Abominations
Abominations in the scriptures means…”disgusting things”
Sin is always wrong….but when those who are called to closeness to God, sin….it is especially wicked. To have light….and choose darkness is great evil. (Matt.6:22-23)
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.”
Why so specific a time? It was a year and a half after Ezekiel’s call….and God has been relating the judgments to come on Jerusalem….something that had never happened before.
But was there no hope?
So here, God shows Ezekiel in a vision,…and through him, to the elders which have come to hear the Word of the Lord.
God is going to show them the abominations Judah has done in Jerusalem…and especially in the Sanctuary or Temple…
….the things Judah does…”in the dark”.
Ezekiel 8:3 “And He put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head;….and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door for the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.”
Here is the first abomination…at the north gate of the Temple….”the image of jealousy”.
This is, most believe, the image of Baal, that was replaced after Josiah’s death. Josiah had taken all the idols out of Judah and Jerusalem,….but now, instead of continuing to follow the Lord….they have reinstituted the idol of Baal….for worship….and right in the gateway to the Temple!
Ezekiel 8:6 “He (God) said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary?….”
The sadness in His voice….for God is a jealous God; and will not give His glory or honor to another.
He is telling Ezekiel….they will worship God, or He will leave them to their abominations…for there are more abominations to show him.
So Ezekiel is told to “dig in the wall”. Inside the Temple, are priests’ chambers.
So Ezekiel is told to go in and see what they do there.
Ezekiel 8:10-12 “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.
And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients…..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.
Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients…do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.”
[And what do we do in the chambers of our imagery? What is portrayed on the walls of our minds?
Our imaginations can be a great snare….and we are told:
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”]
These seventy men were the great council of the nation…the Sanhedrin! Yet see what they do. They are worshiping the images of Egypt…”creeping things and abominable beasts”. They do this in secret…right in the Sanctuary!
They should have been leading the nation in repentance….yet they did abominations.
Then…the Lord brought Ezekiel to the door of the house of God….and “there sat women weeping for Tammuz.” (Ezekiel 8:14)
Instead of weeping for their sins, they find women weeping over an idol….over a story….not over what’s real!
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 worshiped the sun toward the east.”
This place between the porch and the altar was to be the place of gathering for repentance…(Joel 2:16-17 “Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord,…”)…
…yet here, the priests are gathered to worship the sun…
…and notice…..with their backs toward the Sanctuary…showing contempt on His worship.
(There are twenty-five because of the twenty-four courses of the priests and the high priest was present.)
Ezekiel 8:17 “Then He said unto me, Hast thou 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?….”
Again, you can hear the sadness in the Lord’s voice.
Four abominations….in every direction….right in the Sanctuary!
“…seest thou what they do?…that I should go far off from my Sanctuary?” (Ezek.8:6)
God was showing Ezekiel…and through him to the people in captivity….that the sin of Judah was great. That it was this sin, that leads Him to judge His people.
(There is a judgment that leads to repentance….…and there is a judgment that is final.
God would have us seek Him….then we will find Him
Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
And there is some who do seek the Lord in Jerusalem, and cry out because of the abominations. For the Lord calls out a man, with an inkhorn by his side….to seal those that cry against these abominations. They would be spared…though they must be tried.
Ezekiel 9:3-6 “And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up….And He called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;
And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city,…and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done…”
And I must include here, that before the Tribulation judgments fall on the earth…we Christians, who have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise will be removed in the rapture.
And God will also seal 144,000 from Israel, before the worst plagues will fall on the unbelieving and unrepentant world.)
God, now show Ezekiel, that at this time He will leave His Sanctuary….
First He leaves the Holy of Holies, over the mercy seat….and goes to the threshold of the door of the Holy of Holies . (Ezekiel 9:3 “And the glory of God was gone up from the cherub, whereupon He wast, to the threshold of the house….”)
Then, He elevates His throne above the threshold. (Ezekiel 10:1 “Then I looked…there appeared over them….as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.”)
Then He moves to the threshold of the Holy Place…outside in the outer court…..His glory shining there….but the house gets filled with “the cloud” which is more like smoke. (Ezekiel 10:4)
He and the cherubim stand for a time at the east gate, where the people enter…then He lifts up to be over the cherubim….(Ezekiel 10:18 “Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.”)
He waits to see if any will look toward the glory of the Lord….
…then He goes up altogether from the city to the Mount of Olives…
Ezekiel 11:23 “And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.”
(This is, of course, where Christ Jesus, forty days after His resurrection, ascended to heaven…and where, one day He will come again. Acts 1:9-11)
The abominations…..of what should have been the closest of His people, were what drove the Lord away.
Abomination means disgusting things….
….and God will not give up His honor….to another.
Yet, in HIs Word to Ezekiel…God looks beyond the judgment that had to be…because of their abominations….
….to His great mercy and light to those in captivity:
Ezekiel 11:17-20 (condensed) “…Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you….and I will give you the land of Israel.
And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things…and all the abominations…
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh.
That they may walk in my statutes…and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”
Seven times the Lord speaks of what He will do that He may once again be with them….
Ezekiel 43:2, 4 “And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and His voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with HIs glory.
And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.”
Now, let me ask each Christian….is not the Lord pictured, standing outside the door of HIs church in Laodicea? (Rev. 3:20)
Yet there is hope….for the Lord speaks of a way for all who would have His fellowship and presence in their lives…
Revelation 3:18-19 “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou may be rich; and white raiment, that thou may be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eyesalve, that thou may see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
The Lord is still speaking to His church…and waiting to see if they will look toward Him….. to “Open to Me”.
What will we do? Will we…
….follow the world in worshiping idols,
…or hide in secret our sin
…or emotionally weep over things that have no meaning
…or turn our backs on the Lord? As those did in Ezekiel’s time?
HIs Holy Spirit is still convicting and speaking…what will we do?
Let us see the uselessness of idols…
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen”.(1 John 5:21)
And seek the Lord, who offers His Presence and power…grace and truth.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 