Ezekiel 8:17-18

God will not always restrain His judgement. 

There will come a day of reckoning for the idols that we serve…greed, power and control. 

Our only hope is the covering of the Blood of the Lamb slain for our sins.

The location for the sun worship was in the inner court between the porch and the altar. These 25 men must have been Levites if temple regulations were being followed; otherwise, the area was forbidden. Whether priests or not, they were turned in the wrong direction—their backs were to God’s temple and they were worshiping the sun.

The expression “put the branch to their nose” is not mentioned elsewhere. In the context it appears to be (1) a ritualistic gesture used in idol worship, or (2) an action indicative of the extensive violence which was occurring in Judah as a result of idolatry. NKJ Bible.

Ezekiel 8:17–18 (NKJV)

¹⁷ And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. ¹⁸ Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Proverbs 1:28 (NKJV)

²⁸ “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;

They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

Isaiah 1:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands,

I will hide My eyes from you;

Even though you make many prayers,

I will not hear.

Your hands are full of blood.

Ezekiel 5:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ ‘Therefore, as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity.