By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text: Ezekiel
8
Ezekiel
8:17-18
Then
he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing
for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here,
that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still
further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their[c] nose. 18 Therefore I
will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And
though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”
(ESV)
Matthew
21:12-13 records the only instance of Jesus showing anger in Scripture and
involves the profaning of the Temple, His Father’s House. This involved the
profaning of a building, but God no longer dwells in a building, because the
Spirit of God dwells in the hearts of men and women choosing to accept Jesus
Christ as his or her savior (1
Corinthians 3:16-17). Profaning the Temple of God is a serious abomination
against God and the reason every believer must regularly examine their temple
and rid it of any idolatry.
Ezekiel is sitting in his
house with the elders of Judah when the hand of the Lord falls on him (Ezekiel
8:1). Ezekiel then sees a form that has the appearance of a man who holds
out his hand and takes a lock of Ezekiel’s hair with the Spirit of God lifting
him between heaven and earth bringing him to Jerusalem in visions of God (Ezekiel
8:2-3). The glory of God was in the vision like it was in the valley (Ezekiel
1:1, 3:23, 8:4). The form then directs Ezekiel to look to the north and
observe the abominations the house of Israel is committing there driving God
far from His sanctuary (Ezekiel
8:5-6).
Ezekiel is then brought
to the entrance to the court of the Temple where he observes a hole in the wall
(Ezekiel
8:7). Ezekiel is then instructed to dig in the wall where he observes an
entrance (Ezekiel
8:8). Ezekiel goes into the entrance and sees the vile abominations of
images on the wall, images of creeping things, loathsome beasts, and the idols
of the house of Israel (Ezekiel
8:9-10). Before these images, Ezekiel saw seventy men of the elders of the
house of Israel, offering worship to the images and idols engraved on the walls
(Ezekiel
8:11). The vision shows the activities of the elders of the house of
Israel, done in the dark with the belief the Lord does not see it, believing
God has forsaken the land and His Temple, but Ezekiel will see even greater
abominations (Ezekiel
8:12-13).
Ezekiel is then brought to the entrance of the
north gate of the Temple where he sees women weeping for Tammuz, a near-eastern
fertility god, another abomination but more is to come (Ezekiel
8:14-15). Ezekiel now enters the inner court of the Temple and sees about
twenty-five men with their backs to the Temple, facing east worshipping the sun
(Ezekiel
8:16). The Lord asks Ezekiel if the abominations he has seen are a light
thing that could fill the land with violence, further provoking the Lord to
anger (Ezekiel
8:17). Therefore, God intends to act in wrath towards Judah and Israel without
pity and not hearing their cries to Him (Ezekiel
8:18).
Judah and Israel are
about to experience the wrath of God with a gracious and merciful God giving
them one more warning that they will not listen to so God will not even hear
them anymore. However, the abominations committed by the elders spoken of in Ezekiel
8 are not only against God with the worship of other gods, but they profane
the Temple where God dwelt in the Old Covenant (2
Chronicles 6:1-2). However, in his prayer of dedication, Solomon asks if
the God who cannot be contained in the highest heaven can be contained in a
building (2
Chronicles 6:18). For this reason, any worship in the Temple that was not
the worship of the true God would be worship that evicted God from his house,
an abomination that angered God, subjecting those committing the abomination to
God’s wrath. The only recorded instance in the Gospels of Jesus becoming angry
is when he entered the Temple and saw the activities going on there (Matthew
21:12-13). However, in the new covenant, the temple of God is no longer a
building but the hearts of those choosing to believe in Jesus Christ as their
savior (1
Corinthians 3:16-17). Therefore, a believer in Christ must ensure there are
no abominable beliefs or sins in their lives that profane God’s temple for our
heart will be in what we treasure which for a believer must be Jesus Christ (Matthew
6:21).
During the Olivette
Discourse (Matthew
24-25:13) Jesus foretold things that should alert the Church that the time
of the Lord’s return is near and the need to prepare. However, the Church is
more like the Church at Laodicea, trusting in its wealth and prosperity, not
believing they needed the Lord. Believers in Christ must not be like the 5
virgins who were not prepared by taking sufficient oil for their lamps and who were
not there when the bridegroom returned because they were out getting more oil (Matthew
26:7-10). Many are praying for revival in the Church, but it is important
to remember that the Church is not a building or organization but the people.
Revival in the Church occurs when the people making up the Church body repent
and depend on God for their salvation preparing their hearts for the return of
the Lord.
Believers in these last
days must prepare their hearts by ridding the temple of the Holy Spirit of any
abominations of our hearts so they are prepared to meet the Lord. If you are
reading this and have never prayed for God to rid your heart of the abomination
of sin, I encourage you to do so now by praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
May God challenge,
convict, and bless everyone reading this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment