Please turn to Ezekiel 8. We would like to cover Ezekiel 8 through 11, but we are not able to read all these chapters. So I will read perhaps two portions and leave the rest with you for the day.
And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord fell there upon me.
Then I beheld, and, lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of His loins and downward, fire; and from His loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal.
And He put forth 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 the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court 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 appearance that I saw in the valley.
Then He said 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 of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
And He said unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel commit here, that I should go far off from My sanctuary? But thou shalt again see yet other great abominations.
Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels were beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
And the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the Lord had showed me.
May we look to the Lord in prayer.
Our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that through our Lord Jesus Christ Thou hast given us an open heaven. How we praise and thank Thee that Thou hast privileged us with a vision of God, that we may behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face and be transformed according to His image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord’s Spirit.
So, our Father, as we are all here, we just look up to Thee. We ask that Thy glory shall transform us. We pray that we may hear Thy voice, that we may see Thee, and that we may see what Thou dost see; that we may be one with Thee, and may be those who receive grace from Thee. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
The prophet Ezekiel, by the river Chebar, saw that the heavens were opened, and he saw the visions of God. This was his salvation.
At that time Ezekiel was indeed in despair. He was thirty years old. He was supposed to enter into the holy temple to serve as a priest unto God. He was a priest in heart. That was the one thing for which he was trained, the one thing in which he was interested, and the one thing for which he lived.
Yet it was a hopeless situation. He was among the captives by the river Chebar, and he had already been there five years. There was absolutely no hope of his return. On the contrary, even the city of Jerusalem would soon be destroyed, and the temple would be completely destroyed.
So far as Ezekiel was concerned, that was his end. Life was meaningless and purposeless. He was indeed in depression and despair. But thank God, at this end of his life, God began with him again. The heavens were opened, and he saw the visions of God.
That delivered him out of despair into hope. It delivered him out of emptiness and purposelessness into usefulness and meaning. God made him a prophet-priest. He was able to serve the purpose of God among the captives. His life became meaningful and effective, and it was all because the glory of the Lord appeared to him.
Dear brothers and sisters, we do believe that this is our salvation. What we need today, above all things, is to live under an open heaven and to see the vision of God. What we need today is to see the glory of the Lord.
If we see the glory of the Lord, it solves all our problems. It gives us life, strength, direction, purpose, and ministry, so that our life on earth will mean something to the Lord. Of course, it will also be fulfillment to us.
So we do hope that God will give us a strong desire to see His glory. This is one thing for which we long: we want to see the glory of the Lord.
The glory of the Lord endures forever. Things have changed and are changing all around us, and we may change, but the glory of the Lord endures forever.
There you find the throne of God. There you find Him who sits upon the throne. There you find the cherubim; they carry the throne wherever God wants to go. In other words, the purpose of God concerning man, and concerning the whole creation, remains forever before God.
It is there, and one day we will be there. So, brothers and sisters, what we need is to catch a glimpse of that glory. That glory will deliver us from despair, disappointment, and frustration, and will lift us up into the very purpose of God. Our life will be lived in His will.
When the glory of the Lord appeared to Ezekiel, the call also came to him. He was called to be a prophet to the nation of Israel.
The word of the Lord came to him and said, “Speak to the people, whether they hear or whether they forbear, because they are a rebellious people. But at least let them know that there has been a prophet among them.”
Dear brothers and sisters, no one can see the glory of the Lord without being called to be a prophet. Of course, by “prophet” I use the word in its broader sense.
You remember Moses said, “Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets.” And Paul said, “Let all prophesy.” In other words, there is a tremendous need today among the people of God to hear God’s voice. There is a tremendous need among God’s people to see what God wants them to see.
The problem today is that we who are God’s people, we who are supposed to see and who are supposed to hear, do not see and do not hear. We need prophetic voices in our days. But who can speak for God? Who can help the people to see what God wants them to see?
Only those who have seen the glory of the Lord. If we see the glory of the Lord, we will receive a calling, and our calling is to tell the people what is in God’s mind: what God wants to convey to us, what He sees concerning us, and what He wants to do with us.
Whether they hear or whether they forbear is not the problem. The problem is that the people of God may know that there has been a prophet among them.
Ezekiel was called to be a prophet to his people, even though outwardly it was almost a futile work. This was a rebellious nation. They would not listen, and their hearts were hardened. Yet Ezekiel was to tell them what he saw and what he heard.
In another sense, even though immediately it did not seem to work, in the long run we find that the prophecy of Ezekiel had its effect. One day there would be a remnant returning, and I do believe that it was partly through the work of Ezekiel.
