Ezekiel 8:3

3. Instead of prompting him to address directly the elders before him, the Spirit carried him away in vision (not in person bodily) to the temple at Jerusalem; he proceeds to report to them what he witnessed: his message thus falls into two parts: (1) The abominations reported in :-. (2) The dealings of judgment and mercy to be adopted towards the impenitent and penitent Israelites respectively ( :-). The exiles looked hopefully towards Jerusalem and, so far from believing things there to be on the verge of ruin, expected a return in peace; while those left in Jerusalem eyed the exiles with contempt, as if cast away from the Lord, whereas they themselves were near God and ensured in the possessions of the land ( :-). Hence the vision here of what affected those in Jerusalem immediately was a seasonable communication to the exiles away from it.

door of the inner gate—facing the north, the direction in which he came from Chebar, called the "altar-gate" (Ezekiel 8:5); it opened into the inner court, wherein stood the altar of burnt offering; the inner court (Ezekiel 8:5- :) was that of the priests; the outer court (Ezekiel 8:5- :), that of the people, where they assembled.

seat—the pedestal of the image.

image of jealousy—Astarte, or Asheera (as the Hebrew for "grove" ought to be translated, 2 Kings 21:3; 2 Kings 21:7; 2 Kings 23:4; 2 Kings 23:7), set up by Manasseh as a rival to Jehovah in His temple, and arresting the attention of all worshippers as they entered; it was the Syrian Venus, worshipped with licentious rites; the "queen of heaven," wife of Phoelignician Baal. HAVERNICK thinks all the scenes of idolatry in the chapter are successive portions of the festival held in honor of Tammuz or Adonis (2 Kings 23:7- :). Probably, however, the scenes are separate proofs of Jewish idolatry, rather than restricted to one idol.

provoketh to jealousy—calleth for a visitation in wrath of the "jealous God," who will not give His honor to another (compare the second commandment, 2 Kings 23:7- :). JEROME refers this verse to a statue of Baal, which Josiah had overthrown and his successors had replaced.