Ezekiel:A Bible Commentary: Chapter 8

Ezekiel

   A Bible Commentary

 By Charles R. Sabo

                                              Chapter 8

Chapter 8 changed from the time that chapter 7 was written, to a later date described in verse 1; Ezekiel wrote this in the sixth year of his captivity, which can be ascertained from what is declared in Ezekiel 1:1-2. Ezekiel was called into ministry on the estimated secular year of 593 B.C., on the fifth day of Tammuz (fourth month). From what is declared in Ezekiel 1:2, it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, which Ezekiel was a part of. It was the second wave of the three waves of siege over Jerusalem (606 B.C., 598 B.C., 587 B.C.). Chapter 8 now introduces a time being called the sixth year; this would be the sixth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, which was the secular year known as 592 B.C. Verse 8:1 declares it to be the sixth day of the sixth month of Elul of the secular year 592 B.C.

Ezekiel found himself being lifted up by the Lord and taken to Jerusalem, where he was shown the abominations being done at that current time. The ridiculous pagan rituals, idols, and people had made themselves at home within God’s sanctuary and Temple. It was a spectacle that any godly person would cringe to see or hear of. God revealed these things for Ezekiel to write down, so that record-keeping would be accurate, and the history could be realized by the returning remnant after the seventy-year captivity.

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.   From what is declared in Ezekiel 1:2, it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, which Ezekiel was a part of. It was the second wave of the three waves of siege over Jerusalem (606 B.C., 598 B.C., 587 B.C.). Chapter 8 now introduces a time being called the sixth year; this would be the sixth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, which was the secular year known as 592 B.C. Verse 8:1 declares it to be the sixth day of the sixth month of Elul of the secular year 592 B.C.

Ezekiel had visitors that day in his own home, when he hosted the elders of Judah. The powerful hand of God fell upon Ezekiel, which seems to imply that this was the presence of the Lord. In this case, we can realize that this was the use of allegory, as there was no hand seen as of yet. It was afterward, in verse 3, that he visually saw a hand. The hand of the Lord has been used by several prophets, which usually implies the presence of God’s strength.

Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. (Judges 2:15)

So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. (1 Sam. 7:13)

Nothing was ever implied whether these elders had seen God’s presence, but it must have been quite amazing for them to be witnesses to the hand of the Lord, even if it was an invisible presence among them.

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 color of amber. Ezekiel beheld or saw a likeness as an appearance of fire, from God’s loins downward, as the appearance of bright amber. This description is nearly exact to what he had seen in chapter 1, when he was called by the Lord into ministry.

 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness roundabout. (Ezek. 1:27) 

From what I had determined in chapter 1, this appearance was that of the Lord God, and that it was none other than God the Son in a pre-incarnate appearance (Jn. 1:18). In Ezekiel chapter 1, God was delivering a message of His coming wrath, which Ezekiel was going to announce. God showed up clothed in what resembles fire, with the announcement of His coming wrath over Jerusalem and the deserving Gentile nations. The brightness is described by Ezekiel, when the fire coming from the body of the Lord was intense and gave off a bright glow around (roundabout) the throne (as the color of amber). The same can be determined to be true in verse 8:2, when Ezekiel saw the Lord God as the appearance of fire; God was going to show Ezekiel more evidence of Israel’s abominations, which had been making the Lord very angry.

 Ezekiel 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 the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looks toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. This fiery image brought forth a hand, and grabbed Ezekiel by one of his priestly dreadlocks and lifted him up. It was common practice for rabbis and priests to have the sides of their hair braided into locks. The Holy Spirit lifted Ezekiel high up between the Earth and the first heaven (Earth’s atmosphere).

Some will say that Ezekiel was never physically taken up, but was taken into the visions by the Holy Spirit, while he was still sitting with his guests; others will say that he was physically taken up high, then was brought into the visions of God from that point. I believe that the latter is true, since he indicated that he was brought into the visions, after he was taken up. If he was taken up, and just remained with his guests, he might as well have just indicated that he was taken up by the Spirit into the visions of God, without indicating that he was taken up between the Earth and the heaven first. 

