Ezekiel 8:12

Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel 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. HAST THOU SEEN WHAT THE ANCIENTS OF ... ISRAEL DO IN THE DARK, EVERY MAN IN THE CHAMBERS OF HIS IMAGERY? The elders ("ancients") are here the representatives of the people, rather than to be regarded literally. Mostly, the leaders of pagan superstitions laughed at them secretly while publicly professing them, in order to keep the people in subjection. Here what is meant is, that the people generally addicted themselves to secret idolatry, led on by their elders: there is no doubt, also, allusion to the mysteries, as in the worship of Isis in Egypt, the Eleusinian in Greece, etc., to which the initiated alone were admitted. "The chambers of imagery" are their own perve...

Again God questions his servant: we have explained the reason — that he may pass sentence as a judge on his own people, whence it may be more clearly evident that those who had provoked God were unworthy of any pardon. _Thou seest, _says he, _what the elders do? _Through a feeling of honor he does not here name these _elders of the house of Israel, _but rather reproves their ingratitude, because they so drive others with them into alliance with their impiety. For elders ought to show the way to others. Since, therefore, the profanation of the worship of God took its origin from them, hence their disgrace is increased, and they were worthy of greater reproach. _Seest thou, _says he, _what they do in darkness? _From this word I gather that the place was remote from public observation; for there were near the floor of the Temple many cells and many chambers, as we see in Jeremiah. (Jeremiah...

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....

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....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 8:1 AND IT CAME TO PASS, etc. We begin with a fresh date. One year and one month had passed since the vision of Chebar, and had been occupied partly by the acted, partly by the spoken, prophecies of the preceding chapters. In the mean time, things had gone from bad to worse in Jerusalem. In the absence of the higher priests, idolatry was more rampant, and had found its way even into the temple. It is probable that tidings of this had reached Ezekiel, as we know that frequent communications passed between the exiles and those they had left behind (Jeremiah 29:1, Jeremiah 29:9,...

THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, HAST THOU SEEN,.... Here should be a stop, as the accent "segolta" shows; hast thou taken notice of, hast thou considered, what thou hast seen, the amazing shocking abominations committed by these men? it follows, and the question is to be repeated, "hast thou seen" WHAT THE ANCIENTS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL DO IN THE DARK? their deeds being evil, such as will not bear the light, of which they had reason to be ashamed before men; and which they imagined would not be seen by the Lord, though the darkness and the light are both alike to him: EVERY MAN IN THE CHAMBERS OF HIS IMAGERY? the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "in his hidden" or "secret chamber"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "in the hidden place of his bedchamber". The Targum is, "in the chamber of the house of his bed;'' in his bedchamber; that is, in those chambers of the...

CHAPTER S 8-11 Visions in Relation to Jerusalem _ 1. The vision of abomination in the temple (Ezekiel 8:1) _ 2. The vision of the linen-clothed man with the inkhorn (Ezekiel 9:1) 3. The vision of the coals of fire (Ezekiel 10:1) 4. The vision concerning the leaders: The glory departs (Ezekiel 11:1) Ezekiel 8:1. This vision shows the abomination which prevailed in the temple of Jehovah. In the visions of God, Ezekiel is brought to the door of the inner gate that looks to the north. Here was the image o

THE MYSTERY CULT. Next, through a hole in the Temple wall, Ezekiel saw seventy elders headed by Jaazaniah (son, perhaps, of that very Shaphan who had been associated with the reform of the worship thirty years before, 2 K. 228ff.) indulging in mysterious animal worship, which some trace to Egypt, others to Babylon, while others, with more probability, regard it as a recrudescence of ancient Canaanitish practice (possibly totemistic). But the explanation of this, as partly of the other practices, lies in this (Ezekiel 8:12), that they believe both themselves and their land to be forsaken by their God, Yahweh, and they are therefore driven to seek the support of other gods. (The meaning and the text of the phrase chambers of imagery in Ezekiel 8:12 are uncertain.)...

IN THE DARK. This was. special feature of this animal idolatry. THE LORD SEETH US NOT: or, there is no Jehovah seeing us. Compare Ezekiel 9:9. THE LORD. Hebrew. _Jehovah._ App-4....

_the chambers of his imagery_ Or, HIS CHAMBERS OF IMAGERY. The language implies that there were many chambers of imagery, and again suggests that the scene was symbolical. For "ancients" ELDERS. On "imagery" Leviticus 26:1; Numbers 33:52. _forsaken the earth_ Rather: the LAND. The multiplied calamities of later years suggested that Jehovah no more protected the country (ch. Ezekiel 9:9). This was possibly the feeling of the elders and people in some moods, but in other moods they spoke differently. In ch. Ezekiel 11:15 they say to those already in exile, "Get you far from the Lord! unto us is this land given