Ezekiel 8 Study Notes: Idolatry in the Temple
In a vision, Ezekiel is carried from exile to the Jerusalem temple and shown worse and worse idolatry there. He sees an idol at the north gate, seventy elders burning incense to carved images in secret, women mourning for Tammuz, and men bowing to the sun, so God declares He will act in wrath.
General
What were the twenty-five or so men in the inner court doing (8:16)?
Answer: Turning from the temple to bow eastward to the sun
In the inner court, in the space between the portico (the temple's front porch) and the altar, some twenty-five men stand facing east and bowing down to the sun, with the LORD's temple behind them (8:16). The way they stood pictured their hearts: they had turned away from the LORD to worship something He had made. Moses had warned Israel not to be drawn into worshiping the sun, moon and stars (Deuteronomy 4:19), and in the account of King Josiah's reform, horses given over to sun worship are taken away from the doorway of the LORD's house and the sun's chariots are burned (2 Kings 23:11). Through Jeremiah God complains that His people showed Him their backs instead of their faces (Jeremiah 32:33), and here the picture is literal.
- Ezekiel 8:16 (BSB)“So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico 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 bowing to the east in worship of the sun.”In the inner court, men turn away from the temple and bow toward the sun.
- Deuteronomy 4:19 (BSB)“When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.”Moses warned Israel not to bow to the sun and the heavenly bodies.
- 2 Kings 23:11 (BSB)“And he removed from the entrance to the house of the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the chamber of an official named Nathan-melech. And Josiah burned up the chariots of the sun.”In Josiah's reform, horses given to the sun are taken from the temple entrance and the sun's chariots burned.
- Jeremiah 32:33 (BSB)“They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.”God says His people turned away from Him, the same picture these men act out.
Theological
What does the fourth and worst scene of chapter 8 show the men in the inner court doing (8:16)?
Answer: Turning from the temple to bow eastward to the sun
The climactic scene stands at the very entrance of the temple, between porch and altar: some twenty-five men, faces east and backs to the LORD's temple, worshiping the sun (8:16). Their bodily stance enacts their apostasy, a deliberate turning from the Creator to the creature, which Moses had expressly forbidden (Deuteronomy 4:19) and whose horses and chariots Josiah's reform removed and burned (2 Kings 23:11). Jeremiah records the LORD's charge that Judah gave Him their backs instead of their faces (Jeremiah 32:33); Ezekiel sees it enacted at the temple door.
- Ezekiel 8:16 (BSB)“So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico 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 bowing to the east in worship of the sun.”In the inner court, men turn away from the temple and bow toward the sun.
- Deuteronomy 4:19 (BSB)“When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.”Moses warned Israel not to bow to the sun and the heavenly bodies.
- 2 Kings 23:11 (BSB)“And he removed from the entrance to the house of the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the chamber of an official named Nathan-melech. And Josiah burned up the chariots of the sun.”In Josiah's reform, horses given to the sun are taken from the temple entrance and the sun's chariots burned.
- Jeremiah 32:33 (BSB)“They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.”God says His people turned away from Him, the same picture these men act out.
General
Ezekiel is shown an idol at the temple's north gate. According to 8:6, what are such abominations doing?
Answer: Driving the LORD far away from His own holy dwelling
While Ezekiel sits in his house in exile with Judah's elders sitting before him, the Spirit lifts him up and carries him in a vision to the temple in Jerusalem (8:1-3). At the north gateway stands an idol that stirred up the LORD's jealousy, and God's glory is there too, just as Ezekiel had seen it before (8:3-5). God is called jealous because He will not share His people's worship with any idol (Exodus 20:4-5); Moses had warned that Israel would provoke Him in exactly this way (Deuteronomy 32:16). The LORD tells Ezekiel that these great abominations, things God hates, are driving Him far from His own sanctuary, and that he will see even worse (8:6). In chapter 10 Ezekiel actually watches God's glory move away from the temple (10:18).
