Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Transported in vision to Jerusalem

Ezekiel 8:1-18
In the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy.
I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel.
In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them.Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.
At entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about 25 men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.
Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial(不重要的) matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here?
In September 592 God comes to Ezekiel a second time. He is transported in vision to Jerusalem, and set down beside the Temple. What he sees may be actual practises, or the description may be symbolic. Either way the meaning is plain. There has been a total departure from the true religion of Israel. Asherah/Astarte(the image of jealousy 3) has been set up in God's Temple. The nation's leaders are secretly practising animal worship. The women are mourning the Sumerian god Tammuz, who was supposed to die with the old year and rise again with the spring. Men turn their backs on God to worship the sun.
Why?
God let Ezekiel saw the truth sins of Judah in Jerusalem in vision.
Almost all Israelite from priests to men and women were worship the idols, they didn't trust in the Lord for their enemies attacked them. All of them lost their faith to the Lord.
The problem is they forget because they forsake the Lord so God forsake them.
How?
God knows everything what we are doing, trust in the Lord God won't forsake us. God is good forever.

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