First, let's clarify that this statue was not devoted to jealousy, but provoked it. Thus KJ21 and many others speak along the lines of

the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

Also, Ezekiel makes a distinction between the "house of Israel" and the "house of Judah" in these prophecies. In the beginning of the chapter, he describes himself as sitting with the "elders of the house Judah" (presumably in Babylon). He describes a vision of the Temple of Jerusalem, but is instructed to "look to the north" where he sees "the abominations that the house of Israel is practicing here, so that I must depart from my sanctuary."

This refers to idolatrous practices that have been brought from the north, causing God to depart from his temple. The "statue of jealousy" thus refers to Yahweh's jealousy that any other gods that he would be worshiped. (Deuteronomy 5:9) Some commentators believe it was an actual statue of Asherah or Baal, or at least objects devoted to them. (see 2 Kings 23:4) The text itself does not say, but it does speak of:

...figures of all kinds of creeping things and loathsome beasts, all the idols of the house of Israel, pictured around the wall (of the temple courtyard).

This indicates that northern icons had been drawn or erected on the walls of the temple court. A few lines later, the vision describes:

The entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord. There women sat and wept for Tammuz.

Tammuz was a Mesopotamian deity who died during the winter and rose again in spring. Women mourned his demise with weeping, prayed for his resurrection, and rejoiced when spring came again. Finally, Ezekiel says:

16 ...at the door of the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord’s temple and their faces toward the east; they were bowing eastward to the sun.

All of these practices - worshiping other gods such as Asherah and Baal so as to make Yahweh jealous, drawing graffiti of various deities on the walls of the courtyard, weeping for Tammuz, and conducting sunrise services in honor of the sun-god - were real events. It is plausible that they might also be analogous to mental or spiritual attitudes as mentioned in the OP. But is it more likely that these attitudes were only part of the problem. In other words, romantic infatuation might lead to worship of a fertility god, greed for money might lead to weeping for Tammuz to insure a bountiful harvest, narcissism might lead to belief that one could turn his back on the temple to worship the sun, etc. However, each the idolatrous practices was also literal and well documented in historical sources.

First, let's clarify that this statue was not devoted to jealousy, but provoked it. Thus KJ21 and many others speak along the lines of

the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

Also, Ezekiel makes a distinction between the "house of Israel" and the "house of Judah" in these prophecies. In the beginning of the chapter, he describes himself as sitting with the "elders of the house Judah" (presumably in Babylon). He describes a vision of the Temple of Jerusalem, but is instructed to "look to the north" where he sees "the abominations that the house of Israel is practicing here, so that I must depart from my sanctuary."

This refers to idolatrous practices that have been brought from the north, causing God to depart from his temple. The "statue of jealousy" thus refers to Yahweh's jealousy that any other gods that he would be worshiped. (Deuteronomy 5:9) Some commentators believe it was an actual statue of Asherah or Baal, or at least objects devoted to them. (see 2 Kings 23:4) The text itself does not say, but it does speak of:

...figures of all kinds of creeping things and loathsome beasts, all the idols of the house of Israel, pictured around the wall (of the temple courtyard).

This indicates that northern icons had been drawn or erected on the walls of the temple court. A few lines later, the vision describes:

The entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord. There women sat and wept for Tammuz.

Tammuz was a Mesopotamian deity who died during the winter and rose again in spring. Women mourned his demise with weeping, prayed for his resurrection, and rejoiced when spring came again. Finally, Ezekiel says:

16 ...at the door of the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord’s temple and their faces toward the east; they were bowing eastward to the sun.

All of these practices - worshiping other gods such as Asherah and Baal so as to make Yahweh jealous, drawing graffiti of various deities on the walls of the courtyard, weeping for Tammuz, and conducting sunrise services in honor of the sun-god - were real events. It is plausible that they might also be analogous to mental or spiritual attitudes as mentioned in the OP. But it is more likely that these attitudes were only part of the problem. For example, romantic infatuation might lead to worship of a love goddess, greed for money might lead to devotion to Tammuz to insure a bountiful harvest, narcissism might lead to belief that one could turn his back on the temple to worship the sun, etc. However, each of the idolatrous practices mentioned by Ezekiel was also literal and well documented in historical sources.

