EZEKIEL LESSON 8


     We will begin this lesson in Ezekiel 8:1 "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 the elders of Judah sat before me, that
the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me."

     The sixth month is about the same time as our September. This
begins a new vision. Notice, that the hand of God touches Ezekiel.
The hand empowers, and also, symbolizes work. God has empowered
Ezekiel to do a job for Him. This is a year and one month after the
vision that Ezekiel had at Chebar. Ezekiel is in his home when this
latest vision comes. The elders of Judah, possibly, were some of the
few who still believed Ezekiel. The war had worsened, and so had the
idolatry.  The false prophets were promising the fall of Babylon soon.
The people would rather hear their news, than to listen to Ezekiel,
and realize this is to cause them to repent.

     Ezekiel 8:2 "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."

     The color of "amber" is the color of bronze, and symbolizes
judgement. The fire indicates the presence of God. The judgement,
then, is from God.

     Ezekiel 8:3 "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."

     This powerful hand of God has reached down and miraculously
snatched Ezekiel {perhaps in the spirit} into the heavens, directly
above the earth. This vision causes Ezekiel to see inside the inner
gate that looks to the north. The word that "seat" was translated from
indicates numbers of people. A false god pretending to be God is,
possibly, meant by the image of jealousy. God's presence was in the
temple in the smoke and fire. "Image", here, is speaking of likeness.
God is looking here at this false god sitting on His throne. This
stirred up the jealousy of Almighty God. God's name is Jealous.
Exodus 34:14 "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose
name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:" The north, many times, is
speaking of the direction of God.  This is showing Ezekiel the reason
for God bringing judgement against the people and on the temple.

     Ezekiel 8:4 "And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel [was]
there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain."

     This vision is of the presence of God in the temple, before its
destruction. God is showing Ezekiel the reason for His departure from
the temple, and the destruction of the temple. He had every reason to
destroy these people. They were His wife, and they had played the
harlot, by worshipping false gods.

     Ezekiel 8:5  "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."

     God had not abandoned the people. His presence had been in the
temple. They had abandoned God, as we will see in the next few verses.

     Ezekiel 8:6 "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."

     They had made idols of silver, and gold, and wood. Some of them
had been in the sanctuary itself, in the very presence of God.  They
were constantly a reminder to God of their unfaithfulness. This lack
of faith in God, has driven God away from His sanctuary, where He met
with His people. His anger has risen up in His face.

     Ezekiel 8:7  "And he brought me to the door of the court; and
when I looked, behold a hole in the wall."

     This was a gate that led to the outer court and to the rooms of
the priests and their families. The 70 members of the Sanhedrin lived
here, also.

     Ezekiel 8:8 "Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the
wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door."

     It appears, that this was a hidden area in the wall of the rooms.
There seemed to be a secret door.

     Ezekiel 8:9 "And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked
abominations that they do here."

     This was not in the main part of the temple, but was in the
places where they stayed near the temple. This screams out warnings to
all who minister the Word of God, to make sure their private lives are
holy, as well as their public lives. In the private lives of the
priests and the high priest, they were worshipping false gods.
"Abominations" are revolting sins in the sight of God.

     Ezekiel 8:10 "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, portrayed upon the wall round about."

     The people of God have undoubtedly picked up the culture of the
heathen nations around them. It appeared they had associated with
countries like Egypt, who worshipped all sorts of animals. It
appeared, they had pictures, and carvings of false gods on their
walls.
     Ezekiel 8:11 "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."

     The ancient men, who had been so dedicated to God in the past,
are now seen burning incense to these false gods. The 70, probably,
was speaking of the Sanhedrin. Seventy is a number which represented
them all. These thick clouds symbolized prayers going up to these
false gods. Jaazaniah was the leader of the 70.

     Ezekiel 8:12 "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."

     These 70 thought, because they were doing this in the privacy of
their own quarters, that God would not know what they were doing. They
are blaming God with forsaking the earth, when they have forsaken God.
They have been unfaithful to God.

