Ezekiel 8:5-6 – The folly of idolatry

In Ezekiel second vision in chapter 8, he saw the glory of God. Verse 3 said that he was transported in the spirit to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court of the temple that faces north. There, besides the idol of jealousy which King Josiah had previously removed, Ezekiel also saw the glory of the Lord. He knew it for it the glory was like what he saw in the valley described earlier.   

Where he was deposited, Ezekiel was instructed to look toward the north. And at the entrance of the north gate of the altar of the temple was indeed the idol of jealousy.  Then, verse 5 said that he heard a rhetorical question in which the Lord asked, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? The question was to help Ezekiel see God's cause. He was telling Ezekiel that the detestable idol was evicting Him from His own house.

We must not get the idea that the idol was more powerful or greater than God. But that the presence something abominable would be jarring for the presence of God. If He had remained there, it would send a signal that worshipping other gods besides Him was acceptable.  It would undermine their unique relationship with Yahweh. God was and must be the only God they were called to worship.    

In Exodus 20:2 God made it explicitly clear saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” The word “Lord” was His special covenant name “Yahweh.” He is the great I Am, the sovereign, grand, supreme, and the eternal unchanging One.  The pronounce “your” signifies that He would be their personal God and hence he was looking for a personal relationship with each and every one of His people. Besides, being the great and personal God, He was also the saving God. It was He who had saved them, and He had also saved us. He is the Lord and Redeemer. To worship other gods was not only incongruous but becoming. Are there “idols” in our lives that is provoking the Lord to jealousy? We must heed the words of 1 John 5:21 “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” And never forget the exhortation of Colossians 3:5, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”