The Holy Spirit took Ezekiel into the visions of God, or sight of what God was seeing at that time. He was taken to the present Jerusalem of that time, and saw exactly what God could see. He could see through the open door of the inner gate of the Temple, which looks to the north of the city. This north gate being addressed here is related to an abomination that occurred in the past, because it provoked jealousy from the Lord. If a Father’s children honor and love another person as their father, it will always provoke jealousy, because the true Father loves His children so very much. In 1 Kings 16:10-16, King Ahaz had commanded the priests to put God’s brazen altar before the north side of the enclosed area, which was at the north gate (Sheep Gate). The Sheep Gate is the north gate that the animals were taken through, then on to the brazen altar to be sacrificed. In the case in 2 Kings 16:14, Ahaz had the priests move God’s brazen altar to be in position for sacrifices to appease the king of Damascus, because King Ahaz had Urijah the priest fashion of the altar in the north to be exactly like the altar of Damascus. When the king of Damascus would come to Jerusalem, he would bow and sacrifice at this similar altar. The fact that this north gate was now being used to bring animals through to be sacrificed at a pagan altar was an abomination to the Lord, which brought Him great jealousy.

And he brought also the brazen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar. (2 Kings 16:14)

2 Kings 18:4 indicates that King Hezekiah “removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.” I cannot find anywhere that King Hezekiah returned God’s brazen altar back where it belonged. Hezekiah destroyed all of the pagan altars elsewhere in the land, but never does it say that he corrected the abomination of 2 Kings 16:10-16. 2 Chronicles 28-32 never implies that this abomination was changed back, therefore it most likely remained in place, because no one knew any better to change it back.

Now that we have the location of this vision, we can now break down the last sentence. The translators did a poor job of translating the last sentence. It comes across as a question “where[?],” when it actually is a dependent clause that modifies the previous sentence. Replace the semicolon (;) after the word “north” and replace it with a comma (,). It should say: “where there was.” The translators also mistranslated the Hebrew noun “môšāḇ” as “seat,” when it is more contextually appropriate to be translated as “location.”

The last clauses of this verse should say: “to the door of the inner gate that looks toward the north, where there was the location of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.” The location was near the north gate (Sheep Gate) altar, where the pagan altar was still setup from when King Ahaz had moved it within 2 Kings 16:10-16. The translation of the Hebrew noun “semel,” was translated as “image,” when it might be more appropriate to say “idol.”

Ezekiel 8:4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. The translators used the noun “plain” for the Hebrew noun “biqʿâ,” which actually is contextually correct to use the other definition “valley.” In chapter 1, Ezekiel was in God’s presence, while along the Chebar River; rivers usually exist in valleys, rather than plains.

Verse 8:4 implies that while witnessing the vision of verse 8:3, Ezekiel saw God’s presence, just as he had in chapter 1. The intent is to realize that Ezekiel was seeing exactly what God was seeing, even while God was right there beside him. The glory of the Lord God may have been a little distracting to Ezekiel, but since he had already encountered God’s presence, he was not as overwhelmed with fear.

Ezekiel 8:5 Then said he unto me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. As I had indicated in the previous verse, the Hebrew noun “semel,” was translated as “image,” when it might be more appropriate to say “idol.” As discussed in verse 8:3, the Sheep Gate is the north gate that the animals were taken through, then on to the brazen altar to be sacrificed. In the case in 2 Kings 16:14, Ahaz had the priests move God’s brazen altar to be in position for sacrifices to appease the king of Damascus, because King Ahaz had Urijah the priest fashion of the altar in the north to be exactly like the altar of Damascus. When the king of Damascus would come to Jerusalem, he would bow and sacrifice at this similar altar. This image, or idol, was sitting in the entry of this northward gate, which was known as the Sheep Gate.

