Abominations in Jerusalem
Ezekiel 8, verse 1. Again it came to pass in the sixth year, in the fifth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord came upon me. Ezekiel 8, verse 2. Then I looked, and behold, there was the likeness of a man, as of fire from His waist down, and from His waist up like the appearance of amber. Ezekiel 8, verse 3. He extended what looked like a hand and raised me up by the crown of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the sky and brought me in a vision of God to Jerusalem, to the porches of the inner gate that looks to the north, where the pillar of idolatry was. Ezekiel 8, verse 4. Behold, the glory of the Lord God of Israel was there, like the vision I saw in the plain. Ezekiel 8, verse 5. Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and behold, I looked from the north toward the eastern gate. Ezekiel 8, verse 6. Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing? They commit great acts of lawlessness here to keep Me from My sanctuary. Now you will see even greater acts of lawlessness.” Ezekiel 8, verse 7. So He brought me to the porches of the court. Ezekiel 8, verse 8. Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig a hole.” So I dug, and behold, a door. Ezekiel 8, verse 9. He said to me, “Go in, and see the lawless deeds they are doing here.” Ezekiel 8, verse 10. So I went in, and behold, I saw vain abominations—all the idols of the house of Israel were portrayed on the wall all around. Ezekiel 8, verse 11. There were seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and the smoke of the incense rose up. Ezekiel 8, verse 12. Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing, each one of them in their private bedroom? For they said, ‘The Lord does not see; the Lord has forsaken the land.’” Ezekiel 8, verse 13. Then He said to me, “You will see even greater acts of lawlessness they are doing.” Ezekiel 8, verse 14. So He brought me to the porches of the court of the Lord's house that faces north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. Ezekiel 8, verse 15. Then He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see worse practices than these.” Ezekiel 8, verse 16. So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and behold, there, at the outer entrance of the Lord's temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty men. They stood with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, with their faces in the opposite direction; and they were worshiping the sun. Ezekiel 8, verse 17. Then He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? This is not a trivial thing for the house of Judah to commit these lawless acts which they commit here, is it? For they have filled the land with lawlessness, and behold, they are as those who treat Me with contempt. Ezekiel 8, verse 18. As for Me, I shall treat them in anger. My eye will not spare, nor will I have mercy.”