Bible Reading Reflection from Ezekiel 40-48

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (SSEU), a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible] 

𝔼𝕫𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜𝟘:𝟜

"The man said to me, ‘on of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.’"

Declare all that you see. That's it

 

𝔼𝕫𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜𝟙:𝟙

"Then he brought me to the nave and measured the side pillars; six cubits wide on each side was the width of the side pillar."

Is there anything profitable in chapters 40-41? 😂 Of course, it's boring, and one would want to take scissors and cut them away like Thomas Jefferson. Unless one understands why these are included. It tells us what matters to God. He is detailed in His description of what is sacred to Him, and man ought to fear and tremble before Him.

How casual we are in church! We even say, "Come just as you are" Well, God doesn't say that. Some of the things God said, "None of you shall appear before me without an offering"

Hmm!

 

𝔼𝕫𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜𝟚:𝟙𝟜

"When the priests enter, then they shall not go out into the outer court from the sanctuary without laying there their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they shall approach that which is for the people."

A different dress for God and a different dress for people. Well, the cleanest, best, most expensive dress should be for God. God deserves the best.

And some people dare to come to church in half pants and a t-shirt. Well, some people come almost naked as well. Well, let sinners do whatever they like. But godly people revered God!

 

𝔼𝕫𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜𝟛:𝟟

"He said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their harlotry and by the corpses of their kings when they die’"

In the previous account of Ezekiel, God's glory was departed, and so, God allowed His house to be profaned, desecrated, and destroyed. Now is the time for restoration. The glory of God comes back, and there shall be no desecration anymore.

Takeaway: It's the withdrawal of God that leads to the destruction of the temple.

As long as God remains, nothing can touch the people or temple of God. It reminds me of a situation when American Soldiers abandoned Afghanistan last year!

 

𝔼𝕫𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜𝟜:𝟚

"The LORD said to me, ‘This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.’"

When Messi retired from Barcelona there were some people who demanded Jersey no 10 be retired. Now, think of that and re-read this verse. God is unique and nobody should even dare to imitate Him, and must treat God differently!

 

𝔼𝕫𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜𝟝:𝟡

"Thus says the Lord GOD, "Enough, you princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your expropriations from My people," declares the Lord GOD."

How God wants leaders to reflect God's nature! To be caring, helping, and resourceful.

Human Leaders tend to corrupt, to abuse, to oppress, to cheat, to discriminate, to flatter, to nepotism, to oh... so many things...

 

𝔼𝕫𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜𝟞:𝟚𝟜

"Then he said to me, ‘These are the boiling places where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifices of the people.’"

God has a long, long list of prescriptions for how he must be worshipped. And how different that we love to say we can worship God as we like!

 

𝔼𝕫𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜𝟟:𝟞

"He said to me, "𝕊𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕒𝕟, 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤?" Then he brought me back to the bank of the river."

Well, God is revealing (illuminating) the truth, and we shall see if we take time to think about God. I would like to think one of the ways is meditating in the word of God.

We live in this world, and we don't need to spend a laborious hour studying the culture and times in this world. When we are deep in the word of God, we will detect the ups and downs of our world.

 

𝔼𝕫𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜𝟠:𝟛𝟝

"The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, 'The LORD is there.'"

That's the name. A name has meaning, significance, and reason. And how interesting is it that its name is "the LORD is there."