(ot3) Exegetical Template Ezekiel 8

Ezekiel 8 The defilement that causes Yahweh to forsake his sanctuary and pour out his wrath on the land.

Context There is a logical progression in chapters 5–8. The symbolic acts of 4:1–5:4 have portrayed God’s judgement on Jerusalem. The specific reason given in the oracle of 5:5-17 is ‘because you have defiled my sanctuary with your vile images and detestable practices’ (5:11). There then follows in chs 6–7 two oracles, against the mountains of Israel (ch. 6) and the land of Israel (ch. 7) in which the theme of detestable practices is developed (see 6:9, 11; 7:3, 4, 8, 9). 105 The detestable practices are the pagan shrines throughout the land, but especially on the hills. In ch. 8 the focus narrows again on the temple where the most detestable practices are to be seen: those which defile Yahweh’s sanctuary itself (8:6). So chs 6 and 7 form a logical bridge between ch. 5 and ch. 8. As Greenberg has pointed out (p. 192), the sequence of events at the beginning of ch. 8 is reversed at the end of ch. 11. 8:1a Ezekiel is with the exiles (silent) 8:1b The hand of Yahweh falls upon the prophet (vision begins) 8:2-3 Ezekiel is transported to Jerusalem 11:24a Ezekiel transported back to Babylon 11:24b The vision goes up from him (vision ends) 11:25 Ezekiel with the exiles (speaks) So the pattern is ABC — CBA These two passages frame chapters 8–11 which form one compositional unit. This unit deals with the defilement of the temple and the departure of Yahweh’s glory from it (8:6). It is balanced in the overall structure of the book by chs 40–48, where Yahweh’s glory returns to a new temple

Structure The structure of ch. 8 is a simple one: Ezekiel is transported to Jerusalem (vv. 1-4) where he sees a series of 4 detestable things (vv. 5-18). The section dealing with the detestable things is clearly divided into 4 segments by the recurring expression, ‘You will see things that are even more detestable’ (vv. 6, 13, 15). So the structure is as follows: Ezekiel transported to Jerusalem (vv.1-4) First detestable thing: the image of jealousy (vv.5-6) Second detestable thing: animal worship (vv.7-13) Third detestable thing: weeping for Tammuz (vv.14-15) Fourth detestable thing: sun worship (vv.16-18)

Ezek. 8:1

In the sixth year, in the sixth month,

on the fifth day of the month, house, with me,

as I sat in my

the elders of Judah sitting before

the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me

there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, a form that had the appearance of a man.

Below what

appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal.

3 He put out

the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley.

Ezek. 8:5

Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift

up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of

the altar gate, in the entrance, was this

image of jealousy. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, sanctuary?

But

to drive me far from my you

will

see

still

greater

abominations.”

Ezek. 8:7 And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. 9 And he said to me, “Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was

every form of

creeping things and

loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel.

11 And before them stood

seventy

men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. 12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’ ”

13 He said also to me,

“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

Ezek. 8:14

Then he brought me to

the

entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

15 Then he said to me, “Have you

seen this, O

son of man?

You will see still

greater abominations than these.”

Ezek. 8:16

And he brought me into the inner

court of the house of the LORD. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit

the abominations that they commit

here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Ezkiel’s Priestly Interest Ezekiel’s priestly background and concerns show through strongly in this chapter: • Ezekiel is not unconcerned with the kind of social and ethical abuses which featured so much in the ministry of earlier prophets (see 8:17), but his primary emphasis is on cultic and ritual abuses. • The ideas of defilement and cleansing figure centrally in his message. The sin of Israel is described in terms of defilement (5:11; 36:17); the punishment is that Israel will be exiled to an unclean land (4:13). The restoration of Israel is described in terms of ceremonial cleansing (36:25). • The temple figures centrally in both Ezekiel’s vision of Israel’s sin and in his vision of her ideal future. Israel’s cardinal sin is her defiling of Yahweh’s sanctuary (5:11). Her ultimate blessing will be to have Yahweh present among his people in a perfect temple (chs 40–48). This priestly interest in ceremonial purity and in the temple flows through into post-exilic prophecy as well (see theology notes).

Ezekiel 8 and biblical theology The Bible begins with God and human beings living together in a sanctuary (Eden). It ends the same way. In Eden life in the sanctuary is disrupted by sin and the human beings are expelled. In Ezekiel something more radical happens; Yahweh himself is ‘driven’ from his sanctuary! NT echoes include Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, especially Matthew’s version, where this is followed by Jesus leaving the city (Matt 21:14-17). The basic theological principle is that relationship with God depends on an undefiled temple (cf. the provisions for cleansing the temple in the law of Moses). Jesus is our undefiled temple, who secures our relationship with God. But we, corporately and individually, are also temples. And we have an obligation to keep these temples pure (Eph 2:21; 1 Cor 3:16-17; 2 Cor 6:16).