The prophecies contained in these chapters Ezek. 8–19 fall within eleven months (compare Ezekiel 8:1 with Ezekiel 20:1). Although they were not all delivered on the same day, they may be regarded as a whole. They contain in fact a review of the condition of the people of Judah, including those who w... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ELDERS OF JUDAH - The prophet’s fellow-exiles are no longer unwilling to hear him Ezekiel 2:1. They sat as mourners. The message here is not as in Ezekiel 6:2, but distinctly to Judah, that portion of the people whose exile Ezekiel shared.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE APPEARANCE OF FIRE - In margin reference, seen as the appearance of a man enthroned upon the cherubim. Here He stands apart from the throne revealing Himself to His servant. Compare Daniel 3:25 note. AMBER - See the margin reference note.... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE VISIONS OF GOD - Ezekiel was not transported “in the body,” but rapt “in spirit,” while he still sat amidst the elders of Judah. THE INNER GATE - Or, the gate of the inner court. This gate, leading from the outer to the inner court (the court of the priests), is called Ezekiel 8:5 “the gate o... [ Continue Reading ]
The glory of the Lord having departed from His seat between the cherubims in the holy of holies (see Ezekiel 9:3) rests in the threshold of the temple, to execute vengeance before it quits the house altogether Ezekiel 10:18. The “there” in the inner court, which was “full of the brightness of the Lo... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DOOR OF THE COURT - The seer is brought to another spot. In Ezekiel’s time there were various buildings on the space around the inner court which formed a court or courts, not improbably enclosed by a wall. The idolatries here were viewed as taking place in secret, and it is more in accordance w... [ Continue Reading ]
There is clearly a reference to the idolatry of Egypt. Many subterranean chambers in rocks upon the shores of the Nile exhibit ornamentation and hieroglyphical characters, some of which are representative of the objects of idolatrous worship. Such chambers fitted them for the scene of the ideal pict... [ Continue Reading ]
SEVENTY MEN - Compare Exodus 24:9. The vision may have pointed to the contrast between the times. The number “seven” is symbolic of the covenant between Yahweh and His people, and so the “seventy” men exhibit forcibly the breach of the covenant. It is a figure of the covert idolatry of the whole peo... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE DARK - Hidden in the secret places which the seer dug through the wall to discover. CHAMBERS OF HIS IMAGERY - i. e., chambers painted with images.... [ Continue Reading ]
The seer is now brought back to the same gate as in Ezekiel 8:3. It is not certain that this verse refers to any special act of Tammuz-worship. The month in which the vision was seen, the sixth month (September), was not the month of the Tammuz-rites. But that such rites had been performed in Jerusa... [ Continue Reading ]
THE INNER COURT - The court of the priests. ABOUT FIVE AND TWENTY MEN - Rather, as it were five etc. This was the number of the heads of the 24 courses (shifts) with the high priest presiding over them. These then were the representatives of the priests, as the seventy were of the people. In the tem... [ Continue Reading ]
“Violence” represents sin against man, “abominations” sins against God. These went hand in hand in Jerusalem. AND HAVE RETURNED - After the reformation effected for a time by Josiah’s zeal, they have gone back to their old state. THEY PUT THE BRANCH TO THEIR NOSE - An allusion to a then familiar p... [ Continue Reading ]