     Ezekiel 8:13  "He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, [and]
thou shalt see greater abominations that they do."

     This is bad enough to cause the wrath of God to descend upon
them, but God says there are even worse things going on.

     Ezekiel 8:14 "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."

     Tammuz was supposed to be the husband and brother of the false
goddess Ishtar. After his death, they believed he spent 6 months of
each year in hades and 6 months on the earth. Tammuz was a false god.
This was a very sensual worship. These women were crying for him,
because they had thought of him as their god. This was the absolute
opposite of the worship of Holy God.

     Ezekiel 8:15  "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."

     It is almost impossible to believe there could be anything worse
than this, but there is. God is bringing Ezekiel's attention to all
the sins, to show why He destroyed them. God was justified in His
judgement, but He wants Ezekiel to understand that He was justified.

     Ezekiel 8:16 "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."

     These twenty-five men had turned their backs on God and the
temple. They worshipped the false sun god. These twenty-five were
representative of the 24 priests and the high priest, which would make
up the 25. One thing that makes this believable, is because this was
in the inner court where only the priests and high priest were
supposed to go. The enemy always wants to be as near like God as
possible. The false gods are counterfeits. The worship of the false
sun god is as old as history itself. The Son of God, Jesus, is the
Light of the world. The worship of the sun is counterfeit of worship
to the true God. The sun is nothing in and of itself. It is just a
container for the light. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world.

     Ezekiel 8:17  "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."

     The "putting of the branch to their nose" was part of the
ritualistic worship of the false sun god. The worst part of all of
this, is the fact that God had trusted them with His law. He had
actually dwelt with His people. His presence had been in the holy of
holies in the temple. Violence and the worship of a false god go
together. It appears, they have deliberately tried to anger God. God
wants Ezekiel to understand why He has Judged these people harshly.

     Ezekiel 8:18 "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."

     They had brazenly denounced their love for God with their worship
of these false gods. Israel was His loving wife. She had gone away to
the love of false gods. She had committed spiritual adultery.  She had
not only done this terrible thing, but had brazenly done it in full
view of God. God will now punish her in full view of the world around
her. He will take justifiable vengeance upon her, with no pity.
They may cry out to God, but He will not listen. It is too late.


















                         Ezekiel 8 Questions


1.  Where was Ezekiel, when this Word of the LORD came to him?
2.  Who was with him?
3.  The sixth month is about the same as our ____________.
4.  What does God's hand do for Ezekiel?
5.  How much later is this vision than the vision in Chebar?
6.  What was the likeness that Ezekiel saw?
7.  What does the color of "amber" symbolize?
8.  The "fire" indicates what?
9.  What did this powerful hand of God do to Ezekiel?
10. This vision causes Ezekiel to look into where?
11. What does "seat", in verse 3, indicate?
12. "Image" is speaking of _________.
13. What stirred up the jealousy of Almighty God.
14. Quote Exodus chapter 34 verse 14.
15. What is this vision showing Ezekiel?
16. The vision, in verse 4, is of what?
17. Why would God go far off from His sanctuary?
18. They had made idols of what?
19. Where were these idols?
20. They constantly reminded God of their ______________.
21. Where is verse 7 speaking of?
22. What warning should modern ministers receive from this?
24. When Ezekiel went in this hidden door, what did he see?
25. Who were these 70 men?
26. Who led them?
27. What terrible thing are they doing?
28. Who were the women weeping for?
29. Who was he?
30. What kind of worship was this?
31. Why is God bringing Ezekiel's attention to their sins?
32. Who were the twenty-five men, probably?
33. Who were they worshipping?
34. Why does the author believe these are priests?
35. Who is the Light of the world?
36. What is the sun?
37. What did the "putting the branch to their nose" show?
38. What was the worst thing of all about these priests worshipping
    this false god?
39. How had they brazenly denounced their love for God?
40. God will take ___________ vengeance upon her.