Ezekiel 7:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

When He declares that due to the abominations of the people He will hide His face from them and deem them unworthy of His gaze, they will consequently desecrate His innermost sanctuary, which refers to the Holy of Holies. The Septuagint translates this as the place of visitation to signify that this sacred area was intended to be where God’s presence was revealed. The vile and destructive forces of the earth will encroach upon it, a place where only the priests and high priest were permitted to enter. This was historically fulfilled by the Babylonians, King Antiochus, Gnaeus Pompey, and ultimately under Vespasian and Titus, when the temple was captured and devastated, leading to the fulfillment of all that the prophet spoke of thereafter.

For this reason, declares God, I have allowed them to experience impurity. I will hand them over to foreign nations to plunder and to those who ruin the earth for gain, and they will desecrate what is sacred. I will withdraw My presence from them. The Babylonians are referred to as the ruiners of the earth, being particularly brutal, lawless, and deeply versed in all forms of wickedness. To them, I will entrust, says God, the golden and silver idols that you have created, along with the valuable vessels you have prepared for yourselves; they will profane what is holy, meaning they will use your precious idols for base purposes.