- Ezekiel 8:3 (BSB)“He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.”The Spirit carries Ezekiel in a vision to the temple's north gate, where the jealousy-provoking idol stands.
- Ezekiel 8:5-6 (BSB)““Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes to the north.” So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and in the entrance north of the Altar Gate I saw this idol of jealousy. “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.””God shows Ezekiel the idol and says such practices are pushing Him away from His sanctuary.
- Exodus 20:4-5 (BSB)“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,”God forbids worshiping idols because He is a jealous God, the very offense of this image.
- Deuteronomy 32:16 (BSB)“They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.”Moses' song foretold Israel stirring up God's jealousy and anger with other gods.
- Ezekiel 10:18 (BSB)“Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim.”God's glory later leaves the temple's threshold, as 8:6 warned.
Theological
What effect does the LORD say the abominations at the temple, beginning with the idol of 8:3-5, are having (8:6)?
Answer: Driving the LORD far away from His own holy dwelling
In a vision Ezekiel is carried from the exile to the temple, where at the north gate stands an image that provokes the LORD's jealousy, set up in the very presence of His glory (8:3-5). Jealousy here is God's holy, exclusive claim on His covenant people's worship (Exodus 20:4-5), the claim Israel was long ago warned it would violate with foreign gods (Deuteronomy 32:16). The LORD's verdict is that these abominations are driving Him far from His sanctuary (8:6). This sets up the departure of the glory traced in the following chapters, as it withdraws from the temple's threshold (10:18). Each scene of chapter 8 is introduced as worse than the last.
- Ezekiel 8:3 (BSB)“He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.”The Spirit carries Ezekiel in a vision to the temple's north gate, where the jealousy-provoking idol stands.
- Ezekiel 8:5-6 (BSB)““Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes to the north.” So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and in the entrance north of the Altar Gate I saw this idol of jealousy. “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.””God shows Ezekiel the idol and says such practices are pushing Him away from His sanctuary.
- Exodus 20:4-5 (BSB)“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,”God forbids worshiping idols because He is a jealous God, the very offense of this image.
- Deuteronomy 32:16 (BSB)“They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.”Moses' song foretold Israel stirring up God's jealousy and anger with other gods.
- Ezekiel 10:18 (BSB)“Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim.”God's glory later leaves the temple's threshold, as 8:6 warned.
General
True or False: God says He will still hear and spare the people if they cry out to Him loudly enough (8:18).
Answer: False
This is false. After showing Ezekiel the four scenes of idolatry, the LORD says that Judah has also spread violence throughout the land and keeps provoking Him (8:17). So He will act in wrath, without pity or sparing, and though they shout in His ears He will not hear them (8:18). This word is spoken about this people at this judgment: after long, unrepentant rebellion, loud cries in the hour of disaster would not turn the sentence back. Scripture warns of this elsewhere: wisdom says that those who scorned her will call and receive no answer (Proverbs 1:28), and through Isaiah God says He will refuse to listen to the many prayers of people whose hands are full of blood (Isaiah 1:15). Jeremiah gives Judah the same word: their cries would go unanswered when disaster came (Jeremiah 11:11).
- Ezekiel 8:17-18 (BSB)““Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose! Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.””God adds violence to the charges and says He will act in wrath and not listen to their cries.
- Proverbs 1:28 (BSB)“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.”Wisdom warns that those who rejected her will seek her in vain.
- Isaiah 1:15 (BSB)“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”God refuses the prayers of a people whose hands are stained with blood.
- Jeremiah 11:11 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them.”Jeremiah announces that Judah's cries would not be heard when disaster came.
Theological
True or False: In 8:18 the LORD promises to relent if the people raise a loud enough outcry to Him.