So, dear brothers and sisters, let us not be disappointed whether people hear or forbear. We have a mission. We want to tell the people of God what we see and what we hear.
God called Ezekiel not only to be a prophet, but also appointed him to be a watchman: to watch what was coming and to warn the people of that which was to come, that hopefully some might be rescued.
Dear brothers and sisters, this will be the same with us today. If we see the vision of God, if the glory of the Lord appears to us, then we are set up as watchmen in the church. We are to warn the people of God, and hopefully some may be rescued.
A year had passed. Ezekiel was now in the sixth year, and he was among his people. The elders of Judah sat before him. Then he said, “I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of fire appeared to me.” A hand took hold of him, and in the Spirit he was lifted up and brought into Jerusalem.
Once again, the glory of the Lord appeared to Ezekiel. That glory took him in the Spirit and brought him to Jerusalem. Why? Because there was a controversy between God and His people. There was a controversy between the glory of the Lord and the shame of the people.
Ezekiel was brought back in vision to Jerusalem, to the house of God. There God wanted to show him the actual condition of the house.
This temple in Jerusalem was not built by man’s initiative alone. We remember that David had such a love for God and such a love for the house of God that he wanted to build a house for God.
If you turn to Psalm 132, you can see the heart of David. David wrote a song concerning his passion and love for God and for His house.
Lord, remember for David
All his affliction;
How he sware unto the Lord,
And vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob:
Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house,
Nor go up into my bed;
I will not give sleep to mine eyes,
Or slumber to mine eyelids;
Until I find out a place for the Lord,
A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob.
In the heart of David, the man after God’s own heart, there was a passion and a longing to build God a house. At that time, the ark of God was hidden in the wood of the forest. The ark of God was neglected.
Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah:
We found it in the field of the wood.
We will go into His tabernacles;
We will worship at His footstool.
Arise, O Lord, into Thy resting-place;
Thou, and the ark of Thy strength.
Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
And let Thy saints shout for joy.
For Thy servant David’s sake
Turn not away the face of Thine anointed.
It was in the heart of David to build God a house, that God might enter into His rest. Remember, God had no rest because God did not have a house. The ark of God was hidden and neglected.
David found it and brought it into the tent of David on Mount Zion. He had a desire to build God a house. God appreciated it very much, but because David was a man who had shed much blood, God said, “You are not to build it; but your son Solomon will build it.”
So Solomon built the temple. It was magnificent. After the temple was finished, on the day it was dedicated to God, you remember how fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering. The glory of the Lord appeared and filled the whole house.
The priests had to retreat. When all the people saw the glory of the Lord filling the house, they bowed down upon their faces and worshiped God, saying, “For He is good; for His lovingkindness endureth forever.”
What a sight! The glory of the Lord was in the house and filled the house. God was satisfied with the house. God was satisfied with His people. He entered into His rest and rested Himself among His own people.
About four hundred years later, Ezekiel was brought back in vision to Jerusalem, to that house. But what kind of house had it become?
Outwardly, it was still the same house. Outwardly, it was still glorious. It was a wonderful and beautiful edifice. Outwardly, the sacrifices were offered. Outwardly, the priesthood was functioning in the temple. Outwardly, the people who remained in Jerusalem still came to the house of God to worship God.
Outwardly, it seemed as if nothing had changed. Everything ran on as usual. But that was not the way the glory of the Lord saw His house.
Why did God bring Ezekiel back into the temple? Did God not know what was going on in that house? Certainly He did. But why did He bring Ezekiel back to see the situation?
Remember, Ezekiel was a priest in heart. He loved God very much, and he loved the house of God. His love toward the house of God was almost like the heart of David. But why should God bring Ezekiel back to that house and show him things that would hurt Ezekiel to his very bones?
It is as if God was trying to prove a point. God was trying to show His prophet how much He was hurt by what the children of Israel did in that house. He wanted sympathy from His prophet. He wanted His prophet to stand with Him.
He wanted His prophet to tell the children of Israel what the actual condition of the house was. Why? Because their eyes were blind. Even though all these things had been happening for a long time, the people did not realize it.
Their eyes were blind, their ears were deaf, and their hearts were hardened. So God wanted to show His prophet Ezekiel what the condition of the house actually was in relation to His glory. He would measure the house by His glory to see whether the house measured up to His glory.
God wanted His prophet to see, and He wanted His prophet to tell the people. Whether they heard or forbore did not matter. God wanted to tell these people what the condition of the house was before His glory.
In that vision Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord. He was brought to the entry of the inner gate that looked toward the north. God said to him, “Son of man, lift up now thine eyes toward the north.”
