Today's Scripture
Ezekiel 43:1-12
Today’s reading Ezekiel 43-45
Then he brought me to the gate, the gate facing east. 2 And there, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east; the sound was like the sound of mighty waters; and the earth shone with his glory. 3 The vision I saw was like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the vision that I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. 4 As the glory of the Lordentered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me out of the temple. 7 He said to me: Mortal, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will reside among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring, and by the corpses of their kings at their death.[c] 8 When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my holy name by their abominations that they committed; therefore I have consumed them in my anger. 9 Now let them put away their idolatry and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will reside among them forever.
10 As for you, mortal, describe the temple to the house of Israel, and let them measure the pattern; and let them be ashamed of their iniquities. 11 When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the plan of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and its whole form—all its ordinances and its entire plan and all its laws; and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe and follow the entire plan and all its ordinances. 12 This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. This is the law of the temple.
RJ's Devotion
What does the passage say?
V. 1-3 Ezekiel falls on the ground, as he witnesses the glory of God, once more.
V. 4-5 The Spirit lifts up Ezekiel to the courtyard of the temple.
V. 6-9 God enters into the temple. The reason why God’s presence retreated from the Holy Place, was due to the people defiling the Holy ground. The temple is restored, and God promises to dwell with God’s people forever.
V. 10-12 Ezekiel is to share to the people of the proclamation of this holy place.
What does this passage mean to me/us?
We are reading through the Book of Ezekiel, according to the One Year Bible reading challenge.
The glory of God re-enters God’s holy place. The reason why God didn’t dwell in the temple, was due to the disobedience of the people.
In the restored temple, God promises to dwell with God’s people for eternity. (This might be an indication that this temple is the temple to come.)
The vision shows the nature of God. God cannot coexist with the product of our disobedience.
That is why God sent Jesus, so the sacrifice of Jesus blood will wash away our disobedience.
God is willing to dwell in the temple and even our lives. Do you recall how Paul describes our body as a holy temple?
“19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:19-20).
We are called to dwell with God, starting here and for eternity.
However, for the glory of God to dwell in our lives, God needs to clean up the mess that is in our lives.
Jesus’ sacrifice brings that cleansing in our lives.
The Holy Spirit continues to work in our life, as God’s presence shines through us.
Prayer
Lord, continue your work in our lives. Make our lives holy, for your name sake, and dwell in us for eterinity. In Christ Name, AMEN.
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