Answer: False
This is false. Having exposed four escalating abominations, the LORD adds that Judah has spread violence throughout the land and keeps provoking Him (8:17); therefore He will act in wrath without pity, and their loud cries will not move Him (8:18). For this people, who persisted in rebellion up to the hour of this judgment, the time for turning the sentence back had passed. The same sobering pattern appears in wisdom's warning to those who scorned her call (Proverbs 1:28), in God's refusal of the prayers of a bloodstained people (Isaiah 1:15), and in Jeremiah's word that Judah's cries would go unheeded when the disaster came (Jeremiah 11:11).
- Ezekiel 8:17-18 (BSB)““Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose! Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.””God adds violence to the charges and says He will act in wrath and not listen to their cries.
- Proverbs 1:28 (BSB)“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.”Wisdom warns that those who rejected her will seek her in vain.
- Isaiah 1:15 (BSB)“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”God refuses the prayers of a people whose hands are stained with blood.
- Jeremiah 11:11 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them.”Jeremiah announces that Judah's cries would not be heard when disaster came.
General
After digging through the court wall to a doorway, what did Ezekiel find inside (8:8-11)?
Answer: Seventy elders burning incense to images on the walls
God has Ezekiel dig through a wall, where he finds a doorway. Inside, the walls are carved all around with creeping animals, unclean beasts and the idols of Israel. Standing before these images are seventy of Israel's elders, and among them is Jaazaniah son of Shaphan; each is holding a censer, a pan for burning incense, so that a cloud of sweet smoke rises (8:8-11). These were leaders of the nation, the very men who should have guided the people in true worship. The law had forbidden Israel to make images of any animal, bird or crawling thing (Deuteronomy 4:16-18). Paul describes the same exchange when people trade the splendor of the undying God for likenesses of animals and reptiles (Romans 1:22-23).
- Ezekiel 8:10-11 (BSB)“So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel. Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.”Behind the wall, seventy elders offer incense before carved images of animals and idols.
- Deuteronomy 4:16-18 (BSB)“that you do not act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves of any form or shape, whether in the likeness of a male or female, of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air, or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.”The law forbade Israel to make images of beasts, birds or creeping things, the very figures on these walls.
- Romans 1:22-23 (BSB)“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”Paul describes people swapping the honor due to God for likenesses of creatures, as the elders did.
Theological
What did the hidden room behind the court wall reveal (8:8-11)?
Answer: Seventy elders burning incense to images on the walls
Behind the wall Ezekiel uncovers secret idol worship led by seventy of Israel's elders, Jaazaniah son of Shaphan among them, each offering incense with a censer before idols and animal figures engraved around the walls (8:8-11). The leaders of the covenant people were practicing in private exactly what the law forbade, images of beasts, birds and creeping things (Deuteronomy 4:16-18). This is the exchange Paul traces in fallen humanity, the splendor of the undying God traded for images of creatures (Romans 1:22-23). Idolatry had reached the highest levels of Judah's leadership.
- Ezekiel 8:10-11 (BSB)“So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel. Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.”Behind the wall, seventy elders offer incense before carved images of animals and idols.
- Deuteronomy 4:16-18 (BSB)“that you do not act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves of any form or shape, whether in the likeness of a male or female, of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air, or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.”The law forbade Israel to make images of beasts, birds or creeping things, the very figures on these walls.
- Romans 1:22-23 (BSB)“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”Paul describes people swapping the honor due to God for likenesses of creatures, as the elders did.
General
True or False: The elders excused their secret idol worship by claiming that the LORD did not see them and had abandoned the land (8:12).
Answer: True
This is true. God shows Ezekiel what the elders do in the dark, each at his own idol's shrine, and tells him their excuse: they think the LORD is blind to them and has left the land (8:12). God gives this saying as the reasoning behind what they do in secret: they acted as though He were absent and unaware. The same saying returns in 9:9 as part of the reason for judgment. Scripture answers this lie directly: the One who made the eye can surely see (Psalm 94:7-9), woe falls on those who try to conceal their schemes from the LORD and act in darkness (Isaiah 29:15), and no created thing escapes God's eyes (Hebrews 4:13). The vision itself proves the point, since God sees exactly what is happening behind the wall and shows it to His prophet.
