Vision of Idolatry in the Temple
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 my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord Jehovah fell there upon me.
Ezekiel had been commanded to lay on his side for 1,430 days. In 592 B.C., ten days before the end of the commanded duration, Ezekiel received a new vision.
8:2 Then I beheld, and, lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire; and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal.
The Shekinah Glory reappeared in the same form as that of his appearance in chapter 1. All of these elements were symbols of the Shekinah Glory, which is the visible form of God's presence. These elements also appeared to Moses at Mt. Sinai.
8:3 And he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
The Spirit of God transported Ezekiel from the bed of his house in Babylon to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. He was transported visually, because he still had ten more appointed days of lying on his side.
8:4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the appearance that I saw in the plain.
The Shekinah Glory was present in the temple with Ezekiel. The Shekinah Glory was the visible representation of God.
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 of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
Ezekiel was transported to the northern gate of the inner court wall of the Jewish temple. The northern gate was the entrance for sacrificial animals. The image of jealousy was an idol of the Asherah, the goddess of jealousy. King Mannaseh most likely placed this idol inside the temple gate. The Mosaic Law promised that the worship of other gods would bring in the jealousy of Jehovah. In Hebrew, jealousy can be envy, zeal, or jealousy. Jealousy is claiming the right of possession. Since Israel was the wife of Jehovah, then the worship of other gods was spiritual adultery which will provoke the jealousy of God. Jehovah would claim His wife, even though she was worshipping demons.
8:6 And he said unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but thou shalt again see yet other great abominations.
Ezekiel was shown the idolatries of Israel so that he could understand the departure of the Shekinah Glory. The Shekinah Glory did not depart during the days of Ichabod. Ichabod's mother claimed that the departure took place at that time, but it was untrue. The Shekinah Glory began His departure, going far off from the sanctuary.
8:7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.
Ezekiel was transported to the door of the court where he saw a hole in the temple wall.
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.
Ezekiel was commanded to dig into the hole, where he beheld a secret door.
8:9 And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.
Ezekiel was commanded to enter through the secret door to see more abominations.
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.
Ezekiel observed Jews worshiping Egyptian bug gods in the temple.
8:11 And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.
The elders of Israel were worshiping Egyptian bugs in the Jewish temple. Shaphan was a faithful scribe to the good king Josiah. Three sons of Shaphan were faithful to Jeremiah. This fourth son was going the opposite direction of his faithful father and brothers. He was actually leading the elders in worshiping demonic idols in the temple.
8:12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah hath forsaken the land.
Each of these elders was worshiping demonic Egyptian bug gods in their private chambers. They claimed that Jehovah was gone from the land, so He could not see their idolatry.
8:13 He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do.
The Shekinah Glory was going to show Ezekiel worse things.
8:14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Jehovah's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz. 8:15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these.
Ezekiel was transported to the inner court in front of God's temple. He saw Jewish women weeping for Tammuz. The worship of Tammuz was nature worship. Tammuz was the beloved sonof Ishtar. He was known as Adonis to the Greeks, the dying and resurrected God. He died in winter and rose in spring. The worship of Tammuz included sexual immorality and cultic prostitution.
8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of Jehovah's house; and behold, at the door of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
Ezekiel was transported to the inner court of the temple, the place where only priests could go. Ezekiel was a priest, so he was allowed inside this court. Twenty-five priests were worshiping the sun, facing east. The Temple of Jehovah faced west, the opposite direction. King David divided the priesthood into 24 separate courses, who served for two-week terms. The High Priest was the 25th member. They turned their backs to God and they were facing the sun to the east (which was forbidden in Deuteronomy 4). This demonic and pagan worship system was being performed by the Levitical priesthood. The Levitical priests were called to be the leaders of Israel. They were turning their back on God and worshiping the sun.
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 turned again to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
The emphasis was on the sin of the leadership of Israel, who were committing idolatry right in the temple itself. Because they had left God, the land had been filled with violence. The branch to the nose was mockery, like flipping the finger at God. It was recognized as an obscene gesture towards God Himself.