Knowing God

We left off with Ezekiel repeating his theme, the reason for writing down God’s spoken message: that people might know that I AM the Lord.

“In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there” (Ezekiel 8:1).

Without diving into detailed study of the timeline, at the beginning of chapter 8, Ezekiel noted this part was written at a specific time, different from the previous chapters. Assuming the “sixth year” (8:1) took place before the “thirtieth year” (1:1), the prophet received this message before what we’ve read so far. Which makes sense, given he said he “was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me” (8:1). Judah still existed as a place where Israelites lived. Later in time, Ezekiel began his message in chapter 1 when he was “among the exiles” in Babylon (1:1, 3).

“…the hand of the Sovereign Lord came upon me there” (8:1). We remember “hand” often also means strength. God’s strength was upon Ezekiel, as was often the case with the prophets. God strengthened His messengers in what He called His messengers to accomplish.

As we read these verses, we discover this is a vision from the Lord.

“I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal. He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood” [ouch!] (Ezekiel 8:2-3).

• One “like a man” appeared to Ezekiel, with fire and glowing brightness.
• The man’s description is similar to that in the supernatural vision in chapter 1.
• The Spirit seized Ezekiel and took him between heaven and earth to show him a vision of Jerusalem.
• An idol that provokes to jealousy stood at the gate to the inner court.
• This idol led people to desire idols or possession of idols with a zealous passion.¹
• Notice the proximity of jealousy to the “inner court”—that place that leads to the holy of holies.
• Jealousy is close to our hearts, often more an inward sin that outward. So close to our “spiritual heart” we may not recognize it.
• We are created for eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and spiritual life (with God), but our sin nature leads us astray to false spirituality.
• And, God declares Himself a jealous God. He wants us to desire Him with a zealous passion.
• “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).
• He wants to be the One who [jealousy] guards our hearts, not our self-made “guard” which cannot stand against anything.

*What is this idol that leads people to jealousy?

*What can we replace this idol with in our life?

“And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain” (Ezekiel 8:4).

The Lord revealed His glory to Ezekiel, as He had in other visions.

The glory of the Lord. Only the books of Psalms and Isaiah contain the word glory more times than Ezekiel.

As in previous visions, this verse stands on its own to emphasize the glory of the Lord.

*Why do you think God revealed His glory again to Ezekiel?

*When has God revealed His glory to you? 

“Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, look toward the north.’ So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.’ Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, ‘Son of man, now dig into the wall.’ So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there” (Ezekiel 8:5-8).

• Again God called Ezekiel to focus on the idol of jealousy.
• The Lord focused Ezekiel’s attention on the evil acts Israel committed—deeds with a specific purpose that is detestable and despicable to God.²
• God warned Ezekiel their detestable practices would drive Him from His holy sanctuary.
• God would become far away from His sacred, holy place.
• Even if Israel returned to worship, it’s unclear if God would dwell again in that exact physical place of worship.
• It’s good to remember God’s promises to those who chose to follow Him wholeheartedly.

God said to Joshua as he prepared to lead the (second generation) Israelites into the promised land, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. … God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:24, 27).

And later in Ezekiel’s message, God reassured His people:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. … Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God” (Ezekiel 36:26, 28).

*Why did God leave His holy sanctuary?

*What promise(s) did God give the (unseen in this passage) remnant in Israel?

Then God showed Ezekiel things that were even more detestable within the temple, things that were not visible to those [foreigners] passing by. God provided a way into the temple through a doorway for Ezekiel to glimpse that which was done in secret.

In the context of putting the Word of God into practice, Jesus said,

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open” (Luke 8:17).

• Entrances are meaningful, whether for good or for bad. God showed Ezekiel a doorway that led to the elders’ evil actions.
• Let’s consider examples of doorways that lead to good.
• As I typed these verses into this post, I remembered an anecdote I wrote about my stepdaughter’s illness. Her condition is better than it might be due to a hole in her heart, which relieves pressure.³
• I’m also currently reading The Secret Garden Devotional (by Rachel Dodge), in which Mary and the other children enter a garden through a [secret] doorway and experience personal growth.

The doorway that leads to the greatest good is that through which we invite Jesus to come in.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20).

*What is your understanding of Jesus’ words in Luke 8 and the parables in that chapter?

*How have you experienced the significance of entrances and doorways in your walk with God? 

Back to Ezekiel, as he walked through the doorway into the temple to see the detestable things Israel’s leaders practiced.

“And he said to me, ‘Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.’ So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel. In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising” (Ezekiel 8:9-11).

• As the Lord showed Ezekiel the elder’s blasphemous actions, remember the elders of Judah were sitting with him during this vision (8:1)! Imagine having your sin laid bare before your community.
• Within the temple not only were there physical idols, but drawings of creeping, crawling things, including unclean and forbidden animals.
• These drawings were symbols engraved illegally in the temple.
• The serpent led the first man into sin.
• We’ve observed earlier in Ezekiel that “idols” in Israel were plural.
• “All over” and “all the” meaning surrounding—written as two different Hebrew words for emphasis.⁴
• Israel’s leaders stood before the idols with incense in worship.
• The elders were corrupt and led the people astray into evil.⁵
• Ezekiel wrote only that a “cloud of incense” rose. It’ interesting, in this mock worship service, that in Israel, a cloud often symbolized or enveloped the divine presence.
• Several chapters remain in Ezekiel’s message for God’s emphatic reminders:

Then they will know that I am the Lord.

• In this scene, Israel’s leaders ignore and deny the Sovereign God and Lord of all.

*Why did Ezekiel emphasize the surrounding nature of the drawings on the temple walls?

*What do we learn about God and His character in this passage?

 

1. Warren Baker, D.R.E., General Editor. The Complete Word Study Old Testament (King James Version). (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1994) 1000
2. Ibid., 8876
3. Tracie Heskett, personal anecdote, reviewed by pulmonary hypertension patient
4. Baker, 766
5. Ibid., 301