As I had indicated within my commentary on verse 8:3, God is a jealous God, because He thinks of His people as His children. A father becomes very displeased from the jealousy that he felt, when their child favors another man over him. In this case, God’s children were favoring different gods, which made Him feel jealous, therefore the idol was the image of jealousy. 

Ezekiel 8:6 He said furthermore unto me, “Son of man, do you see what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn you yet again, and you shall see greater abominations.”

The great abomination, which the Lord was addressing here at first, was the idol sitting at the entry of the Sheep Gate (northward gate); it would make no sense to hang around a sanctuary, when the god that people were praying to was not Him. This statement supports God’s decision for leaving the sanctuary as stated in Ezekiel 10:18.

The Lord then commanded Ezekiel to turn (yet again) so that he could witness even greater abominable acts that the house of Israel was committing. These will be discussed in the following verses.

Ezekiel 8:7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Between the Temple and the sanctuary was a courtyard (Ex. 27:9-19) that seemed to have wrapped around the two buildings. The location of this door of the court is not entirely clear as of yet, but as we will find in verses 8:10-11, it was a private room away from the view of others. The hole in the wall, may have been put in place by the Lord, just for Ezekiel to dig out. The point is, God presents imagery that this room was very private.

 Ezekiel 8:8 Then said he unto me, “Son of man, dig now in the wall:” and when I had dug in the wall, I beheld a door. The journey continued on, with the Lord commanding His priest to dig into the hole in the wall. This was Ezekiel’s first command to dig in this wall, and will continue through the next four chapters, while the Lord prophesies of the future captivity of the house of Israel. The wall will represent the walls within the dwellings of the people, who will find themselves digging through walls, while attempting to escape from the Babylonian invasion.

Within this attempt to dig through the wall of this building, Ezekiel found a well-hidden door. This door leads to something extremely private, which the Lord had found important enough to show Ezekiel. The words were to be written here, so that God’s intended readers will find out what had been upsetting the Lord.

Ezekiel 8:9 And he said unto me, “Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.” The Lord had commanded Ezekiel to go through the door and see (behold) the wicked abominations that “they” do on the other side of the door. As of this time, Ezekiel and his readers do not know who “they” are, or what wicked acts of abomination that were being done.

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. Notice that Ezekiel declared “behold” (hinnêh), which draws attention to what is being seen. The scene was so upsetting to both the Lord and His priest, Ezekiel’s description used the Hebrew adjective “kôl kôl” translated as “every” and “all,” which emphasized the extreme presence of those offensive things seen. The Hebrew noun “tabnîyth” was used and translated as “form,” which seems appropriate, when the Hebrew noun actually means “figure, form, likeness.” The translators also translated two Hebrew words “behêmâh sheqets,” which translates as: “filthy, or abominable beasts.” From what can be determined here, the “forms” were statues of snakes, lizards, and every animal considered unclean (Deut. 11). When Ezekiel spoke of “all of the idols of the house of Israel,” he implied that they were portrayed as drawings (or paintings) that were put upon the walls round about in this very private room.

Spiritually, a person should understand that the satanic realm knows Deuteronomy 11, so the occult worships those unclean beasts in rebellion against the Lord God of Israel. What makes this discovery so upsetting, is that the people all knew that this would be an abomination unto the Lord, yet they still worshipped them.

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. When we hear of “the men of the ancients of the house of Israel,” it should be understood to be the elders of Israel from earlier times. In this secretly hidden room, Ezekiel saw seventy elders of Israel, with Jaazaniah (son of Shaphan) in their midst.

In 2 Kings 22:8-14, we can read of the scribe named Shaphan who brought the “book of the law” to King Josiah; this was a time the Laws of Moses were unknown, and the last righteous king of Judah had been brought the book of the law, which had been found in the Temple. Though Shapham the scribe may have been ungodly, he may have redeemed himself by this act in 2 Kings 22:8-14. His place, among the priests and elders, is considered to be one of the most influential scribes in Israel’s history. Yet, here in Ezekiel’s time, his son Jaazaniah was among the pagans within this secret room. Every one of the seventy elders of Israel had censers in their hands and burning incense to the pagan gods of the occult. Seventy incense burning at the same time would make it quite smokey in this closed room (a thick cloud of incense went up).

