Scripture Reading : Ezekiel 8
Theme : Idol Worship in the Temple
Image of Jealousy (1-6)
The vision began in vv.1–6 with Ezekiel seeing the same manifestation of God’s glory that he had seen on the river Kebar in chapters 1–3. The same appearance of a likeness of a man appears in chapter 1 and 8. This is Jesus. There is huge contrast between the splendid glory of God and the dark perversion of idol worship. The idol in God’s temple is not specifically identified. Israel’s idolatry will get progressively worse.
Elders Worshipping Idols (7-13).
The elders are leaders of the nation along with the king. The leader of the group is Jaazaniah. They privately worship idols of animals and other disgusting things. They rationalize their idolatry by thinking God is not omnipresent and omniscient, and by thinking God is not faithful and does not care about the nation anymore. Their sinfulness misinterprets everything that God does.
Women Worship Tammuz (14-15).
Tammuz is a god of fertility and rain. The women worship this god of materialism in the temple, which will inevitably cause their husbands to worship materialism too since the husbands are passive and want to please their wives instead of God (cf. Jer. 44:19).
Sun Worship (16-18). Idolatry gets worse as depicted in this passage. There are people who worship the sun in the inner court of God’s temple. They are essentially giving God the finger in His face. It is a very offensive and disgusting. The whole society was engrossed in idolatry. God will surely judge them for their gross rebellion. His patience and pity will end.
Praying the Scripture
Leaders are key to any country or organization. The evil elders of Israel led to the downfall of the nation. For Christians, God constantly warns us not to follow false teachers or else we will suffer bad consequences. Those who want to itch their ears and listen to heretical teachers and prosperity gospel preachers will end up in hell like these Jewish idol worshippers. Pray that you do not follow heretic teachers and warn others of heretical teachers.
经文：以西结书8
主题：圣殿中的偶像崇拜
惹忌邪的偶像（1-6）。
这异象从1-6节开始；以西结在这儿所见的神之光辉与他在第一至第三章中，在迦巴鲁河所见的一样。这仿佛人（或火）的形状也在第一章与第八章经文出现。神荣耀之光辉与偶像崇拜的黑暗区别甚大。神并没有明确指出殿中的偶像是什么。以色列的偶像崇拜只会日益猖狂。
众长老崇拜偶像（7-13）。
长老们与君王都是以色列国的领袖。这群长老的首领是雅撒尼亚。他们私底下崇拜动物及其他可憎的偶像。他们将自己的恶行合理化，心想神并非无所不在、无所不知的，也误以为神不信实，已不在乎这个国家了。他们的罪性曲解了神所做的一切。
妇女崇拜搭模斯（14-15）。
搭模斯是负责生育与降雨的神明。妇女在殿中崇拜物质之神的举动，必然也会造成她们的丈夫崇拜物质享受，因为他们是被动的，想讨之喜悦的对象是他们的妻子，不是神（参：耶44:19）。
拜日头（16-18）。偶像崇拜在这篇经文中逐步恶化。有人竟然在耶和华殿的内院崇拜太阳。他们实际上是在挖苦、羞辱神。这是极度令人讨厌和作呕的行为。整个社会都沉迷与偶像崇拜中。神必然会因他们公然的悖逆施行审判。神的忍耐和怜悯将止息。
用经文祷告
首领是任何国家或组织的核心人物。以色列邪恶的长老们造成了这个国家的衰败。对基督徒而言，神也不断地告诫我们不要跟从假教师，否则我们将承受惨痛的后果。若有人的耳朵发痒，只想听从异端教导和致富福音教师们的话，他们将像这群拜偶像的犹太人一样，沦落地狱。祷告你不会跟从异端教师，并告诫他人不要那么做。
