Pagan Practices in the Temple

Ezekiel 8:7–18
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As the Lord took hold of Ezekiel and showed him unusual and symbolic visions, it was his responsibility to relay God’s word to the people to whom he ministered-and this was surely no easy task!

Some scholars believe the “image of jealousy” related to the Adonis-Festival which was a sex-oriented religion. The “women weeping for Tammuz” was also related to the fertility rites. Tammuz was probably the Syriac name for Adonis. According to the myth, the god died each year and was resurrected. His death was commemorated with weeping and his return was hailed with joy. The women, in their various activities, would yield themselves to prostitution.

Immorality and injustice go hand in hand. People who are depraved and licentious in their personal living standards do not really desire justice for all people. They may pretend to do so in order to “present a good front,” but their claims are only pretense. When people reject the God of righteousness, unbridled indulgences of all kinds usually follow closely.

The truth for today is that we become like that which we constantly admire and worship. If our God has no character, there is no constraint to personal morality. God’s command to his people was that they should be holy because He was holy. We must be careful not to spend so much time thinking about the benefits of creation that we lose sight of the Creator.

Application

The only way I will ever be able to keep my mind and thoughts pure and my actions right is to keep them washed in the Word of God through the Lord Jesus Christ.