Ezekiel lifted up his eyes toward the north, and behold, northward of the gate of the altar was this image of jealousy in the entry.
Now remember, Ezekiel saw this in a vision. In other words, it was not necessary that there should be a physical image of jealousy standing at the entry of the gate to the altar. There might have been such an image, or there might not have been. We are never told what that image of jealousy actually was, but that was not important.
Why? Because Ezekiel saw this in a vision. In the vision he saw the image of jealousy there by the entry to the altar.
Now, brothers and sisters, what is the altar? The altar is the altar of burnt offering. In other words, the altar is the place where the people of God worship. The altar is the place where they offer sacrifices and gifts to God. The altar is the place where the people of God devote themselves to God.
But by the side of that altar stood the image of jealousy. We do not know what that image of jealousy was, but we do know that our God is a jealous God.
Anything that takes away the glory of God, anything that shares the glory of God, anything that displaces God, anything that takes the place of God, and anything that shares the place of God is an image of jealousy.
Whether it is physical, whether it is visible, or whether it is moral, spiritual, and invisible, it is the same.
Dear brothers and sisters, as the people of God approached the altar and offered sacrifices to God, they were supposed to give themselves to God. They were to worship God in spirit and in truth. They were to serve God with singleness of heart.
There is only one God, and this is the one God whom we worship and serve. But by the side of the altar was the image of jealousy.
Were they offering sacrifices on the altar to God? Were they serving God and worshiping God? Outwardly they might have been, but what they actually did was sacrifice to the image of jealousy.
You remember Stephen in the book of Acts. When he stood before the council and witnessed, he said that when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they outwardly carried the tabernacle of God and the ark of God. But Stephen said, “You were carrying with you your idol,” because that was the reality.
Here you find that the people of God outwardly offered sacrifices on the altar, but in actuality they were worshiping idols. They had an image of jealousy beside God. They worshiped something else.
That something else might even have been in the name of God. Remember the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. Moses went up to the mountain to receive the law, and the children of Israel said, “We do not know what has become of Moses. Make us a god that will lead us.”
So Aaron made a golden calf. Probably they called the name of the golden calf “the Lord.” There they worshiped the golden calf, thinking they were worshiping God. But, dear brothers and sisters, that is the image of jealousy: in the name of God, but not God.
God said, “Son of man, seest thou what they do? The great abominations that the house of Israel commit here, to cause Me to go far off from My sanctuary.”
It was as though God asked Ezekiel, “Did you see what they are doing? They are driving Me away from My house. This is My house. This is My sanctuary. This is where I live. This is where I rest. This is where I am worshiped. This is where I am served. But what they are doing there, I cannot stand any longer. They are driving Me out. I am driven out of My own house. Do you not see that?”
How it hurts God’s heart! But God said, “Yet again thou shalt see great abominations.” As if this was not enough, God said, “You will see more.”
God took Ezekiel to the entry of the court. There was a wall, and God said, “Dig through the wall.” There was a hole, so Ezekiel dug through the wall. Behind the wall he saw a chamber of imagery.
All kinds of creeping things and creatures were painted all around the wall. There he saw seventy men, the elders of the nation of Israel. They were there with censers in their hands, and they were burning incense.
The seventy elders of Israel were the leaders. They were the civil leaders of the nation of Israel. They were supposed to lead the nation to worship God. They were there in the court of God, yet in secret they were worshiping their imaginations.
Everyone had his own imagination. One might have an imagination of a fox; another, an imagination of a snake; another, an imagination of a crocodile. Everyone had his own imagination of what God was to be.
Everyone had his own concept of God—not according to revelation, not according to the Word, and not according to the truth, but according to his own imagination. Dear brothers and sisters, were they burning incense to God? No, they were burning incense to their concept of God.
Outwardly, they were burning incense to God and offering prayers to God. But actually, they led the nation of Israel after their imaginations, far away from God.
As if this was still not enough, God said, “Thou shalt yet again see greater abominations.” He brought Ezekiel to the gate of the Lord’s house that was toward the north. Behold, there were women weeping for Tammuz.
At the entrance of the house of God were women weeping for Tammuz. We are told that Tammuz was associated with Adonis, and with the worship of nature. According to the legend, he was killed by a wild boar but was resurrected.
In a sense, it was natural worship: the sun as it goes down and returns, the winter and spring. In other words, these women were worshiping according to the dictates of their emotions. They worshiped as their emotions led them.
It was natural religion—not revealed, but natural; emotion, but not reality.
God said, “You will see yet more.” He brought Ezekiel 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 were worshiping the sun toward the east.
