‏ Ezekiel 8

* The idolatries committed by the Jewish rulers. (1-6) The

superstitions to which the Jews were then devoted, the Egyptian.

(7-12) The Phoenician. (13,14) The Persian. (15,16) The

heinousness of their sin. (17,18)

1-6 The glorious personage Ezekiel beheld in vision, seemed to

take hold upon him, and he was conveyed in spirit to Jerusalem.

There, in the inner court of the temple, was prepared a place

for some base idol. The whole was presented in vision to the

prophet. If it should please God to give any man a clear view of

his glory and majesty, and of all the abominations committing in

any one city, he would then admit the justice of the severest

punishments God should inflict thereon. 7-12 A secret place was, as it were, opened, where the prophet

saw creatures painted on the walls, and a number of the elders

of Israel worshipped before them. No superiority in worldly

matters will preserve men from lust, or idolatries, when they

are left to their own deceitful hearts; and those who are soon

wearied in the service of God, often grudge no toil nor expense

when following their superstitions. When hypocrites screen

themselves behind the wall of an outward profession, there is

some hole or other left in the wall, something that betrays them

to those who look diligently. There is a great deal of secret

wickedness in the world. They think themselves out of God's

sight. But those are ripe indeed for ruin, who lay the blame of

their sins upon the Lord. 13-18 The yearly lamenting for Tammuz was attended with

infamous practices; and the worshippers of the sun here

described, are supposed to have been priests. The Lord appeals

to the prophet concerning the heinousness of the crime; "and lo,

they put the branch to their nose," denoting some custom used by

idolaters in honour of the idols they served. The more we

examine human nature and our own hearts, the more abominations

we shall discover; and the longer the believer searches himself,

the more he will humble himself before God, and the more will he

value the fountain open for sin, and seek to wash therein.