pictures

May 13, 2017

The lust after the Babylonians (Ezek 23:16-23:17)

“When Oholibah saw them,
She lusted after them.
She sent messengers
To them
In Chaldea.
The Babylonians
Came to her
Into her bed of love.
They defiled her
With their lust.
After she defiled herself
With them,
She turned
From them
In disgust.”
When Oholibah saw these pictures, she lusted after the Babylonians. Thus she sent messengers to them in Chaldea, inviting them to come to Jerusalem. They came to her in her bed of love. Thus they defiled her with their sexual lust. She had, in fact, defiled herself with them. Finally, she turned away from them in disgust.

April 5, 2017

The idol worship service of the seventy Jerusalem elders (Ezek 8:10-8:11)

“So I went in.

I looked.

There portrayed

On the wall,

All around,

Were all kinds

Of creeping things,

Loathsome animals,

With all the idols

Of the house of Israel.

Before them

Stood seventy

Of the elders

Of the house

Of Israel,

With Jaazaniah,

The son of Shaphan,

Standing among them.

Each had his censer

In his hand.

The fragrant cloud

Of incense

Was ascending.”

Ezekiel went into the worship service room on the other side of the wall. He saw various inscriptions or pictures all around the walls that included creeping things, despicable animals, and all kinds of idols from the house of Israel. This must have indicated some kind of Egyptian or Babylonian idol gods, perhaps the god Osiris. However, this might be a mishmash of various idol gods. Even more shocking was to see the 70 Jerusalem elders of Israel, including Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, standing there with lit censers in their hands as the fragrant smell of incense ascended in the air. This was a shocking sight to see.