Ezekiel 8:15

Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. TURN THEE YET AGAIN, AND THOU SHALT SEE GREATER ABOMINATIONS. The next are "greater abominations," not in respect to the idolatry, but in respect to the place and persons committing it. In "the inner court," immediately before the door of the temple of Yahweh, between the porch and the altar, where the priests advanced only on extraordinary occasions; as, for instance, national fasts, on which the "ministers of the Lord wept between the porch and the altar" (Joel 2:17), twenty-five men (the leaders of the twenty-four courses or orders of the priests, 1 Chronicles 24:18-13, with the high priest at their head, "the pr...

Here the Prophet refers to another profanation of the temple, since the chief citizens of Jerusalem and those who ought to point out the way to others, prostituted themselves to impious worship, lie says, therefore, _that he saw about five and twenty men, _and it is probable, that there were as many as this among the first rank of citizens. But a certain number is put for an uncertain, and I think that the Prophet. was not so scrupulous on this point, or rather the Spirit of God, who showed that number in the vision; whatever it was, they not only worshipped the sun in private houses, but in the temple itself, and that not without gross and pointed contempt of God. For when they turned their back upon the sanctuary, they made a laughing-stock of God. It hence appears, that they were of so daring a front, that they openly boasted in their superstitions, and purposely polluted God’s temple...

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....

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, HAST THOU SEEN [THIS], O SON OF MAN?.... This shocking piece of idolatry, women weeping for Tammuz: TURN THEE YET AGAIN, [AND] THOU SHALT SEE GREATER ABOMINATIONS THAN THESE; or, "great abominations besides these" f. f תועבות גדלות מאלה "abominationes magnas praeter istas", Calvin....

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 WORSHIP OF TAMMUZ. Then follows a scene in which the women lament for Tammuz a clear allusion to a Babylonian cult. Tammuz (pp. 631 f.), impersonation of the fructifying, gladdening sun, god of the spring vegetation, is represented as later in the year descending to the realm of the dead. Thither he was followed by the goddess Ishtar, and this accounts for the part here taken by the women in the cult. Here we strike upon the danger-point in the old nature religions; they easily developed licentious features. Whether these were practised in Israel in Ezekiel's time or not, such a cult constituted a grave menace. (For an illuminating account of Tammuz, who roughly corresponds to Adonis, see J. F. McCurdy, _History, Prophecy, and the Monuments,_ §§ 1186- 1190.)...

_turn thee yet again_ See Ezekiel 8:6 end....

DISCOURSE: 1098 HIDDEN ABOMINATIONS EXPOSED Ezekiel 8:15. _Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn thee yet again, and thou shall see greater abominations than these_. MAN is ready to complain of God’s judgments, as though they were unmerited or severe. But “God will be justified in his sayings, and will overcome when he is judged [Note: Romans 3:4.].” The captives in Babylon thought that God had dealt hardly with them. God therefore gave to the Prophet Ezekiel, who was amongst the captives there, a vision of what was at that very time transacting in the temple at Jerusalem, notwithstanding the judgments that had been inflicted on them. This was the sixth year of king Jehoiakim’s captivity; and yet did the remnant of the people in Jerusalem continue as impenitent as ever.

B. The Abominations of Jerusalem 8:5-16 TRANSLATION (5) And he said unto me, Son of man, set, I pray you, your eyes to the way of the north, and behold, north of the altar gate was this image of jealousy in the entrance. (6) And He said unto me, Son of man, do you see what they are doing? the great abominations which the house of Israel are doing here that I should go far away from My sanctuary? But You shall yet see greater abominations. (7) And He brought me unto the entrance of the court; and I looked, and behold, a hole in the wall. (8) And He said unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall. And I dug in the wall, and behold, a door. (9) And He said unto me, Go in, and see the evil abominations which they are doing here. (10) So I went in, and I saw, and behold, every form of creeping thing and detestable beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel portrayed upon the wall round ab...