The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 43:10-11,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider the plan, and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations."
Ezekiel's temple is a mystery. We have no record of it ever being built and there is no evidence it ever has been. The Lord had Moses build the tabernacle to be carried in the wilderness and to the Promised Land. Solomon built a beautiful and magnificent temple on the temple mound which was destroyed by the Babylonians when they took the remainder of Israel into captivity in 586 B.C. Following the Jews release from captivity Zerubbabel built a much more modest temple (so much more modest that we are told the people wept as they viewed this new temple in remembrance of the grand temple built by Solomon). This temple was rebuilt by Herod and the one we read of in the accounts of Jesus' ministry in the gospels. It was later destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. (or something like that).
In Ezekiel 43:18, the Lord says to Ezekiel, "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and sprinkling blood upon the altar when it is built…" And yet, as noted by many, the Lord never commanded anyone to build the altar, let alone the entire temple.
Some feel it will be a temple that will be built during and for the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, in the future from now. This makes for a difficult explanation for me as the animal sacrifices outlined for this temple, the burnt and sin offerings called for in the worship that is to take place make little sense as we read that all these looked forward to, and were replaced by, the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ's own body. Additionally, the priesthood called for in Ezekiel's temple, any human priesthood for temple worship, has been superseded by our great high priest, Jesus Christ who intercedes for us now on our behalf and forever.
So, this temple of Ezekiel is a bit of a mystery to me. One thing that is not a mystery for me is the grand scale of its design. This is one magnificent temple! In these verses the Lord tells Ezekiel to describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. They are to consider its plans and if they feel the appropriate sense of shame for their sins, Ezekiel is to "make known to them the design of the temple-its arrangement, its exits and entrances-its whole design and all its regulations and laws."
What God offers is that which is grand, sweeping and magnificent. The best result we experience when sin has its way with us (or the other way around) is always less than what God offers us. I don't know if that is the intended message of Ezekiel's temple or not, but what strikes me today is just that: in our sin, we have what might be considered small, insignificant and lacking the grandeur and magnificence compared to that which we have in the Lord!
Ezekiel's temple is a mystery. We have no record of it ever being built and there is no evidence it ever has been. The Lord had Moses build the tabernacle to be carried in the wilderness and to the Promised Land. Solomon built a beautiful and magnificent temple on the temple mound which was destroyed by the Babylonians when they took the remainder of Israel into captivity in 586 B.C. Following the Jews release from captivity Zerubbabel built a much more modest temple (so much more modest that we are told the people wept as they viewed this new temple in remembrance of the grand temple built by Solomon). This temple was rebuilt by Herod and the one we read of in the accounts of Jesus' ministry in the gospels. It was later destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. (or something like that).
In Ezekiel 43:18, the Lord says to Ezekiel, "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and sprinkling blood upon the altar when it is built…" And yet, as noted by many, the Lord never commanded anyone to build the altar, let alone the entire temple.
Some feel it will be a temple that will be built during and for the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, in the future from now. This makes for a difficult explanation for me as the animal sacrifices outlined for this temple, the burnt and sin offerings called for in the worship that is to take place make little sense as we read that all these looked forward to, and were replaced by, the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ's own body. Additionally, the priesthood called for in Ezekiel's temple, any human priesthood for temple worship, has been superseded by our great high priest, Jesus Christ who intercedes for us now on our behalf and forever.
So, this temple of Ezekiel is a bit of a mystery to me. One thing that is not a mystery for me is the grand scale of its design. This is one magnificent temple! In these verses the Lord tells Ezekiel to describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. They are to consider its plans and if they feel the appropriate sense of shame for their sins, Ezekiel is to "make known to them the design of the temple-its arrangement, its exits and entrances-its whole design and all its regulations and laws."
What God offers is that which is grand, sweeping and magnificent. The best result we experience when sin has its way with us (or the other way around) is always less than what God offers us. I don't know if that is the intended message of Ezekiel's temple or not, but what strikes me today is just that: in our sin, we have what might be considered small, insignificant and lacking the grandeur and magnificence compared to that which we have in the Lord!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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