“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13 ESV).
The first seven chapters of the Biblical book of Ezekiel record God’s message through Ezekiel concerning His pending judgment upon the people of Israel. While some aspects of that message seem highly unusual, they provided a clear warning regarding the sentence that God was about to impose upon them at the hands of the Babylonians.
In Ezekiel chapter eight, the prophet was taken “behind the scenes” where he discovered the supporting evidence for that judgment in a manner that illustrates our passage from Hebrews 4:13…
“…on September 17, during the sixth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, while the leaders of Judah were in my home, the Sovereign Lord took hold of me…
Then the Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, look toward the north.’ So I looked, and there to the north, beside the entrance to the gate near the altar, stood the idol that had made the Lord so jealous. ‘Son of man,’ he said, ‘do you see what they are doing? Do you see the detestable sins the people of Israel are committing to drive me from my Temple?'” (Ezekiel 8:1, 5-6 NLT).
So God showed the prophet a visible example of the idolatry that characterized the people of that time- but things were about to get worse…
“‘…But come, and you will see even more detestable sins than these!’ Then he brought me to the door of the Temple courtyard, where I could see a hole in the wall. He said to me, ‘Now, son of man, dig into the wall.’ So I dug into the wall and found a hidden doorway.
‘Go in,’ he said, ‘and see the wicked and detestable sins they are committing in there!’ So I went in and saw the walls covered with engravings of all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. I also saw the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel. Seventy leaders of Israel were standing there with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan in the center. Each of them held an incense burner, from which a cloud of incense rose above their heads.
Then the Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen what the leaders of Israel are doing with their idols in dark rooms? They are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us; he has deserted our land!'” (Ezekiel 8:6-12 NLT).
We’ll continue with our look at Ezekiel’s experience in the context of Hebrews 4:13 next.