Eze 8:7 | KingComments | STEP | In the vision, the LORD brings him to the entrance of the court, where he sees a hole in the wall ( ). He is commanded to dig through the wall, probably because the hole is too small to crawl through ( ). When he has done so, he sees an entrance. The LORD tells him to go in through that entrance and adds that he will see “the wicked abominations” that happen in that room ( ). Ezekiel enters and sees that on the wall, all around, are carved “every form of creeping things and beasts [and] detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel” ( ). Then he sees that seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel are standing in front of them ( ). The number seventy is not without significance. It is the full council of elders. They represent the whole people. Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, plays the leading role among these apostate leaders. His name is the only one mentioned. It is also mentioned that he stands “among them”, indicating his central place in this event. He is looked to, he sets the example. His father Shaphan was a faithful man who played an important role in the revival under King Josiah ( ). Jaazaniah also has brothers and cousins who are faithful to the LORD ( ). Shaphan means ‘ Yahweh listens’, but he does not live according to the meaning of that name. He is a deeply sad example of one who belongs to a family where the Lord is served, but deliberately turns away from Him to serve the world and even becomes a leader of apostasy in it. It shows the serious truth that faith is not something you can inherit. Each person is himself responsible to God. Each elder has a censer in his hand, from which the fragrance of the cloud of incense, the symbol of worship, rises. They are fully engaged in practicing their idolatry. The LORD asks Ezekiel if he has seen what the elders of the house of Israel are “committing in the dark” ( ). What they are doing cannot bear the light of day. They are there as a group, but each one is in his own dark way in his own room, his own heart and thoughts, preoccupied with his own carved image. In their blindness and foolishness, they even believe that the LORD does not see them. After all, He has forsaken the land, they say. Perhaps they used as an argument that He would have delivered them from the Babylonian siege if He were still in the land. Thus they accuse Him of unfaithfulness and justify their idolatrous practices. While they are talking and practicing their idolatry, the LORD is watching them and even shows what they are saying and doing to Ezekiel in a vision. What follies can a man fall into when he excludes God! This scene recalls the “unfruitful deeds of darkness”, the things that “are done by them in secret”, of which God’s Word says that they are to be judged ( ). Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, but we may harbor sinful thoughts in the secret corners of our hearts. Through His Spirit, God wants to break through that wall. He wants to make sin clear to us, so that we may judge it. What Ezekiel has seen is not yet all the abominations. He will see still greater abominations ( ).

‏ Ezekiel 8:7

Idolatry by the Elders

In the vision, the LORD brings him to the entrance of the court, where he sees a hole in the wall (Eze 8:7). He is commanded to dig through the wall, probably because the hole is too small to crawl through (Eze 8:8). When he has done so, he sees an entrance. The LORD tells him to go in through that entrance and adds that he will see “the wicked abominations” that happen in that room (Eze 8:9). Ezekiel enters and sees that on the wall, all around, are carved “every form of creeping things and beasts [and] detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel” (Eze 8:10).

Then he sees that seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel are standing in front of them (Eze 8:11). The number seventy is not without significance. It is the full council of elders. They represent the whole people. Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, plays the leading role among these apostate leaders. His name is the only one mentioned. It is also mentioned that he stands “among them”, indicating his central place in this event. He is looked to, he sets the example.

His father Shaphan was a faithful man who played an important role in the revival under King Josiah (2Chr 34:14-20). Jaazaniah also has brothers and cousins who are faithful to the LORD (Jer 26:24 ; Jer 29:3 ; Jer 36:10-11 ; Jer 40:7). Shaphan means ‘Yahweh listens’, but he does not live according to the meaning of that name. He is a deeply sad example of one who belongs to a family where the Lord is served, but deliberately turns away from Him to serve the world and even becomes a leader of apostasy in it. It shows the serious truth that faith is not something you can inherit. Each person is himself responsible to God.

Each elder has a censer in his hand, from which the fragrance of the cloud of incense, the symbol of worship, rises. They are fully engaged in practicing their idolatry. The LORD asks Ezekiel if he has seen what the elders of the house of Israel are “committing in the dark” (Eze 8:12). What they are doing cannot bear the light of day. They are there as a group, but each one is in his own dark way in his own room, his own heart and thoughts, preoccupied with his own carved image.

In their blindness and foolishness, they even believe that the LORD does not see them. After all, He has forsaken the land, they say. Perhaps they used as an argument that He would have delivered them from the Babylonian siege if He were still in the land. Thus they accuse Him of unfaithfulness and justify their idolatrous practices. While they are talking and practicing their idolatry, the LORD is watching them and even shows what they are saying and doing to Ezekiel in a vision. What follies can a man fall into when he excludes God!

This scene recalls the “unfruitful deeds of darkness”, the things that “are done by them in secret”, of which God’s Word says that they are to be judged (Eph 5:11-12). Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, but we may harbor sinful thoughts in the secret corners of our hearts. Through His Spirit, God wants to break through that wall. He wants to make sin clear to us, so that we may judge it.

What Ezekiel has seen is not yet all the abominations. He will see still greater abominations (Eze 8:13).