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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 8:7

Verse 7 Here now the Prophet is brought to another place, where another kind of abomination is shown. If an idol had been erected in some recess of the temple only, even that impiety when joined with sacrilege could not have been borne. But when all parts of the temple were contaminated with such filth, hence we collect that the people was utterly desperate. For the Prophet says, that he was led into a more secret place, and since there was a hole there, he dug it by God’s command, so that it... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 8:11

Verse 11 He says also, that seventy elders of the house of Israel made incense for their idols I do not think that the seventy who were chosen for ruling the people are referred to here, though I suppose the Prophet to allude to this number. For we know that from the beginning seventy were set over the people, and were chosen from each tribe, and were united together. But with regard to this place, I think the number seventy is used of those whom, although they were not prefects, they called... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 8:12

Verse 12 Again God questions his servant: we have explained the reason — that he may pass sentence as a judge on his own people, whence it may be more clearly evident that those who had provoked God were unworthy of any pardon. Thou seest, says he, what the elders do? Through a feeling of honor he does not here name these elders of the house of Israel, but rather reproves their ingratitude, because they so drive others with them into alliance with their impiety. For elders ought to show the way... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:1-16

Gradual disclosure of human sin. The prophet notes the exact date of the vision, so that, if any doubt arose, the circumstance could be verified, so long as any one of these elders survived. These details of day and month may seem to many readers needless and tedious; yet, in an earlier day, they probably served an important purpose, and may be again useful in a future age. Even now they demonstrate with what diligent care the prophet preserved the records of Divine manifestations. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:7

To the door of the court. What follows suggests that the prophet was led to the gate that opened from the inner to the outer court. This gas surrounded by chambers or cells ( Jeremiah 35:4 ). The term for "wall" ( kir ) is that specially used for the wall which encloses a whole group of buildings ( Numbers 35:4 ). Behold a hole in the wall. The fact was clearly significant. The worship here was more clandestine than that of the "image of jealousy." We are not warranted, perhaps, in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:7-13

The chambers of imagery; or, secret sins. "And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall," etc. In the case of "the image of jealousy" the idolatry of the Israelites was open; in this case it is secret. In that the abominations were committed by the house of Israel; in this by the elders of the house of israel. The paragraph suggests several observations on secret sins. I. THE MOST HEINOUS SINS ARE GENERALLY COMMITTED IN ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:10

Every form of creeping things. The words obviously paint the theriomorphic worship of Egypt, the scarabseus probably being prominent. The alliance between Jehoiakim and Pharaoh ( 2 Kings 24:1-20 :33-35), and which Zedekiah was endeavouring to renew, would naturally bring about a revival of that cultus. Small chambers in rock or tomb filled with such pictured symbols were specially characteristic of it. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:10

Base idolatry. Placed, as the children of Israel were, in a very central position among the nations, they were exposed to a great variety of temptations. Circumstances must sometimes have favoured the influence of one nation, sometimes of another. Commercial intercourse, political leagues, matrimonial alliances, all had a share in determining which nation should predominate in influencing the Jewish people. And it is certain that by such influences the people were led into idolatries of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:11

Seventy men , etc. The number was probably chosen with reference to the "elders" who had seen the Divine glory in Exodus 24:9 , Exodus 24:10 . The Sanhedrin, or council of seventy, did not exist till after the Captivity. The number can scarcely have been accidental, and may imply that the elders were formally representative. Another Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, appears in Jeremiah 35:3 ; yet another, the son of Azur, in Ezekiel 11:1 . If the Shaphan mentioned is the scribe, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 8:12

Every man, etc. And this, after all, was but a sample of the prevalence of the Egyptian influence. Other elders had, in the dark , a like adytum, a like chamber of imagery, like the Latin lararium, filled. with a like cloud of incense. And though the name of the leader of the band might have warned them that the Lord was listening, they boasted, in their blindness, that Jehovah did not see them; he had forsaken the temple, and had fiche elsewhere. They thought of Jehovah as of a local... read more

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