14 Then he took me to the door of the way into the Lord's house looking to the north; and there women were seated weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then he said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? you will see even more disgusting things than these. 16 And he took me into the inner square of the Lord's house, and at the door of the Temple of the Lord, between the covered way and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs turned to the Temple of the Lord and their faces turned to the east; and they were worshipping the sun, turning to the east. 17 Then he said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? is it a small thing to the children of Judah that they do the disgusting things which they are doing here? for they have made the land full of violent behaviour, making me angry again and again: and see, they put the branch to my nose. 18 For this reason I will let loose my wrath: my eye will not have mercy, and I will have no pity.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 8:14-18
Commentary on Ezekiel 8:13-18
(Read Ezekiel 8:13-18)
The yearly lamenting for Tammuz was attended with infamous practices; and the worshippers of the sun here described, are supposed to have been priests. The Lord appeals to the prophet concerning the heinousness of the crime; "and lo, they put the branch to their nose," denoting some custom used by idolaters in honour of the idols they served. The more we examine human nature and our own hearts, the more abominations we shall discover; and the longer the believer searches himself, the more he will humble himself before God, and the more will he value the fountain open for sin, and seek to wash therein.