And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
The glory of the God of Israel was present there at Jerusalem, the same glory Ezekiel had seen in the vision in the plain. He was taken there in the visions of God when the Spirit lifted him between earth and heaven and brought him to the door of the inner gate looking toward the north. The glory was shown before the messages of warning and reproof were given, while idolatrous worship of Tammuz and of the sun toward the east was being carried on in the temple. The marking and sparing shown in this vision is the same work as the sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads before hurt is permitted to come (Revelation 7:2-3). The mark is set in the forehead because the forehead is the seat of the mind with which God's law is served, and it marks for safety those who grieve over sin and turn from it.
Vision Setting and Glory
The verse was given in open vision in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as Ezekiel sat in his house with the elders of Judah sitting before him and the hand of the Lord fell upon him there in their presence. It was an open vision in which the prophet could be seen while in the vision, so that the people could know something of the power attending it. There appeared a form like fire from the loins downward and like brightness like amber from the loins upward, which put forth a hand and took him by a lock of his head, and the Spirit lifted him up between earth and heaven and brought him in the visions of God to Jerusalem. He was brought to the door of the inner gate looking toward the north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy.
The vision was given among the captives by the Chebar, in a Babylonian setting where Ezekiel would have been familiar with heathen rites. The glory of the God of Israel was present there in Jerusalem, according to the vision Ezekiel had previously seen in the plain. That glory appeared before he was given messages of warning and reproof. The visions of living creatures and wheels reveal God's glory and His orderly rule over the nations.
The vision belongs with Ezekiel 1-10 as a vision of heavenly things, a visible representation of the sanctuary and true tabernacle in heaven which the Lord pitched and not man. It reveals the exalted position occupied by a covering cherub, and consequently the great power possessed by a covering cherub.
Idolatry Exposed and Judged
The glory of the God of Israel was present in Jerusalem in the vision given to Ezekiel, just as it had been in his earlier vision on the plain. In that vision pagan worship was exposed as taking place inside God's own temple. Prominent men of Israel were seen worshiping Tammuz and turning their backs on the temple to worship the sun toward the east, with its accompanying abominations.
The chapter stands as a condemnation of idolatrous nature-worship. In it people had turned from the Creator to the sun. They had made worship serve the glorifying of lust.
God permitted Ezekiel to see sins committed in the dark in the chambers of imagery. This proves that transgressing the second commandment does not require carving or molding or casting a graven image and bowing down to it. The image concept exists in the mind before it is made in concrete form, and a man may have a pantheon of gods in the temple of his mind which God sees as cherished imaginings of sins and lusts. Whatever object a man daily bows to and renders homage to — farms, houses, automobiles, art, books, his own handiwork — that he worships as a false god. Even without making a caricature of a man or an ox or a goat he is truly an idolater and a transgressor, and the grace of Christ can save men from every species of such false worship, open or in secret.
Amid this gross idolatry, especially sun-worship, God sought to turn the people back to true worship. Those who grieved over sin and turned from it He marked for safety. That marking and the judgment that followed typify the last-days sealing work and the plagues of judgment.
Sealing Work Foretold
The chapter in which the glory of the God of Israel appeared is a type of the sealing work described in Revelation 7. The vision running through Ezekiel 8 and 9 presents the same work as Revelation 7:2-3, the sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads before hurt is permitted to come.
The glory was present there in Jerusalem according to the vision previously seen in the plain. The surrounding vision lays bare gross idolatry in Israel, especially sun-worship, while God seeks to turn the people back to true worship. Those who grieve over sin and turn from it are marked for safety. That marking followed by judgment typifies the sealing work and the plagues of judgment in the last days.
The seal or mark is placed in the forehead because the forehead is the seat of the mind. It is with the mind that the law of God is served.
The glory of the God of Israel was present there at Jerusalem, the same glory Ezekiel had seen in the vision in the plain. He was taken there in the visions of God when the Spirit lifted him between earth and heaven and brought him to the door of the inner gate looking toward the north. The glory was shown before the messages of warning and reproof were given, while idolatrous worship of Tammuz and of the sun toward the east was being carried on in the temple. The marking and sparing shown in this vision is the same work as the sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads before hurt is permitted to come (Revelation 7:2-3). The mark is set in the forehead because the forehead is the seat of the mind with which God's law is served, and it marks for safety those who grieve over sin and turn from it.
Vision Setting and Glory
The verse was given in open vision in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as Ezekiel sat in his house with the elders of Judah sitting before him and the hand of the Lord fell upon him there in their presence. It was an open vision in which the prophet could be seen while in the vision, so that the people could know something of the power attending it. There appeared a form like fire from the loins downward and like brightness like amber from the loins upward, which put forth a hand and took him by a lock of his head, and the Spirit lifted him up between earth and heaven and brought him in the visions of God to Jerusalem. He was brought to the door of the inner gate looking toward the north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy.
The vision was given among the captives by the Chebar, in a Babylonian setting where Ezekiel would have been familiar with heathen rites. The glory of the God of Israel was present there in Jerusalem, according to the vision Ezekiel had previously seen in the plain. That glory appeared before he was given messages of warning and reproof. The visions of living creatures and wheels reveal God's glory and His orderly rule over the nations.
The vision belongs with Ezekiel 1-10 as a vision of heavenly things, a visible representation of the sanctuary and true tabernacle in heaven which the Lord pitched and not man. It reveals the exalted position occupied by a covering cherub, and consequently the great power possessed by a covering cherub.
Idolatry Exposed and Judged
The glory of the God of Israel was present in Jerusalem in the vision given to Ezekiel, just as it had been in his earlier vision on the plain. In that vision pagan worship was exposed as taking place inside God's own temple. Prominent men of Israel were seen worshiping Tammuz and turning their backs on the temple to worship the sun toward the east, with its accompanying abominations.
The chapter stands as a condemnation of idolatrous nature-worship. In it people had turned from the Creator to the sun. They had made worship serve the glorifying of lust.
God permitted Ezekiel to see sins committed in the dark in the chambers of imagery. This proves that transgressing the second commandment does not require carving or molding or casting a graven image and bowing down to it. The image concept exists in the mind before it is made in concrete form, and a man may have a pantheon of gods in the temple of his mind which God sees as cherished imaginings of sins and lusts. Whatever object a man daily bows to and renders homage to — farms, houses, automobiles, art, books, his own handiwork — that he worships as a false god. Even without making a caricature of a man or an ox or a goat he is truly an idolater and a transgressor, and the grace of Christ can save men from every species of such false worship, open or in secret.
Amid this gross idolatry, especially sun-worship, God sought to turn the people back to true worship. Those who grieved over sin and turned from it He marked for safety. That marking and the judgment that followed typify the last-days sealing work and the plagues of judgment.
Sealing Work Foretold
The chapter in which the glory of the God of Israel appeared is a type of the sealing work described in Revelation 7. The vision running through Ezekiel 8 and 9 presents the same work as Revelation 7:2-3, the sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads before hurt is permitted to come.
The glory was present there in Jerusalem according to the vision previously seen in the plain. The surrounding vision lays bare gross idolatry in Israel, especially sun-worship, while God seeks to turn the people back to true worship. Those who grieve over sin and turn from it are marked for safety. That marking followed by judgment typifies the sealing work and the plagues of judgment in the last days.
The seal or mark is placed in the forehead because the forehead is the seat of the mind. It is with the mind that the law of God is served.