Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Ezekiel
Chapter 8: Greater Abominations Than These
In a vision, the Spirit lifts Ezekiel by a lock of his hair and carries him from Babylon to the temple in Jerusalem, and there God gives him a guided tour of horror. Step by step, God shows him the secret idolatry hidden in His own house: an 'image of jealousy' at the gate; seventy elders in a hidden chamber offering incense to carved beasts and idols, convinced 'the LORD seeth us not'; women weeping for the pagan god Tammuz; and, in the inner court, twenty-five men with their backs to the temple, worshipping the rising sun. Four times the refrain drives deeper: 'thou shalt see greater abominations.' This is why the glory must depart, and it is a searching warning that God sees the idolatry we think is hidden.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Ezekiel chapter 8. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. In this temple vision God exposes the hidden idolatry that had filled His house, explaining why His glory would depart. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Carried to Jerusalem
The Spirit transports Ezekiel to the temple to see what is really happening there.
The LORD Seeth Us Not
Elders worship idols in a hidden chamber, sure that God cannot see.
Greater Abominations
Four times God peels back another layer of deeper idolatry in His own house.
Facing the Sun
Men in the inner court turn their backs to God's temple to worship the sun.
That I Should Go Far Off From My Sanctuary (Ezekiel 8:1-6)
As the elders sit before him, the hand of God carries Ezekiel in vision to the temple, where he sees the glory of God, and beside it the "image of jealousy," the great provocation that is driving God far from His sanctuary.
The Seat of the Image of Jealousy
"And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me. Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations."
Hebrew Study
"the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy," semel ha-qinah ha-maqneh (סֵמֶל הַקִּנְאָה הַמַּקְנֶה). An idol set up in the temple courts. God's "jealousy" (qinah) is not petty envy but the rightful, burning zeal of a husband for an exclusive covenant love, "the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God" (Exodus 34:14). To set an idol in His house is spiritual adultery of the most flagrant kind.
"that I should go far off from my sanctuary," lerachaqah me-al miqdashi (לְרָחֳקָה מֵעַל מִקְדָּשִׁי). Idolatry drives God away. His glory does not abandon a faithful people, but persistent, defiant sin in the holy place forces His departure. The chapter as a whole explains the tragic exit of the glory that unfolds in chapters 9-11.
Explanation
Fourteen months after his call, as Ezekiel sits at home with "the elders of Judah" before him, "the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me." He sees again the fiery, glorious figure of chapter 1, and is carried "in the visions of God to Jerusalem." God is about to show him why judgment must fall: the true state of worship in His own temple. At the northern gate stands "the image of jealousy," an idol placed in the very courts of the LORD, "which provoketh to jealousy."
Right beside this idol, "the glory of the God of Israel was there", the holy presence and the blasphemous idol side by side, an intolerable insult. God's question is piercing: "seest thou what they do?... the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary?" Their idolatry is literally driving God out of His own house. And this is only the beginning: "turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations." Sin, once tolerated, always deepens.
Gospel Focus
The "image of jealousy" standing beside the glory of God exposes the great sin of divided worship. God will not share His house, or His people's hearts, with idols, for "the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." His jealousy is love's refusal to share the beloved. Under the new covenant this presses even closer, for now "ye are the temple of God" (1 Corinthians 3:16), and the same jealous love asks whether any "image of jealousy" sits enthroned in our hearts alongside Him, "ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24); "little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21). The tragedy that God should "go far off from my sanctuary" warns us that cherished sin drives away the sense of His presence. The gospel calls us to tear down every rival, so that the God who jealously loves us may dwell undivided in the temple of our lives.
The LORD Seeth Us Not (Ezekiel 8:7-13)
Told to dig through a wall, Ezekiel finds a hidden chamber where seventy elders offer incense to carved beasts and idols in the dark, saying, "The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth."
In the Chambers of His Imagery
"And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do."
Hebrew Study
"the chambers of his imagery," chadrei maskito (חַדְרֵי מַשְׂכִּיתוֹ). Maskit means a carved figure or image, and by extension the "imagination" or inner picture of the heart. There is a double meaning: these were literal chambers painted with idols, but they also picture the secret "chambers" of the imagination where hidden idolatry is cherished. Every heart has such inner rooms.
"The LORD seeth us not," ein YHWH roeh otanu (אֵין יְהוָה רֹאֶה אֹתָנוּ). The lie at the root of secret sin: the belief that God does not see. It is practical atheism, denying God's omniscience. Yet "the eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3); there is no chamber dark enough to hide from Him.
Explanation
God leads Ezekiel deeper. At a "hole in the wall" he is told to "dig," and finds a hidden "door" into a secret chamber. Inside, the walls are covered with "every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel." And there stand "seventy men of the ancients", the elders, the very leaders of the people, each with a censer, filling the room with a "thick cloud of incense" offered to these idols. Among them is Jaazaniah, son of the godly Shaphan who once helped Josiah's reform, a heartbreaking mark of how far the next generation had fallen.
God exposes the lie that makes their secret sin possible: "they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth." They imagine God is either blind or gone, and so they worship idols "in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery." This is the self-deception of all hidden sin, the conviction that no one sees. But God saw it perfectly, and showed it to His prophet. And still He says, "thou shalt see greater abominations that they do."
Gospel Focus
"The LORD seeth us not." This is the oldest lie of secret sin, and it is always false. "There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves" (Job 34:22); "all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13). The "chambers of imagery" remind us that idolatry often lives first in the imagination, in the secret pictures and desires we cherish where we think no one can see. The gospel confronts this comforting lie with the piercing truth that God sees everything, and then answers our exposure with grace: the God who sees our darkest chamber sent His Son so that our secret sins, brought into His light and confessed, may be washed away, "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us" (1 John 1:9). We cannot hide from God; but in Christ we need not, for He forgives what He sees.