Ezekiel 8:12 Then said he unto me, “Son of man, have you 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 sees us not; the Lord has forsaken the earth.”’ Once again, the ancients of Israel were the elders. As the Lord spoke to Ezekiel, His question was rhetorical in that Ezekiel was standing there watching when being asked: “Have you seen?” Interestingly, answering a rhetorical question would be senseless, so Ezekiel most likely shook his own head negatively in disgust. They worshipped in the dark, hidden room, while saying and thinking: “the Lord sees us not; the Lord has forgotten the Earth.” These pagan men knew not who the Lord is, therefore they deemed Him as powerless as the images that they worshipped.

Ezekiel 8:13 He said also unto me, “Turn (you) yet again, and you shall see greater abominations that they do.” Ezekiel was told to turn yet again, for the third viewing of abominable things, while each time he was told the next would be greater. It seems like Ezekiel was just turning around, while the Lord brought him to the next scene.

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. This location was the north door of the north gate of the Temple. This north door was the Sheep Gate, as discussed in verse 8:3. This was the gate that the livestock was brought through for the sacrifices at the brazen altar. As Ezekiel walked through that north door, he beheld multiple women “weeping for Tammuz.

The occult religions all have origins, which have spread throughout the world. After the Flood of Noah, all of the people of the world lived in the Mesopotamian Valley. There was an emperor named Nimrod, who was also worshipped as a god. The Mystery Religion of the occult was born from the legends of Nimrod, his wife Semiramis, and her son, Tammuz. Once the Tower of Babel had come to pass, the people and their Mystery Religion were scattered throughout the Earth (Gen. 11:1-9), but spoken of in various languages. It was the same religion, but with different names. Nimrod is known by the names: Marduk in Babylon, Amarutuk in Akkadia, Osiris in Egypt, Molech in Canaan, Vishnu in India, and Adonis in Greece. Deified father of Nimrod, Cush, was revered in Canaan as Bel, or well known as Ba’al. After the death of Nimrod, it is believed that his wife Semiramis became ruler. Because of the scattering of the people, the names for Semiramis have varied, such as: Ishtar (Easter)/Astarte/Ashtoreth in Canaan, while she was known as Isis in Egypt, Venus in Greece, and Ushas in India. Many legends of her son Tammuz have spread, while he is also known as Damu, Horus, and Gilgamesh. Sadly, the Mystery Religion is just that, no legitimate history written, but foolishly worshiped as a legend.

Ezekiel 8:15 Then said he unto me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? turn (you) yet again, and you shall see greater abominations than these.” Verse 8:13 and 8:15 are similar commands, except for the repeated question asked from verse 8:12: “Have you seen?” In the case here, the Lord rhetorically asked Ezekiel the question: “Have you seen this;” the pronoun “this” has to be connected to the previous verse and what he was looking at, before he was commanded to turn around yet again. All Ezekiel could do is shake his head, while indicating no, while in disgust. He was then told to turn around yet again, as the Lord had indicated the next discovery was going to be even greater of an abomination than the women weeping for Tammuz.

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. From what Ezekiel has indicated, this was at the inner court of the sanctuary (Lord’s house) near the Temple entrance (door). Without a visual of the location, I can only speculate that this place between the porch and the altar was somewhat private, and big enough to fit twenty-five men worshipping. According to Joel 2:17, this place seemed to be the normal place for the priests and ministers to worship and pray.

