We are frequently told that we live in a “pluralistic society,” as if the pluralism of our day is somehow distinct from any other age that has gone before us, which is simply not true. We are further encouraged to embrace a society that prizes diversity, inclusivity, and equality. While there is some validity to this—that is, if we truly prize freedom of religion in our society, we must prize freedom of religion and not freedom of Christianity—there is always the danger that we invite this pluralism into our churches.
This is precisely the problem that led to God’s anger against Judah, as we see in the text before us this morning (Ezekiel 8–9). Chapter 8 unfolds the polytheistic idolatry of Jerusalem in a fourfold vision, before chapter 9 portrays God’s judgement against the wicked nation. A brief survey of the chapters will prove helpful before we unfold its relevance to us today.
Chapter 8 records four visions that the Lord gave to Ezekiel, each worse than its predecessor, of the gross idolatry that was unfolding in Jerusalem while Ezekiel ministered in Babylon. In the first vision (8:3–6), he saw an idol erected at the north gate of the city, evidently as a guard against the invaders, who always came from the north. In the second vision (8:7–13), he saw seventy elders within the city secretly offering incense to idols. These seventy idols stand in stark contrast to the seventy godly elders in Moses’ time (Exodus 24:1–11; Numbers 11:16–30). Shockingly, one of the elders was the son of Shaphan, who had been instrumental in the reforms of King Josiah (2 Kings 22:3–14). In the third vision (8:14–15), he saw a group of women “weeping for Tammuz.” This was a Babylonian ritual of mourning for Dumuzi, god of the underworld. The Babylonians believed that the change of seasons coincided with Dumuzi’s descent into the underworld (heading into winter) and then return (heading into summer), bringing restored fertility with him. In the fourth vision (8:16), he saw a group of men in the temple itself, prostrating themselves in worship of the sun.
The idolatry of Judah, we see, involved men and women, clergy and laity, and invited idolatry from surrounding nations (Canaan, Egypt, and Babylon). The Jewish religion was a unified, universal religion. Iain Duguid calls it “the ultimate multifaith worship service.” It is the kind of religious toleration and syncretism that would be applauded by the unbelieving world. And yet Yahweh considered it an “abomination,” which invited his “wrath” (8:17–18).
Chapter 8 portrays Yahweh’s wrath against this pluralism. In imagery reminiscent of the last plague in Egypt, an appointed “man” (perhaps an angel) moved through the city marking the righteous—“the men who sigh and groan over the abominations that are committed” (9:4)—to spare them from judgement. With the righteous marked, six executioners carried God’s judgement against the unrighteous. It is, as I have said, very Passover-like—except that the objects of destruction were Israelites rather than Egyptians. Of course, there was some hope, since the “man clothed in linen” returned with the news, “I have done as you commanded me” (9:11). That is, he had found and marked some righteous people to spare from punishment.
As I have already indicated, South Africa is a pluralistic country, in which a variety of religious expressions is tolerated. Christians, who prize freedom of religion, recognise the need to tolerate religious pluralism in our country. However, we must remember that Judah was God’s covenant people. The religious pluralism in chapter 8, therefore, is not equivalent to religious pluralism in a secular society. The most direct comparison to what Ezekiel saw is the undercover, practical polytheism that often plagues the South African church.
When it comes to the Christian church, the choice before us is not between equally valid methods of expressing our worship. The choice, instead, is between worship of the true God and idolatry. As we see in the text before us, the essence of Judah idolatry was less a denial of Yahweh’s reality as it was a denial of Yahweh’s relevance. In declaring, “The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land” (8:12), they were not denying Yahweh’s existence; they were denying his influence in their life and society. They recognised that he existed but rejected any relevance in their lives.
According to the Joshua Project, Christianity is South Africa’s largest religion. An impressive 77.1% of South Africans profess some form of Christianity, though only 21.02% of that number is evangelical in profession. And yet, even within the evangelical percentage, we are left to wonder how many consider God relevant to their daily life. How many professing evangelicals consider the gathering of the saints, the observance of the sacraments, and the ordinary, God-ordained means of grace as central to their faith and relevant to their lives? Too many professing Christians in our country are practical polytheists, having crafted a religion of their own making.
Ezekiel 8–9 challenges us to ask whether the faith we profess is a faith that God approves. Have we imported unbiblical notions into our faith, which have resulted in practical polytheism, or are we worshipping God as he commands? Have we chosen idolatry over truth?