Here you find something even closer. Between the porch and the altar is almost within the temple itself. There were twenty-five men there. Who were these twenty-five people?
Some have suggested that because the priests served in twenty-four courses, with the high priest directing the twenty-four courses, the twenty-five people were probably one from each course together with the high priest. In other words, this was the priesthood.
The priesthood was in the temple, serving God in the house of God, in the holy place. Yet what were they doing? They turned their backs toward the ark of God and the mercy seat. They turned their backs toward God, and they worshiped the sun.
Instead of the Creator, they worshiped the creation. Think of that.
Oh, brothers and sisters, not only the civil leaders, not only the women—for women have great influence as far as the condition of the nation is concerned, and how true that is. Dear sisters, you have great influence.
Not only the civil leaders, not only the women, but even the priesthood—the religious leaders. What were they doing there at the temple? They were supposed to serve God in purity, but they turned their backs against God. They served the creature, the creation, instead of the Creator.
God showed all these things to the prophet Ezekiel. God said, “I cannot stand it any longer.”
How longsuffering God was! He must have suffered much through the years. He sent His prophets to His people to remind them and show them what they actually were, but they did not listen.
Even at this last hour, God raised up Ezekiel. God said, in effect, “It is hopeless, but hope against hope. Tell them what you saw.”
Dear brothers and sisters, are we in a better position today?
You remember at the time of our Lord Jesus. When He was thirty years old, at the beginning of His public ministry, He went to the temple. This was the temple restored by the remnant and beautified by King Herod.
When our Lord Jesus entered the temple area and saw all the money changers, the cattle, and the sheep, He could not stand it any longer. He made a scourge of cords, drove the cattle and sheep out, overturned the tables of the money changers, and said, “Ye make My Father’s house a house of merchandise. How can you do that?”
Every year, countless people visited the temple. Every year the children of Israel came from all corners of the earth to worship God. Every year they came to offer cattle and sheep and to pay their tribute money to the temple.
For the sake of convenience, the priests had actually provided the money changers and all the cattle and sheep that had already been approved. The people could simply come, change their money, pay the tribute, buy the sacrifices, and offer them.
They did not need to bring cattle from their farms. Even if they did, the sacrifices might not be approved. All these animals had already been approved by the priests. All they needed to do was buy them and offer them. What convenience it was—but how profitable it was to the priests!
Nobody seemed to mind. People came and went, thinking this was expedient, convenient, what it should be, what it must be, and what they must live with. Nobody seemed to care.
The Lord Jesus entered the temple. He saw what God saw. He saw what the glory of God saw. When He saw that scene, He could not contain Himself. He had to do something, because it made His Father’s house a bazaar.
Did they listen? They did not. After three years, at the end of the ministry of our Lord Jesus, the last time He was in Jerusalem before He was crucified, He entered into the temple and saw the business going on as usual.
Oh, how He was hurt! Once again He cleansed the temple. He overturned the tables, drove out the cattle, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but ye make it a den of robbers.” You are robbers.
And because of that, He was crucified. They were unhappy. They would rather have the money changers. They were quite content with an empty temple. They did not care whether the glory of the Lord was there or not.
Oh, brothers and sisters, what are we doing today?
Brothers and sisters, look at the church today. Do you see a beautiful building? Do you see a wonderful house? Do you see all the activities going on? Do you see all the worship in the name of the Lord Jesus?
As if everything goes on as usual. As if God is worshiped and served. But where is the glory of the Lord?
Is God happy? Is God satisfied? Is He worshiped? Is He served? Oh, brothers and sisters, how we see the image of jealousy in the very house of God.
We serve according to the teaching and instruction of men, according to the imagination of our thoughts, and according to the traditions of the fathers. We serve out of convenience and expediency. We think that we have to live with all these things because they are religious things.
Brothers and sisters, what is the house of God today? At the very side of the altar, you see the image of jealousy.
In the court, you find a chamber of imagery. At the entrance of the house of God, you find women weeping, as if they are very religious and emotional, as if they love God so much—but do they worship God?
Even the religious leaders may lead people away from worshiping God into worshiping creation.
Do we worship God in spirit and in truth? Is our worship merely once a week in a certain place?
The Lord said to the Samaritan woman that the hour was coming when people would worship neither in Jerusalem nor in a mountain. But those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and truth, because the Father seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Brothers and sisters, are we the people of God who worship God in spirit and truth? Are we the house of God where His glory rests? Or are we merely going through religious motions, conducting religious activity in the name of the Lord Jesus, only for the Lord to say one day, “I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity”?