Their Backs Toward the Temple (Ezekiel 8:14-18)
Ezekiel sees women weeping for the god Tammuz, and, worst of all, twenty-five men in the inner court with their backs to the temple, worshipping the sun toward the east, so God declares He will deal in fury without pity.
They Worshipped the Sun
"Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them."
Hebrew Study
"Tammuz," ha-Tammuz (הַתַּמּוּז). A Mesopotamian fertility god whose annual "death" was mourned by wailing women in seasonal rites. That such pagan grief was practiced at the gate of the LORD's house shows how thoroughly foreign worship had invaded God's temple. God's people were weeping for a dead idol instead of trusting the living God.
"their backs toward the temple... and they worshipped the sun," achoreihem el-heikhal YHWH (אֲחֹרֵיהֶם אֶל־הֵיכַל יְהוָה). The deepest insult: to worship the sun (a created thing, Deuteronomy 4:19) required turning one's back on the temple, and thus on God Himself. It is the visible posture of apostasy, the back to the Creator, the face to the creature (Romans 1:25). No abomination is "greater" than that.
Explanation
The tour climbs to its climax. At the north gate, "women weeping for Tammuz," participating in a pagan fertility cult right at God's house. Then, "greater abominations than these": in the inner court, "between the porch and the altar", the holiest ground, where the priests should intercede, "about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD," worshipping "the sun toward the east." To face the sun they had to turn their backs on God. It is the perfect picture of a nation that had turned its back on its Creator to worship the creature.
God's verdict is heavy: "Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here?" Beyond idolatry, "they have filled the land with violence", false worship and social injustice always travel together. Therefore God declares, "I will also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." Persistent, defiant sin can finally reach a point where even loud prayers go unheard, not because God cannot hear, but because the time for warning has passed into the time for judgment.
Gospel Focus
Men worshipping the sun "with their backs toward the temple of the LORD" is the Bible's sharpest image of sin's essence: turning from the Creator to worship the creature. Paul describes the same fall, they "worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). The gospel is the great turning back: repentance means turning our faces to God again, and Christ came to reconcile the very backs turned against Him. There is a sobering warning here too, "though they cry... yet will I not hear them", a reminder that God's patience, though vast, is not endless, and that the day of grace should never be presumed upon: "now is the accepted time... now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). While it is called today, turn your face back to the God who, in Christ, stands ready to receive all who return to Him.
Chapter 8 in Review
Ezekiel 8 is God's guided tour of the hidden idolatry in His own temple, showing why His glory must depart. The Spirit carries Ezekiel to Jerusalem, where he sees the "image of jealousy" beside the very glory of God; a secret chamber where seventy elders offer incense to carved idols "in the dark," convinced "the LORD seeth us not"; women "weeping for Tammuz" at the gate; and, worst of all, twenty-five men in the inner court with "their backs toward the temple," worshipping the sun. Four times God says, "thou shalt see greater abominations," peeling back layer after layer, until He declares He "will also deal in fury" and will not hear their cries.
For the Apostolic reader, this chapter is a searching mirror. God is jealous for undivided worship and will not share His temple with idols, a truth that presses on us now that we are the temple of God. Secret sin rests on the lie that "the LORD seeth us not," but God sees every hidden chamber of the heart. And the essence of all sin is turning our backs on the Creator to worship the creature. The gospel confronts these lies and offers the great turning back: the God who sees our darkest chamber sent His Son to forgive what He sees, and calls us, while it is still today, to tear down every idol and turn our faces fully to Him.
- God is jealous for undivided worship; He will not share His house with an "image of jealousy" (8:3; Exodus 34:14).
- Cherished sin drives away the sense of God's presence, "that I should go far off from my sanctuary" (8:6).
- Secret sin rests on the lie "the LORD seeth us not"; but God sees every hidden chamber (8:12; Hebrews 4:13).
- Idolatry often lives first in the "chambers of imagery," the imagination (8:12; Matthew 5:28).
- The essence of sin is turning our backs on the Creator to worship the creature (8:16; Romans 1:25).
- God's patience is not endless; the gospel calls us to turn back "today" (8:18; 2 Corinthians 6:2).
Questions for Reflection
- Is there an "image of jealousy," a rival to God, enthroned in the temple of your heart?
- What idolatry lives in your secret "chambers of imagery," where you think no one sees?
- Do you live as if "the LORD seeth us not," or in the awareness that He sees all?
- In what ways might you have your "back toward the temple," facing the creature instead of the Creator?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. The "image of jealousy" (verse 3) reflects God's covenant jealousy (Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 32:16, 21); we are now the temple He guards (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). "The LORD seeth us not" (verse 12) is refuted by Proverbs 15:3; Job 34:22; Hebrews 4:13; Psalm 139. The "chambers of imagery" recall inner, imagined idolatry (Matthew 5:28). Tammuz (verse 14) was a Mesopotamian fertility deity. Worshipping the sun with backs to the temple (verse 16) is forbidden creature-worship (Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3) and pictures Romans 1:25. God's refusal to hear (verse 18) parallels Proverbs 1:28; Jeremiah 11:11; the urgency to turn today is 2 Corinthians 6:2. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Carried to Jerusalem; the image of jealousy beside the glory; God driven from His sanctuary: Ezekiel 8:1-6; Exodus 34:14; 1 Corinthians 3:16.
- The hidden chamber; elders' idolatry in the dark; "the LORD seeth us not": Ezekiel 8:7-13; Proverbs 15:3; Hebrews 4:13; 1 John 1:9.
- Weeping for Tammuz; backs to the temple worshipping the sun; God will deal in fury: Ezekiel 8:14-18; Deuteronomy 4:19; Romans 1:25; 2 Corinthians 6:2.