- Ezekiel 8:12 (BSB)““Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’””God reveals what the elders do in secret and the excuse they give for it.
- Psalm 94:7-9 (BSB)“They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.” Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise? He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?”The psalmist answers those who say God does not notice: the maker of the eye sees.
- Isaiah 29:15 (BSB)“Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?””Isaiah pronounces woe on those who scheme in secret, supposing no one sees them.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”Everything in creation is laid bare before God, so nothing done in secret escapes Him.
Theological
True or False: In 8:12 the elders justify their hidden worship by asserting that the LORD neither sees them nor remains with the land.
Answer: True
This is true. The elders' private idolatry rests on a practical denial of God's knowledge and presence: the LORD is blind to them, and He has abandoned the land (8:12). The saying is quoted again as grounds for judgment in 9:9. Scripture refutes it at its root: the Creator of the eye cannot be blind (Psalm 94:7-9), those who scheme in darkness to hide from Him are under woe (Isaiah 29:15), and every creature lies open before the One to whom all must give account (Hebrews 4:13). The vision is itself the refutation, as God exposes to His prophet what the elders did in secret.
- Ezekiel 8:12 (BSB)““Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’””God reveals what the elders do in secret and the excuse they give for it.
- Psalm 94:7-9 (BSB)“They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.” Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise? He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?”The psalmist answers those who say God does not notice: the maker of the eye sees.
- Isaiah 29:15 (BSB)“Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?””Isaiah pronounces woe on those who scheme in secret, supposing no one sees them.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”Everything in creation is laid bare before God, so nothing done in secret escapes Him.
General
What did Ezekiel see at the temple's north gate in 8:14?
Answer: Women sitting there, mourning for Tammuz
Next the LORD brings Ezekiel to the temple's north gate, where women sit mourning for Tammuz (8:14). Their weeping was religious devotion given to someone other than the LORD, right at the doorway of the LORD's own house. God again tells Ezekiel that he will see still worse things (8:15). The law had commanded Israel not to follow other gods, because the LORD who lived among them is jealous for their worship (Deuteronomy 6:14-15). Jeremiah describes whole families, women included, serving other gods in his day (Jeremiah 7:18), which shows how widely idolatry had spread through Judah.
- Ezekiel 8:14-15 (BSB)“Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz. “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Yet you will see even greater abominations than these.””At the north gate women mourn for Tammuz, and God says worse is still to come.
- Deuteronomy 6:14-15 (BSB)“Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you. For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.”The law forbade Israel to go after other peoples' gods, for the LORD is jealous.
- Jeremiah 7:18 (BSB)“The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.”Jeremiah shows whole families, women among them, giving worship to other gods.
Theological
What third abomination is Ezekiel shown at the temple's north gate (8:14)?
Answer: Women sitting there, mourning for Tammuz
The third scene moves to the temple's north gate, where women sit mourning for Tammuz (8:14), and again the LORD promises still greater abominations (8:15). Devotion that belonged to the LORD was being poured out to another at the threshold of His own house, in plain violation of the command not to follow other gods, since the LORD who dwells among Israel is jealous (Deuteronomy 6:14-15). Jeremiah's picture of whole households, women included, serving other gods (Jeremiah 7:18) shows that this was not an isolated lapse but a pervasive apostasy.
- Ezekiel 8:14-15 (BSB)“Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz. “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Yet you will see even greater abominations than these.””At the north gate women mourn for Tammuz, and God says worse is still to come.
- Deuteronomy 6:14-15 (BSB)“Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you. For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.”The law forbade Israel to go after other peoples' gods, for the LORD is jealous.
- Jeremiah 7:18 (BSB)“The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.”Jeremiah shows whole families, women among them, giving worship to other gods.