritual realm, it took Ezekiel some effort and energy to truly see the interior. Otherwise, he would not have been able to see the true state. He looked in the spirit realm, he saw every sort of creeping thing, the abominable beast and all the idols. In other words, he saw all sorts of unclean and idolatrous things portrayed all around on the walls. God called these wicked abominations; the most abominable wickednesses; these are loathsome in their nature.

In front of these foul and idolatrous images stood the spiritual elders or leaders of Israel. Each with a censer giving out a thick cloud of incense. They offered priestly services and incense associated with prayers, in the midst of idolatry and impurity. God showed Ezekiel his vision was about what the leaders of Israel did in the dark; and in the room of his idols. It was not what the leaders did in the temple. It was regarding the hidden place of their heart which filled with dark deeds and idolatry- yet they carried on their services as if all was right.

Public and private worship was filled with God-Dishonoring idolatry. They were smugly complacent in it all. The leaders excused their sin because they did not believe God saw them and had forsaken Israel, when in fact they had forsaken God.

Women Weeping for Tammuz

Ezekiel was brought to the door of the North gate of the Lord’s house. To his dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. A deity worshipped often with immoral or impure rites. The worship of this deity was offensive because of the women sitting in a holy place reserved for priest and because of their immoral idolatry.

Worship of Tammuz was connected to the worst immoralities; the women often gave themselves up to the most shameful practices. It is likely that the prophet would have viewed the presence of women in the inner court of the Temple as profane.

Priests Worshipping the Sun

This time Ezekiel’s vision brought him to the inner court at the door of the Temple between the porch and the altar were about 25 men with their backs towards the temple of the Lord and their face toward the east and they were worshipping the sun. These men stood where the priest would normally stand to bless the people. Yet the temple was behind them and the altar they were worshipping the sun. They did not worship to Lord even in his own Temple, but these men practiced their idolatry openly.

These worshippers show their contempt for God by standing in such a way that they had their backs to the Temple while they reference the sun, worshipping the creation rather than the creator.

A Promise of Judgement Upon All These Abominations

God ask Ezekiel “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke me to anger. In other words God was saying do you see what these people are doing? Ezekiel was seeing a terrible variety of idolatries and abominations and the leaders regarded it all as a trivial thing. God did not.

These were not only religious or spiritual sins, but their rejection of God and his true worship led to a breakdown in the social order. They turned their nose in contempt for God. When the people put a branch to their nose it was symbolic of the pleasant odor of honest sacrificial worship, what God is receiving from the Israelites comes as a stench in his nostrils. Because the of the great idolatries and sins of Jerusalem, and that the people regarded it all as a trivial thing. God’s judgement was assured and could not be turned back.

After reading this Chapter of Ezekiel 8, my heart was sadden and it brought tears to my eyes. I thought about the state of the church today. It is clear even today, there is great idolatry and much abomination in the house of God and many of the leaders see these offenses as trivial.

I believe God is saying in this text. We need to turn away from idolatry and return back Him through true repentance before it is too late. Knowing and understanding that the things of God are sacred and he is to be reverence. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Through wisdom, your days will be many and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer (Proverbs 9:10-12).

Many would argue that was ancient times and we need to incorporate new methods to disciple the world. News flash, God does not need new methods to capture the heart of people. As followers of Christ, we are to know the word of God, share it as the Bible says and let God be God. The bible also says no man can come to the father unless he draws them.

The Leaders of the Church are the shepherds to the people. They are to speak only what thus saying the Lord minus opinions and feelings, maintain a lifestyle of purity and integrity, remain in posture to hear from the Lord and share with his people.