Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Ezekiel
Book: Ezekiel
Chapter: 8
Overview:
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.