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.
Ver. 16. Were about five and twenty men.] These, say some, were the king and his council See Ezekiel 11:1 .
With their backs toward the temple.] And yet in a part of it. Hoc fuit signum nimiae improbitatis. Veluti Dominum in certamen provocantes. Here to turn their posteriors upon God's house and ark, which they were commanded to look towards as a type of Christ, was to bid open defiance to him, and to renounce his service, cum ingenti contumelia sanctitatis Domini! Oh, the unspeakable patience of God!
And they worshipped the sun.] So did the Persians, under the name of Mithra; the Assyrians, of Osiris; the Egyptians, of Orus son of Isis, &c. Heathens thought that Christians did so too, because anciently they prayed with their faces eastward. a
a Tertul. Apol.