And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and,
behold at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and
the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward
the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they
worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou
seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah
that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they
have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me
to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore,
will I also deal in fury; mine eye shall not spare, neither will I
have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet
will I not hear them" (verses 16-18).
The twenty-five men, who stood between the porch and the altar with
their backs to the house of the Lord and their faces towards the sun,
worshipping the sun, were the twenty-four priests, who constituted the
appointed courses. Their attitude was one of defiance. They practiced
the abominable cult, openly showing by the turned backs against the
temple that they had wilfully rejected Jehovah and His worship. What
else was connected with sun-worship? One mysterious sentence appears at
the close of verse 17. "And, lo, they put the branch to their nose."
This phrase is very obscure. Jewish commentators claim that the words
conceal some shocking and wicked rite; and this may be the correct
meaning. Sun-worship and its attending lusts of the flesh are not
unknown in our own times. A few months ago a great sun-festival was held
in Paris.[10] Thousands participated in it. Hymns to the sun were sung
and sun-dances held, while the nights were given over to all kinds of
immoralities. Bahaism, whose deceitful leader is a sun-worshipper, has
hundreds of thousands of followers in the English speaking world. They
turned their ears from the Truth and have been turned to fables.
[10] This was three months before the war.
Elders, women and priests had turned from Jehovah and His worship. And
now Jehovah speaks and pronounces judgment upon them. "Therefore will I
also deal in fury; mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity;
and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear
them." Jehovah did according to His word. He did not spare; there was no
pity. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and the people had to feel
Jehovah's fury. And judgment greater than Jerusalem's will surely
overtake this present evil age with its idolatries, its abominations,
its rejection of God's Gospel and defiance of God.