Ezekiel 8:1-18

Secrecy is one of man’s greatest delusions.  There is no such thing as secrecy.  None of our actions, thoughts or motives are secret.  God knows all about all of them.  Israel has been practicing multiple forms of idolatry and somehow think they have been doing it in secret.  God shows Ezekiel several snapshots of the different types and styles of idolatry taking place in the nation.  God exposes this idolatry and demonstrates the reason for His wrath.  This is a very sobering thought because it means all of our idolatrous actions, thoughts and motives are also known by God and will be exposed when God judges all of mankind.  All men have idols and God knows about all of them.  Our only hope to escape the wrath of God is to expose our own idolatry before the Lord, repent and trust Christ for the forgiveness of sin through His death.  This chapter reveals four forms of idolatry taking place in the nation of Israel.

THE IDOLATRY OF BAAL: Ezekiel is taken in a trance to the city of Jerusalem and as they enter the north gate he sees two images.  The first image is similar to the vision he had in the valley of God and His chariot.  God is present in this process and clearly sees all the idol worship going on.  The second image is called the altar of jealousy.  This was most likely an altar to Baal, one of the most common gods worshiped in Israel and the surrounding nations.  These altars would spring up on a regular basis and then be destroyed by a godly king only to be rebuilt again.  The children of Israel were constantly provoking God through the worship of Baal.  God is a jealous God and He will not tolerate idol worship in His children.

THE IDOLATRY OF BEASTS: God takes Ezekiel to a wall in the area of the temple and tells Ezekiel to dig a hole in the wall and look behind the wall.  When Ezekiel looks into the room it is filled with representatives of all of Israel worshiping images of all kinds of beasts that have been painted on the wall.  This building had been constructed for the purpose of worshiping God but the elders of the nation had grown so corrupt they turned it into a temple of idolatry dedicated to the worship of animals.  This primitive form of idolatry was practiced behind closed doors and the elders who led it thought they were hidden from God’s sight.  They were very wrong.  God knew all about it and takes Ezekiel to record this action so it is now exposed to all of us. There is nothing that is secret from God. 

THE IDOLATRY OF TAMMUZ: The next image of idolatry Ezekiel has is that of the people mourning Tammuz.  This is an ancient form of idolatry going all the way back to the tower of Babel and the religious system instituted around this abomination to God.  Tammuz was the son of the leader of Babel, Nimrod.  The mother of Tammuz declared herself to be the queen of heaven and Tammuz the promised Messiah.  According to legend Tammuz was killed in a hunting accident and his death was mourned until he was resurrected from the dead.  There are obvious falsifications of Jesus in this imagery.  This is the kind of idolatry that led to the confusion of the languages at Babel but it continued to be practiced in Israel and was an abomination to God.


THE IDOLATRY OF THE SUN: The final image of this chapter is that of the priests of Israel worshiping and bowing down to the sun.  These were the men who were supposed to represent God before the people and promote the worship of God in the nation.  Instead these priests were bowing down to the sun.  It is a very sad state of affairs when the priests who are supposed to worship the Lord and promote the worship of God in the nation are all wrapped up in idolatry.  It is no wonder that the wrath of God burned so hot against the nation of Israel.  God had turned His back on them and would now refuse to hear their cries for help because they had refused to worship Him for generation after generation.  Idolatry in our hearts closes the ears of God to our prayers.

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