The identities of these twenty-five men are not disclosed, but from what Joel 2:17 has indicated, these are priests. In 1 Chronicles 24, the order for the twenty-four priests were assigned service to the Temple, which had been maintained since the services and the Temple had been started. The twenty-fifth person would be the High Priest. If the entire twenty-four priests and the High Priest had been bowing and worshipping the sun, this would be the most horrid abomination, since they are the ones assigned to teach the Laws of Moses to the people. They had their backs to the Temple of God, while they bowed on their knees and worshipped the sun in the east (morning sun).  

19 And lest you lift up your eyes unto heaven, and when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, should be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord your God had divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. (Deut. 4:19)

The religions of the Babylonians and Assyrians, the cult of Mithras (the cult of the sol invictus), and Zoroastrianism, were all sun-centered forms of worship. The Babylonian sun god, Shamash (in Sumerian, Utu or Babbar, the Shining One) was worshipped at Larsa. With the Assyrians so close by and having left their impact within the northern land of Israel, it is obvious that these priests (in verse 8:16) had been influenced by the Assyrian priests. 

Ezekiel 8:17 Then he said unto me, “Have you 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.” Having never before seen such an act, Ezekiel most likely nodded “no” in disgust, in response to the repeated question (8:13, 15, 17) by the Lord (Have you seen this?). The Lord’s second question can be pondered upon, while looking to Israel’s past.  

5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, because all of the earth is mine:

6 And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel. (Ex. 18:5-6)

The children of Israel were to be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, a peculiar treasure above all of the other nations of the Earth; this question that the Lord asked was meant to be rhetorical, since the evidence was so obvious. These people had all failed, including the twenty-five priests, to be that peculiar treasure above all nations; they were no holier, than the pagans worshipping false gods in the nations surrounding them.

The translators mistranslated the Hebrew verb “šûḇ” and wrote it as “have returned,” while the definition that should be used fits more contextually as: “are turning away to provoke me to anger.” The priests did not return to the Lord, they turned away from His Temple and faced the sun; they turned away from Him as their God. Ezekiel used the verb “šûḇ” in the third person, Qal imperfect, which means the action is ongoing and not complete.

The Hebrew conjunction “kîy” has many uses and translatable words that fit within the context of a sentence. The translators began the last sentence with the conjunction “for,” which seems inappropriate; I will use the conjunction “indeed.” The use of the noun “violence” is too specific to put upon the entire land, when the worship of idols most of the time is non-violent. Just as I explained in verse 7:11, the four definitions that have been provided in the English language for this Hebrew noun is: “violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice.” “Indeed they have filled the land with wrong (violence, cruelty, injustice), and have turned away to provoke me to anger.”  

Behold the day, behold, it has come: the morning has gone forth; the branch has blossomed, pride has budded. Wrong has risen up into a branch of wickedness; “none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of their's: neither shall there be wailing for them.” (Ezek. 7:10-11)

The final clause of verse 8:17 is a bit ambiguous to say the least. There is a mixture of literal interpretation, as well as allegory going on here. Since various pagan activities are not strongly emphasized by Ezekiel, we must assume that a pagan ritual was putting a twig, stem, or branch to their noses, as they performed religious acts. With the “branch of wickedness” being addressed earlier in verses 7:10-11, the allegory may fit with 7:10-11 and the pagan ritual of smelling certain branch stems of a certain tree. The Lord God recognized these twenty-five priests of Israel as pagans performing rituals and fitting in with the “branch of wickedness” described in 7:10-11.

Ezekiel 8:18 Therefore, will I also deal in fury: my eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them. The translators inappropriately added the conjunction “also,” when the original Hebrew does not call for it. The Lord did not intend for the meaning to be “in addition to” like the word “also” may apply. “Therefore, will I deal in fury;”

The Lord implied that there would be no mercy in the evil that He was about to bring on these people. Because these people had been warned over and over, they deserved no pity. Though God is merciful to those who cry out to Him for help, none of these will be crying to Him, but to their false gods. The Lord intended on not listening to their begging, their screaming, their terror, because they deserved the worse (yet will I not hear them).