Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 5-8.

When Ezekiel has a vision of the temple in Jerusalem in today’s passage, he initially sees an “idol that provokes to jealousy” in the temple gateway.  This was a place where those who claimed to serve and worship God publicly took part in the worship and veneration of other gods.  It is not clear what Ezekiel was referring to with that reference, but it is clearly a reference to some practice contrary to what God commanded which the people of Jerusalem incorporated into their public worship.  However, as detestable as God found what they did in public, they had practices in private which were even more detestable.  Those who practiced private sins, private idolatry were the spiritual leaders of the people.  Ezekiel describes how the people of Jerusalem placed some things as a higher priority than God.  In what ways do we put things of this world ahead of doing God’s will?  Earlier in the passage, Ezekiel warned that our wealth will not save us from God’s judgement.  So, let us examine our lives and remove from our lives those things which God might find detestable.  Let us put nothing ahead of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.