Ezekiel 8:1-4. Ezekiel tells us that in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as he sat in his house with the elders of Judah, another of his intense visions began. The hand of the Lord fell upon him and he beheld a form with the appearance of a man but with what appeared to be fire below his loins and an upper body that appeared like gleaming bronze. This figure put forth its hand and took Ezekiel by a lock of his hair and the Spirit lifted him up between heaven and earth, bringing him, in visions, to the God of Jerusalem. Ezekiel is brought to God at "the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy." This is where the glory of God was.

This vision is going to go on to have God show Ezekiel all the many, hidden abominations going on in Judah and the punishment that God intends to bring upon them for their wayward ways. So that explains the "seat of jealousy," which at first sounded to me very strange - why is there a seat of jealousy that God seems to be sitting in? But God is often described as a jealous God. It doesn't mean that He is fickle or unreasonable, it means that He suffers no competition for our devotion and love. When we start going our own way, worshiping our idols of self, sacrifing to worldly things, He gets jealous and He calls us back to Him, even if it means we have to suffer quite a bit to get there.

Right now, I think we have provoked God into the jealousy seat, and He is allowing us to suffer in order to call us back. Let's start mending our ways, and hopefully get Him to move before things get worse! (Although I think it may be too late, and a fall is in our future, in which case we must just trust and stay faithful, He will see us through that, as well. In Ezekiel's vision, the executioners of the city are held back until all of the faithful are marked for preservation!)