Oh, may the glory of the Lord show us what the house of God is today. If you do not see the glory of the Lord, brothers and sisters, you remain in darkness. You think that the house of God is beautiful and wonderful.
But under the light of the glory of the Lord, what will you see? It hurts God, and it should hurt you.
Brothers and sisters, do you feel hurt? Are you satisfied? How many of God’s people today are so contented because they are religious, because they think they are serving God. But are they? Is the glory of God there?
What was the result? God told the prophet Ezekiel, “I cannot stand it any longer. I have to judge the situation.”
In vision, Ezekiel saw six men coming with weapons of slaughter, and another man clothed in linen with an inkhorn by his side. God said to the man clothed in linen, “Go through the city and put a mark upon the foreheads of those who moan and cry for the abominations that are in the temple.”
The man went through the city and put a mark upon their foreheads. Then God sent the six men with weapons of slaughter to slay men, women, and children, beginning from the temple. “Let the temple be defiled by corpses.” So the six men began to slay the people, and Ezekiel was spared.
Ezekiel cried, “Ah, Lord God! Wilt Thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of Thy wrath? Art Thou going to destroy Thy people altogether? Wilt Thou not spare some?”
Ezekiel was spared. Historically, Jeremiah was spared. A small remnant was saved, but the nation was destroyed.
Dear brothers and sisters, 1 Peter 4 says that judgment shall begin with the house of God.
It is true that judgment is coming soon upon this world. One day, the world will know the wrath of the Lamb. Today it is the patience of the Lamb, but one day the world will know the wrath of the Lamb. They shall hide themselves in caves and call for the mountains to fall upon them, because the wrath of the Lamb has come.
But, brothers and sisters, before judgment comes upon the world, judgment has already begun with the house of God.
Not necessarily physical death, but spiritual death. If we do not repent, we will be spiritually dead. The glory of the Lord will depart. If we repent, we will be spared, and we shall see His glory.
Dear brothers and sisters, by the grace of God, may we be among those who mourn. But who are they?
Blessed are those who weep. Blessed are those who cry because they see the abomination that is going on in the house of God in the name of Jesus. Oh, what abomination! What blasphemy!
Dear brothers and sisters, do you see? Do you cry?
Yes, the nation of Israel would be judged. But the saddest thing was that the glory of the Lord departed from the house.
This house was built not for men, but for God. It was built for the glory of God to dwell in it. God was grieved and grieved, hurt and hurt, but He would not leave.
But a day came when He had to leave. If you read Ezekiel 8 through 11, you will find first of all that Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord upon the throne, upon the cherubim. But the cherubim began to lift their wings.
They came out of the holiest of all and rested upon the threshold of the house. God was leaving, but He lingered. He desired to live among His people, but He was driven out.
He lingered there on the threshold. Then, from the threshold, He was lifted again to the east side of the court. He waited.
Then the cherubim lifted away, and they carried the glory of the Lord out of the city to the mountain on the east side of the city. Ichabod: no glory. Where is the glory? The glory of the Lord had departed.
Even so, the glory of the Lord was on that mountain, overlooking the city and overlooking the house. On the one hand, it watched the city and the house being destroyed.
But on the other hand, there was a promise.
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:
That they may walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
Even though God was going to destroy the city, the house, and the people, yet in His mercy He would spare a remnant—not because they were better than the rest, but because they had a broken and contrite heart.
With this remnant God said, “I will give them a new heart, a new spirit, a heart of flesh. They shall keep My statutes and My covenant. I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
We know this is the new covenant. Oh, what mercy! What promise! Why? Because men may fail, but God never fails.
What God has in His mind from the very beginning concerning His house shall be fully realized. The grace of God and the mercy of God will do it—not because of man, but because of God Himself.
Thank God: in judgment there is mercy. May the Lord have mercy upon us. Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, we are Thy people. Thou hast chosen us even before the foundation of the world. We are chosen in Christ Jesus in love.
Our Father, we are Thy house, Thy resting place, Thy home.
But how we repent before Thee. We have made Thy house a house of merchandise. We have made the house of prayer a den of robbers. Oh, wilt Thou not come and cleanse us?
Do not allow us to continue in abominations. Lord, if Thou canst not stand it, do not allow us to stand it.
Oh, come, Lord. Cleanse us. Drive away all that which is contrary to Thee. Renew us in holiness and purity, that we may walk in Thy way, that we may keep Thy commandments, that we may be Thy people, and that Thou mayest be glorified in the midst of Thine own people.
Lord, God only, help us. We look up to Thee. Have mercy, mercy, mercy upon us. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.