The first 10
chapters of Ezekiel are like an indictment against Israel. The charge is
unfaithfulness in the form of idolatry. Chapter 8 provides four examples as
evidence.
Since these
examples were in Jerusalem and Ezekiel was in Babylon, God had to get him there
first. He flew on El Al airlines, but it
was a "hair raising" experience! It is presumed that his hair was
sufficiently long enough since Ezekiel cut his hair off with a sword in chapter
4!:
"Then I
looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man; from His loins and
downward there was the appearance of fire, and from His loins and upward the appearance
of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal. 3 He stretched out the
form of a hand and caught 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 entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the idol
of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located. 4 And behold, the glory
of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the
plain."
First example
5 Then He said to me,
“Son of man, raise your eyes now toward the north.” So I raised my eyes toward
the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol of jealousy at the entrance.
Second example
Behold, [there was]
a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, now dig through the wall.” So
I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. 9 And He said to me, “Go in
and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I entered
and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things
and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel,
were carved on the wall all around. 11 Standing in front of them were
seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan
standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand
and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising.
Third example
Then He brought me
to the entrance of the gate of the LORD’s house which was toward the north; and
behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man?
Fourth example
And behold, at the
entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about
twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the
LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were prostrating themselves
eastward toward the sun. 17 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man?
Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which
they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and
provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting
the twig to their nose.
The following explanation
of this Hebrew metaphor was taken from http://gentlereformation.com/2008/12/05/putting-the-twig-to-the-nose/
"My research showed that my hunch was right.
Often found in pagan worship was the practice of gathering a branch or bundle
of twigs and then the worshiper would put them before his face near the mouth
and nose as he prostrated himself and prayed to his idol. For these Jews
worshiping the sun, it could have served as a type of veil to show respect to
the sun-god, and it may have been a symbol of their recognition that life was
dependent upon the light of the sun…
However, there is a powerful double entendre
in this expression that only the Hebrew reveals. The word for “nose” in the
Hebrew (אַף
-“aph”) can also be translated as “anger” or “ruin.” The snort of emotion from
the nose and the flaring of the nostrils provide the reason for this
association. Sometimes scholars in different English versions can translate a
verse using these two different meanings with the same effect, as in Job 4:9."
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