Whether one interprets these visions metaphorically or not, it is important to note that Ezekiel makes a distinction between the "house of Israel" and the "house of Judah" in these prophecies. In the beginning of the chapter, he describes himself as sitting with the "elders of the house Judah" (presumably in Babylon). He describes a vision of the Temple of Jerusalem, but is instructed to "look to the north" where he sees "the abominations that the house of Israel is practicing here, so that I must depart from my sanctuary?"

This refers to the idea that idolatrous practices have been brought from the north into Jerusalem. The "statue of jealousy" refers to Yahweh's jealousy that any other gods that he would be worshipped. Some commentators believe this was an actual statue of Ashera or Baal, or at least objects devoted to them. (see 2 Kings 23:4) The text itself does not say, but it does speak of

...figures of all kinds of creeping things and loathsome beasts, all the idols of the house of Israel, pictured around the wall (of the temple courtyard).

This indicates that northern icons had been drawn or erected on the walls of the temple court. A few lines later, the vision describes:

The entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord. There women sat and wept for Tammuz.

Tammuz was a Mesopotamian deity who died during the winter and rose again in spring. Women mourned his demise with weeping, prayed for his resurrection and rejoiced when spring came again. Finally, Ezekiel says:

16 ...at the door of the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord’s temple and their faces toward the east; they were bowing eastward to the sun.

All of these practices - worshiping other gods such as Asherah and Baal so as to make Yahweh jealous, drawing graffiti of varies deities on the walls of the courtyard, weeping of Tammuz, and conducting sunrise services in honor of the sun-god - were real events. It is plausible that they might also be analogous to mental or spiritual attitudes mentioned in the OP. But is it more likely that these attitudes were only part of the problem. In other words, romantic infatuation might lead to worship of a fertility god, greed for money might lead to weeping for Tammuz to insure a bountiful harvest, narcissism might lead to belief that one could turn his back on the temple to worship the sun, etc. However, each the idolatrous practices were also literal and are well documented in historical sources.

First, let's clarify that this statue was not devoted to jealousy, but provoked it. Thus KJ21 and many others speak along the lines of

the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

Also, Ezekiel makes a distinction between the "house of Israel" and the "house of Judah" in these prophecies. In the beginning of the chapter, he describes himself as sitting with the "elders of the house Judah" (presumably in Babylon). He describes a vision of the Temple of Jerusalem, but is instructed to "look to the north" where he sees "the abominations that the house of Israel is practicing here, so that I must depart from my sanctuary."

This refers to idolatrous practices that have been brought from the north, causing God to depart from his temple. The "statue of jealousy" thus refers to Yahweh's jealousy that any other gods that he would be worshiped. (Deuteronomy 5:9) Some commentators believe it was an actual statue of Asherah or Baal, or at least objects devoted to them. (see 2 Kings 23:4) The text itself does not say, but it does speak of:

...figures of all kinds of creeping things and loathsome beasts, all the idols of the house of Israel, pictured around the wall (of the temple courtyard).

This indicates that northern icons had been drawn or erected on the walls of the temple court. A few lines later, the vision describes:

The entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord. There women sat and wept for Tammuz.

Tammuz was a Mesopotamian deity who died during the winter and rose again in spring. Women mourned his demise with weeping, prayed for his resurrection, and rejoiced when spring came again. Finally, Ezekiel says:

16 ...at the door of the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord’s temple and their faces toward the east; they were bowing eastward to the sun.

All of these practices - worshiping other gods such as Asherah and Baal so as to make Yahweh jealous, drawing graffiti of various deities on the walls of the courtyard, weeping for Tammuz, and conducting sunrise services in honor of the sun-god - were real events. It is plausible that they might also be analogous to mental or spiritual attitudes as mentioned in the OP. But is it more likely that these attitudes were only part of the problem. In other words, romantic infatuation might lead to worship of a fertility god, greed for money might lead to weeping for Tammuz to insure a bountiful harvest, narcissism might lead to belief that one could turn his back on the temple to worship the sun, etc. However, each the idolatrous practices was also literal and well documented in historical sources.