Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 41-43.

Every time I read this passage I am convinced that the measurements given by Ezekiel of the temple in his vision have great significance, and not just the dimensions, but all of the details.  Unfortunately, that significance still eludes me.  However, in the middle of that description from his vision, Ezekiel describes seeing the glory of God enter this new temple in a reverse of the way he saw it leave.  Ezekiel saw the glory of God fill the temple and God spoke to him about how the people of Israel had defiled His name by placing their threshold and doorposts next to His.  In light of the fact that Paul tells us that our bodies are now God’s temple.  In what ways are we conducting detestable practices right next to God’s temple by sinning?  We must be ashamed of our sins and be determined to be faithful to God’s regulations.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 41-43.

Every year when I come to this passage I struggle with what to write.  Ezekiel goes into a detailed description of the measurements of the rebuilt temple he saw in his vision.  As I read that my eyes start to glaze over and before I get to the end of chapter 42 I’m reading the words but not really comprehending them.  Today, I really made an effort to re-engage my brain when I got to the place where the man guiding Ezekiel told him about the room where the priests would eat the most holy offerings.  There he tells Ezekiel that the priests must change out of the garments they wear while ministering in the temple before going out among the common people.   I never really took notice of that before because it is not that different from the instructions Moses gave Aaron and his sons regarding the garments they wore in the Tabernacle.  However, I took note of it today and saw that Ezekiel was emphasizing that restatement of the commandment from Moses in order to highlight the way in which the people of Jerusalem had failed to keep the temple and its surrounds holy.  Ezekiel writes about how the people of Jerusalem had practiced their detestable practices right next to the temple, in areas which should have been kept holy in order to prevent contamination of the temple.  To what degree do we allow ourselves to practice detestable practices with but a wall in our minds between them and the holy place where God dwells within us?

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 41-43.

Today’s passage continues Ezekiel’s description of his vision of the restored Temple.  I have never really received any spiritual insights from such detailed descriptions.  However, in chapter 43 Ezekiel describes his vision of God’s glory returning to the Temple.  Unlike his previous visions of God’s glory, he does not go into a detailed description.  This time Ezekiel merely tells us that what he saw was like his first vision when God called him to be a prophet and like his vision of God’s glory leaving Jerusalem when God ordered its destruction.  I am unsure if this prophecy was completely fulfilled when the Holy Spirit entered into Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost, or if there is yet another fulfillment of it in physical Jerusalem.

When the Holy Spirit entered into Jesus’s disciples gathered in the upper room at Pentecost, it was entering into the Church, which was the Temple which Jesus had built.  This is really rather significant.  Each and every one of us is part of God’s Temple.  Which means that God’s glory resides within us.  Therefore, when we sin, we are doing the sort of thing which Ezekiel condemned in his visions regarding the destruction of Jerusalem.  When we sin, we are offering sacrifices to idols in the presence of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 8 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 41-43.

In an earlier passage Ezekiel described the glory of the Lord leaving the Temple in a vision in which he saw people performing idol worship in the Temple.  In today’s passage, he describes the measurements of the Temple which he sees in a vision.  In the middle of that description he sees the glory of the Lord enter this new Temple.  In Ezekiel’s vision God tells him that the description of the Temple which he saw in this vision will cause the Israelites to be ashamed of their sins.  This suggests to me that there is some significance to the measurements and other details which Ezekiel relates concerning the Temple he saw, but I have never been able to decipher what that significance is.