Idols in the Temple Ezekiel 8:1-18

-God makes us confront the reality of idolatry in our lives

Johnny Cash is a guy who would make almost any list of greatest country music singers who ever lived. He made his name and reputation as a hard-living and hard-singing guy, but his trademark was his wardrobe. So, they called him “the Man in Black”. It became so much a part of his image, that he eventually wrote a protest song to explain it. In it, he sang:

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day And tell the world that everything's okay But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back Until things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black

Today, we are talking about a man carrying a hard message. It’s bad news, but we must face it!

I. God Hates Idolatry vv. 1-4

When we pick up Ezekiel’s story, about a year has passed and the Lord speaks to Ezekiel again with another vision

God acts in a dramatic way, grabbing Ezekiel by the hair and pulling him between heaven and earth and giving him a vision of Jerusalem

In the vision, Ezekiel sees the Temple in Jerusalem and what he sees there will be appalling

There are idols in the temple, an image that provokes jealousy

There are two things present that cannot coexist, idols and the glory of the Lord

God will not put up with this; the presence of idols will cause Him to forsake the temple

God makes Ezekiel confront this reality, because it is the sin, in a lot of ways.

When we commit idolatry, we forsake the worship of the true God and give our adoration to an inferior substitute

While it may seem idols are no longer a part of our reality, I believe that we are beset by idols on all sides!

They are gods of comfort, convenience, and consumerism!

What other gods could we have besides the Lord? Plenty. For Israel there were the Canaanite Baals, those jolly nature gods whose worship was a rampage of gluttony, drunkenness, and ritual prostitution. For us there are still the great gods Sex, Shekels, and Stomach (an unholy trinity constituting one god: self), and the other enslaving trio, Pleasure, Possessions, and Position, whose worship is described as "The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16). Football, the Firm, and Family are also gods for some. Indeed the list of other gods is endless, for anything that anyone allows to run his life becomes his god and the claimants for this prerogative are legion. In the matter of life's basic loyalty, temptation is a many-headed monster.

James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.

II. God Identifies Idolatry vv. 5-16

I. Idolatry is Infidelity vv. 5-6

First, we see that idolatry is a form of infidelity

There is an image that provokes jealousy

The idol has been moved into the temple reserved for the Lord

The people of Jerusalem do not seem to initially plan to reject the Lord; they just want to add to their religious life

This is an act of spiritual infidelity

You cannot have both the Lord and idols, because our God is a jealous God

He is not an egomaniac, but instead loves us too much to share us with things that are worthless

This is an issue that we must recognize:

We cannot have a lot of God and a little bit of idolatry

Our hearts must be given wholly to Him!

II. Idolatry is Abominable vv. 7-10

Next, we see that idolatry is a kind of abomination

Ezekiel digs through a wall and he finds elders of Israel in hidden rooms, covered with vile images

Engraved on the walls, there are pictures of creeping things and loathsome beasts

Of all of the things that one could worship, idolatry will always trend to the lowest possible level

Instead of rejoicing in the glory of the God of Israel (which Ezekiel had seen) they are worshipping images of frogs, and dogs, and bugs!

We must understand this about idolatry:

It will take you to abominable places

You will begin to love things that once disgusted you

It is a transformation that will make you unrecognizable

This is always one of the hardest things for me as a pastor: When I see what people have become. Transformation is both good news and bad news, depending on what you are becoming!

III. Idolatry is a Personal Shame vv. 11-12

In the hidden room full of abominable images, there are 70 elders of Israel hiding themselves

They remain hidden because they do not want to be seen, either by people or by God

They want to stay in the dark, because the act is shameful

Things that ought to shame you will become things that you cannot release

They rationalize it:

The Lord does not see

The Lord has abandoned us

Neither is true and they are just that, rationalizations!

Secret sin and idolatry go hand in hand

While we know that the Lord does know, we begin to live as though He does not

We do things in the dark, with no recognition that it will be brought to the light

This is part of why dealing with it is critical: it won’t stay hidden!

Luke 12:2–3

[2] Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. [3] Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. (ESV)

IV. Idolatry is Immoral vv. 13-14

In the next scene, the reference feels a little obscure, but I think it is worth noting

Ezekiel sees another view of the temple, where the women are weeping for Tammuz

Tammuz was a fertility idol and his worship was marked by sexual immorality

Throughout history, whenever people reject the ways of the Lord, they embrace an immoral sexual ethic

Here, there is a direct correlation, as the fertility idols were worshipped through cult prostitution

Today, there is a false belief that if you cast off the restraints given by God, you will find freedom

Instead, these women are experiencing a kind of emotional captivity to a god that will eventually destroy them

Idolatry and immorality go hand in hand

V. Idolatry is a Corporate Rejection vv. 15-16

In the final scene, we see about 25 men standing at the entrance to the temple

These men are in the place of the priests, where they should stand and bless God’s people

However, now they face the sun and give their worship to the creation, rather than the Creator

Think about the power of this image:

Their backs are turned from the Lord; they have rejected Him completely now

Instead, they are completely given over to falsehood and it infects the entirety of the nation

The full fruit of the matter is on display

This is no longer a light infidelity

It is an outright rejection of God

In The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen retells a tale from ancient India: Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability. Time went by, and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned.

"I have mastered a science," said the first, "by which I can take but a bone of some creature and create the flesh that goes with it."

"I," said the second, "know how to grow that creature's skin and hair if there is flesh on its bones."

The third said, "I am able to create its limbs if I have flesh, the skin, and the hair."

"And I," concluded the fourth, "know how to give life to that creature if its form is complete."

Thereupon the brothers went into the jungle to find a bone so they could demonstrate their specialities. As fate would have it, the bone they found was a lion's. One added flesh to the bone, the second grew hide and hair, the third completed it with matching limbs, and the fourth gave the lion life. Shaking its mane, the ferocious beast arose and jumped on his creators. He killed them all and vanished contentedly into the jungle.

We too have the capacity to create what can devour us. Goals and dreams can consume us. Possessions and property can turn and destroy us--unless we first seek God's kingdom and righteousness, and allow Him to breathe into what we make of life.

III. God Judges Idolatry vv. 17-18

The time has come and the Lord has had enough; He delivers His warning to Ezekiel:

God has been provoked to act

The cocktail of idolatry and immorality, mixed with violence causes God to intervene

He will not be mocked!

A day comes when God says “Enough!”

We must live with this awareness; God will not delay forever in His judgment

Now, while we have the opportunity, we must turn from whatever false gods we find ourselves embracing and give ourselves completely to Him!

According to a traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent. There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food and drink.

The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So Abraham asked him, "Don't you worship God?"

The old traveler replied, "I worship fire only and reverence no other god."

When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out his his tent into the cold night air.

When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, "I forced him out because he did not worship you."

God answered, "I have suffered him these eighty years although he dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?"

How long has God been patiently waiting on you?

2 Peter 3:9–10

[9] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. [10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (ESV)